Layers of Light Review Tour

Blurb:

A Texan teenager develops an unusual ability when she becomes an exchange student in India. Once human trafficking touches her world, her mysterious talent shows hope for locating her friends. If she only knew what the talent was and how to use it.

A stranger makes her an unexpected offer. He will train her to find her missing friends, but she will need trust in ideas she barely believes and more courage than has ever been expected of her. Also, she’ll never be normal again.

She accepts his offer, intending to show those guilty of unspeakable crimes just how powerful a young woman can be.

Excerpt:

“Just wear what makes you comfortable,” Teddie said.

“No.” Michelle shook her head. “If she really wants to get into this class, she needs to show up looking good. These are young guys; they’re not going to turn away an attractive female they think they can hit on.”

“It’s not right for her to do that,” Teddie said.

“Come on. She’s already at a disadvantage having to plead to get in, in the first place. She’s a way better climber than anyone in this class is gonna be. She should use any advantage she can get.” Michelle was as adamant.

“It might work against her,” Usha said. “Attractive women make some men nervous, and it doesn’t help that she’s foreign and underage. I think she should look as ugly as she can, so they think of her as another male.”

“I don’t think she should try to look anything,” Teddie said. “She needs to ignore the fact that she’s female.”

“How the hell does she do that?” Michelle answered with a gesture at Haley’s long shapely legs.

“This is just stupid,” Haley spoke up as she pushed the entire pile of rejected outfits onto the floor. “I want to climb mountains, not play inane mind games. Did you know slime mold has over five-hundred different genders? Right now, it would be easier to be slime mold.”

“You wish to be mold?” Usha was incredulous.

“She’s joking, Usha.”

“Jeans and a flannel shirt. No cleavage, no makeup.” Haley had made up her mind.

“Good hair and tight jeans?” Michelle suggested.

“Good hair and my normal jeans which aren’t exactly unflattering.”

“And your best smile,” Teddie added. “When they see how bad you want this, who is going to deny you?”

My Review:

I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked on this series. You can read my reviews of books 1, 2, and 3, where I lay out parts of what I love about the series. Since I’ve already done that, for now, I’m going to focus on this book specifically.

The story appears disjointed at first, with multiple characters being introduced around the world. But as I’ve learned from reading the earlier books, this is just how the author sets everything up. Sure enough, after getting to know the characters individually, we saw them brought together and thrown on a dangerous path, full of adventure, girl power, intrigue, and gut-wrenching moments, especially with the issue the author chose to tackle in this book: human trafficking.

I thought the author handled a tough subject in a respectful, realistic way. I liked how the author focused on the mental side effects of going through that experience and the long-term effects. I feel like this made it both easier to read, as the story didn’t focus on the physical and sexual abuse as strongly (making this friendlier for younger readers), and more difficult, as it was much more personal and emotional at times because of this. You could tell the author did her research, not only on human trafficking, but on numerous other aspects of her story, including telepathy/out-of-body experiences, mountain trekking, and the demography of multiple Asian countries.

All in all, this was another great addition to the series, and I cannot wait to see how this book ties into the remainder of the series down the road (because something is definitely a brewin’ my friends).

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

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Author Bio and Links:

Sherrie Roth grew up in Western Kansas thinking there was no place in the universe more fascinating than outer space. After her mother vetoed astronaut as a career ambition, she went on to study journalism and physics in hopes of becoming a science writer.

She published her first science fiction short story long ago, and then waited a lot of tables while she looked for inspiration for the next story. When it finally came,  it declared to her it had to be a whole book, nothing less. One night, while digesting this disturbing piece of news, she drank way too many shots of ouzo with her boyfriend. She woke up thirty-one years later demanding to know what was going on.

The boyfriend, who she had apparently long since married, asked her to calm down and  explained how, in a fit of practicality, she had gone back to school and gotten a degree in geophysics and spent the last 28 years interpreting seismic data in the oil industry. The good news, according to Mr. Cronin, was that she had found it to be entertaining and ridiculously well-paying. The bad news was the two of them had still managed to spend almost all of the money.

She was now Mrs. Cronin, and further good news was that they had produced three wonderful children whom they loved, even though, to be honest, that was where a lot of the money had gone. Even better news was that Mr. Cronin turned out to be a warm-hearted, encouraging sort who was happy to see her awake and ready to write. "It's about time," were his exact words.

Sherrie Cronin discovered that over the ensuing decades Sally Ride had already managed to become the first woman in space and apparently had done a fine job of it. No one, however, had written the book that had been in Sherrie's head for decades. The only problem was, the book informed her it had now grown into a six book collection. Sherrie decided she better start writing it before it got any longer. She's been wide awake ever since, and writing away.

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Blogs:

46 Ascending

Face Painting for World Peace

Fire Dancing for Fun and Profit

Treasure Hunting for a Good Time

Leaving the Nest to Touch the Sky 

Touching the Sky to Save the World

Email me at lola.zeitman@gmail.com