Book Reviews

Book Blurb

More than fifty years have passed since “peak oil” has left the Earth without access to modern technology while great Cloud Cities for the rich float above the oceans. 

On the ground below, Vivian Yates leaves Oklahoma on an epic 700-mile journey east to her ancestral home. Early on, she encounters Elizabeth, who preys on Vivian’s inexperience and naivety, luring her into a brief affair that ends in disaster. Betrayed and withdrawn, Vivian sets out again on her eastward trek. Along the way, she meets the beautiful, lighthearted Ida. Together they face obstacles both natural and manmade. Ida brings Vivian, wounded in both body and spirit, back to life. Destiny has thrown them into each other’s arms where they find not only love, but hope, trust, and forever. 

Book Review

This book is part of the ‘Return to Earth’ series and features two magnificent women with strength and vision who not only survive on a kind of post-apocalyptic Earth, but thrive, flourish, and overcome a myriad of challenges and tests thrown at them by various elements and enemies during a 700-mile journey. They are both drawn to return to the Blue Mountains in North Georgia for different reasons, but both having equal provocation. This story, these people, and definitely this world during this time provide a clearly extraordinary journey and insight. Mesmerizing!

Ida May George has recently gone through some troubling times. She cared for her mother in the last year of her life and then accompanied her close friend Kate and her husband to southern Mississippi. After staying with her close friend and her husband for over a year, she is quite motivated to return to her home in the Blue Mountains. It is a dangerous trip but Ida assures Kate that she is not going alone. She tells Kate in a manner she feels sure will be very meaningful that she is attached to the Blue Mountains the way Kate is attached to the sea. Ida is a passionate, sensual, hardworking survivalist who can still be frightened to the bone. I found Ida extraordinarily multi-faceted, genuinely alive, and someone I would keep as close as possible. Divinely human!

Vivian Wildfire Yates experiences a searing and mind-boggling turn of events at a ranch where she works for food and shelter. Vivian had a sense she needed to move on to separate herself from this location, but she is still startled by the brutalizing event that rapidly has her leaving the ranch a tad sooner than she expected. Her goal to find the Blue Mountains that are sacred to the Cherokee along with the intense injury inflicted upon her link together provide a solid motivation and belief she will reach her goal. However, she finds that she underestimates, misinterprets, and takes a bit of a too narrow outlook upon the immensity of her task. Vivian faces burdens from injuries on her body and her mind that seemingly tangle her soul. I adore Vivian for the bold and passionate way she decides to accomplish her goals, relates to friends and loved ones, and feels for her inner Cherokee history. In my opinion, she adds a tremendous viewpoint and energy to the ‘Return to Earth’ series that lifts the overall stories and all she encounters to a truly noble level. It elevates this collection to a unique status. Admirably awesome!

I certainly recommend the ‘Return to Earth’ series, with ‘Time Before Now’ providing some impressive concepts and characters that I inarguably adore. It would be deliciously splendid if this series has not reached its conclusion. I await more books with heightened anticipation!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 240 pages/64800 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-October-2015
Price	$9.99 ebook, $16.95 paperback, $19.99 bundle
Buy Link	http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/9781626394674e.html