Reading Write Now: Red Dirt Road by Annie Rose Welch with Giveaway

Red Dirt Road (Saving Angels Book 2)

Synopsis

The Saving Angels Series continues… A new cast is introduced, while journeys already taken start to merge with the present, leading you down the old Red Dirt Road. Death has always seemed just one step behind Layla Hill, taking almost everyone she’s ever loved. After she loses the love of her life, Layla vows to never love again—how could she, when she’s a death magnet? Trying to outrun fate traveling with her uncle Willie and his band, Layla meets Michael Roberts, a beautiful Irish boxer as gentle on the piano as he is brutal in the ring. He proves as relentless in life, fighting for a place in her world even as she pushes him away, trying to protect him from her killer tendencies. But neither foresees the sinister presence waiting for Layla at the end of the Red Dirt Road.

Excerpt

“Well, send him up then.” The crowd applauded, making way for the man, who was surely going to make a joke of himself. The crowd wanted it, expected it, but still they all stood around, patting him on the back, encouraging him.

I walked to the back of the stage and moved the curtains. MoJoe was there waiting for me and handed me the sheet music. And entering the stage from the dim light of the bar was the mate who had come to accompany me on the piano. I stood, dazed for a moment, staring at him.

He wore a black fedora hat with his deep-brown, almost black hair sticking out from its edges. His scruffy facial hair thinly framed his face with deep-red whiskers. He wore a loose-fitting, black-and-white flannel shirt with worn-down jeans. I could tell from the outline of his shirt that his muscles were well filled out. He wasn’t large, but he wasn’t lanky, either. And the closer he moved toward me, the better I could make out the features of his face.

His eyes, bright blue, the color of the ocean, were large and expressive, and they seemed a little worn down, like maybe he had seen a million battles and was keeping them locked somewhere deep inside. His nose was straight but wide. His face was perfectly designed, cut to pure perfection, like I imagined the rest of him to be, his strong cheekbones shadowing and increasing the intense curve of his jawline.

And there was something else—I strained to see, even though he was moving closer—a long, thin scar stretched across his face. But even so, he was beautiful. There was no other way of putting it. And that might even have been putting it lightly. He had the face of an angel with a renegade’s body.

Something inside of me started to burn.

And not only was I burning, but I felt like I had run into a terribly hard object, like a wall or a very large tree. I was momentarily stunned.

I had never met this beautiful man in my life. I had never spoken to him or heard his laugh. Or felt his fingers or his body next to mine. I had never seen his face before this moment. But when I looked at him, it was as if I had been staring at him for my entire life.

Somehow—somewhere—I knew him. I could feel it.

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Kota's Review

Layla’s story is an enchanting one, and one that unravels with the same picturesque flair of Annie Rose Welch. Unfortunately for me, it seemed like the elements of this story were too similar to Marigny Street to truly enjoy.

The author does capture different dynamics within these characters, and the premise/plot of this story was different. However the character traits and the challenges were so similar that it felt like I was re-reading the same story, this time however, without the New Orleans character.

This story is told in the authors’ style, it fits with the series to perfection, you can see the intertwining of the characters start to build, so it is starting to become evident of where the series is heading.

Initially I was disappointed that this was not a continuation of Eva and Gabriel’s story. I still read it with an open mind however, struggled to find the same emotional connection and intensity in this story as with Marigny Street.

I enjoy the author’s style and tone – I am amazed at her ability to create such detail images through her words. I find no flaw with her ability to manipulate the written word into a creative story. On this occasion, I just felt that the creativity was stifled. In my opinion, this story took an awful long time to reach a climax, that I found anti-climactic. This story has so much going on, but seemed to really go nowhere which disappointed me.

The secondary characters in this story were well developed and entertaining with some engaging personalities. These characters’ antics assisted with the reading of the story, but again – didn’t really make or break it for me.

Red Dirt Road is a sweet read. It is a part of the Saving Angels Series. It could easily be read independently of Marigny Street, however if you read them in order – it will definitely provide some insight into where the story is going, and how the lead characters inter-relate. Annie Rose Welch is a talented writer, and if you are a fan – you will want to read this.

