Dancing in the Rain

by Amanda James

[zooloo1983]

Just finished this book and like always I have to write my review to clear my brain before I start the next one, the problem is I am actually struggling with what to say!

This book starts off slow, now I don’t mean oh my god this is so slow nothing is happening! I am saying slow, because Mandy is building an interesting world that draws you in, from the world we know to the Navajo residing in Monument Valley. There is so much information to sink in, you have to savour the words in front of you. I didn’t read the blurb before I read this and it was nice, I had absolutely zero clues to where this was going.

This is not like anything I’ve read by Mandy before and it is a great testament to her writing because she can just write anything!!! From my introduction to her dark crazy town to her time travelling love story to this story of the Ancient ones and a lot of science, the breadth of Mandy’s knowledge is amazing, and just blows me away!

With an opening like this one, it shocks you and draws you in straight away, a baby, a car explosion and people on the run, intense right! Then just as you are left wanting to know what happens next, you are cruelly taken back to the past, to WWII where we meet Josiah off to fight a war, leaving his family behind. Decisions he has to make for their future all lies in a vision he has, as he is connected to the Ancient Ones. After this interlude, we meet Jacob, the MC, and I tell you, you may think you know how it all fits together like a jigsaw, you may just be wrong. For now, just go with the flow and enjoy this ride!

Jacob, for years, has known he doesn’t fit, Greg, his best friend, are shipped off to the USA because they work their magic (figuratively) in the science research they perform but when they get there Jacob senses things are not exactly what it seems. He doesn’t trust the people he works with and the calling of his true heritage is so strong. He goes to Monument Valley and this is where his past meets our present in such a cataclysmic way you can not foresee the end, not even the power of the Ancient ones can.

I found the entire element of visions and the Ancient ones so fascinating, the mysticism and the power added to the thrill of the book. As you see science battle it out with magic, not talking magician pulling white rabbit magic, but pure unadulterated magic.

Whilst part of the book the tempo is slowed down while we get the background and the history, other elements just speed right on and by the end, the intensity of this book had been ramped. I didn’t know which way it would end, but I was happy with the ending we got. It worked. I can’t talk too much about the plot or Jacob or the circle of friends because it would be ruined. It’s good vs evil, it’s the end of the world Terminator-style and Jacob is the John Connor character in this book. Definitely gives you food for thought.