Gateway to Reality by Becca J. Campbell

Gateway to Reality by Becca J. Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Something is off-kilter in Wes Teague's world.

Wes feels like life has an unreal or dream-like quality whereas his dreams are so much clearer (even with their acid-trip chaos). As the truth unfolds, he discovers that his dream world is actually real and what he's thought of as reality is an extremely addictive "construct" of his artistic imagination.

Friends in the real world or "The Existence" people Wes's dream world or "Logiverse" (LV, for short) in both similar and widely divergent roles. His best friend, Andy, is also his best friend in his dream world of Chicago. However, the girl he only longs for from the sidelines in “The Existence” is his long-time girlfriend in the LV.

Wes is an artist in the LV; a CREATIVE (or world builder) in “The Existence.” These created worlds - private imaginary spaces - are open to anyone that can find them (all you have to know is the name of the world). Wes and Andy (who has an especially lively world - Andy's Awesome Zone!), travel between locations in “The Existence” by means of portals and dodge black holes that suck people into non-existence along the way. Other inhabitants have their ways and means of travel. Desired girlfriend, Emily, travels in a puff of green smoke.

Author Becca Campbell has created an amazing multi-faceted world herself, and you don’t have to exude green smoke to get there. With interesting characters, mystery, and most definitely some romance, I can honestly recommend Gateway to Reality to other readers. On another note, this book reminded me of the 1970s fantasy series by Roger Zelazny - the Amber Chronicles. The last of those novels was published in the early 90s (I believe) so I was delighted with the elements that made me think about those great stories. Other fans of that series may also enjoy this updated, contemporary tale.

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Home to Whiskey Creek (Whiskey Creek, #4) by Brenda Novak

Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another seamless entry in Brenda Novak’s Whiskey Creek series!

Home to Whiskey Creek, Book 4 in the Whiskey Creek series by Brenda Novak, is the story of Adelaide Davies and Noah Rackham. This satisfying installment is about tragedies of the past that continue to wreak havoc in the lives of those in this community in the future: a gang rape, the truth behind the death of the town’s favorite son, and a young man’s heart-wrenching dilemma about whether to tell his secretly adored, life-long friend about true nature of his sexuality.

Characters from past books make appearances giving continuity to storylines running throughout the series and welcome updates to the lives of those featured in the previous books.

The story opens with action! Noah rescues Addy from a mine reuniting her with the object of an immense high school crush, Noah himself. The tension between the two is immediate although they become easy-going and comfortable with each other early on in the story even as she pushes Noah away and insists to herself that she cannot become involved nor stay in Whiskey Creek. The author has Noah and Addy take two steps forward and one step back maintaining our suspense but with the underlying feeling that this could only come to a satisfactory conclusion. As I was rooting for this couple from the very beginning – yay for that!

I recommend this good story to readers who have enjoyed the previous books in this series and anyone looking for a wonderful second chance romance.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

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