Did I love Red Dirt Road as much as I love Marigny Street – no I didn’t. Am I glad I read it – of course because I am curious to see how the Saving Angels series plays out. Would I recommend it – if you were a fan, yes – if you like sweet and wholesome stories that focus of life, love, belief and good v evil, yes – if you are looking for a book that grabs you by the heart and wont let its grip loosen until you reach the amazing ending, maybe not so much!

Red Dirt Road gets 3 ½ hearts for me…

Ps: there are a number or editorial and grammatical errors in the version I read – hopefully they were picked up before publishing!

Marigny Street (Saving Angels Book 1)

Synopsis

Do you believe in the power of dreams?

Way down south on Marigny Street in the heart of New Orleans, the land of Catholic intersessions, purgatory, and supernatural superstitions, young Evangeline Chenier dreams of a radiant boy who saves her from a storm. She takes the dream seriously – in her family, dreams are sometimes more than dreams. Sometimes they foretell the future. Sometimes they create it.

Years later, Eva is no longer the same wistful girl but a hardened woman who no longer believes in dreams. Losing faith in her gift, she becomes lost in a nightmare of emotion, mourning her son, separating from her husband, and stewing in a dead-end job. And then fate brings her an unlikely surprise: one of the most famous movie stars in the world, Gabriel Roberts.

Caught by something in his eyes, Eva agrees to show him the real Big Easy on his last night in New Orleans—an evening that turns into four dreamy days spent recapturing lost faith and discovering a love neither expected. Realizing Gabriel is the boy from her childhood dream, Eva must leave everything behind—her husband, her family, her history, and the beautiful city she calls home—and gamble it all for the dream that has saved her on MARIGNY STREET

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Kota's Review

This is not a story I would normally read, but for the blog tour! Wow, I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to read this story. What a vivid and visually descriptive tale the author has woven. I was in my own little New Orleans world, complete with sights, sounds and smells as I traveled on this adventure with Eva and Gabriel. I look forward to seeing where this journey goes in the next installment.

So Marigny Street tells the tale of Eva, who is a young woman who through circumstance has all but given up living her life. There are moments of reminiscing of an earlier, more innocent time when Eva was a young girl spending time with her Mere and Poppa. These moments explain some of the mystique of the New Orleans world and the power of dreams and believing.

Eva meets Gabriel, and their time together is intense due to their connections and their love for each other. The emotion that comes through each interaction has you feeling like a fly on the wall.

The premise of the story and the delivery contain all of those elements that made me fall in love with reading in the first place. The opportunity for my imagination to take me along the same pathway as the characters. However, I did feel like I was trying to second guess or make assumptions about situations because to me, there were some gaps in the back story that left me struggling to conceptualize the elements that were unfolding. That said, it did not impact on the story and the emotions it evoked.

This story ended in a way I certainly did not predict, I liked that I was surprised to the end. Thank you Annie Rose Welch for taking me on a very vivid journey, I can still visualise being serenaded by the saxophone on the street car and dancing among the fireflies.

I am giving Marigny Street 4 ½ hearts.

Meet the Author

Born and raised in New Orleans, Annie has a habit of shortening her words and telling long stories. She speaks with a southern flair and cooks with it too. At the tender age of twenty- one, she hitched up her wagons (took her first plane ride) and moved out west to the big shake (California). Her writing career began one sleepless night when she imagined a gorgeous woman and a man with maniacal hair floating above her like lightening bugs falling from the sky. Curious about them, their story, and why they were floating around in her head, she sat down and penned (typed) her first novel, Marigny Street. A dream come true for her, she hasn’t stopped writing since. She loves a damn good love story, always has, no matter what the genre. She is particularly moved by imperfect love that in its own unique way is perfect, the notion of love at first sight, soul mates, and things that are generally out of the norm. When she’s not writing she enjoys dabbling in photography and finding new, inspirational music to add to her collection. She currently (still) resides in the big shake (although her southern roots are calling her home) with her husband, daughter, and their two peculiar dogs, Boudreaux and Tabasco (who, call her crazy, bark with an accent).