Dissolve Blog Tour

We are hosting the Dissolve Online Tour presented by Innovative Online Book Tours today. Author Andrea Heltsley is sharing an excerpt with everyone and our review is below.

Blurb: Everything seemed to be going right for Cora. She had a wonderful fiance, a great best friend and a fulfilling life. One day, a tragic event causes that life to crumble around her. She turns to her best friend in her time of need. They embark on a search for answers, delving deeper into a web of magic and destruction. The closer they get to the truth, the more questions they have. To Cora, magic was the stuff of fairy tales. Immersed into a very different kind of world, the real storm was just beginning to take hold.

“It felt like I was nowhere yet everywhere all at once. I was invisible and completely panicked. The millions of pieces I had dissolved to drift on the breeze and away from my nightmares. It was kind of like floating weightless in a pool, perfectly relaxing. The warm breeze from the window embraced and soothed me. I let the air current carry me as far as it could through the summer city.”

“Defeated, I closed my eyes and took a few calming breaths trying to relax myself. I pictured the dandelion in the park today and took a deep breath as to blow the fluffy seeds in all directions. I pretended I was light and fluffy and started to feel a tingling in my body. I began to feel as light as the dandelion seeds and soon I felt like mist floating. This time, I tried to keep myself in the room, swirling in a humid block.”



An excerpt from Dissolve: 

I rushed into the front room only to find the nightmare playing out just like in my dream. Soon it was all a blur and I felt as if I was coming apart at the seams. I felt light, weightless. I saw myself mist into a million particles before I dissolved. 

It felt like I was nowhere yet everywhere all at once. I was invisible and completely panicked. The millions of pieces I had dissolved into drifted on the breeze and away from my nightmares. It was kind of like floating weightless in a pool, perfectly relaxing. The warm breeze from the window embraced and soothed me. I let the air current carry me as far as it could through the summer city.

I just floated through the air as my frayed nerves softened and the edge of panic subsided. I felt so at peace and relaxed. I eventually made my way to Water Street and then I tried to force myself into Nessa’s building. My particles seeped at the seams of the door all around, splitting.

Once inside, the air died and my particles began to form again. In a matter of seconds, I swirled into my human form. Naked and freaked, I looked up to see Nessa witnessing the whole thing with her jaw dropped. The coffee mug she had been holding fell to the floor and shattered on the cherry wood. We stood like that for several seconds before I broke out of my own shock.

“I could really use some clothes, Nessa. This is kind of awkward,” I admitted, trying to shake her out of her shocked trance.

She snapped her jaw shut and left the room in silence. Just as quickly, she returned and tossed me a fluffy, white bath robe. The shock in her eyes had yet to dissipate and I wasn’t sure I could blame her. I was still in a state of shock myself. I wasted no time wrapping myself in the bath robe and having a seat on her brown leather couch.

Nessa stood there for several seconds before breaking out of it and joining me on the couch. I threw my arms around her and the tears began to flow without regard.

“Please tell me that was a figment of my imagination,” Nessa said.

About the author: I am a biology nerd who loves reading just about anything paranormal and some chick lit. I enjoy sunshine and my two Italian greyhounds with my husband. I always write to music, it helps the creative process. Dissolve is my first novel. I have been writing ever since I was in grade school and have finally decided to make a career out of it. More books to come summer 2012 and 2013. 

Author links: Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Email 

Our review:

Dissolve was an interesting read. This title falls into the upper YA or mature YA genre. Cora is the main character, a young woman who is planning her wedding to fiance Tom (and it's his mother who is really planning their wedding). Nessa is Cora's best friend, the type of friend any girl would love to call her bestie. When the story opens Cora is drunk and goes into the establishment's restroom where she sits on the floor of the stall. Anyone who uses a public restroom knows this is a definite and disgusting no-no and I couldn't believe Cora did this. Always the dependent friend, Nessa comes in and gets Cora home so she can sleep it off.

Then there's a tragedy and Cora and Nessa have to embark on an unplanned trip to not deal with the police. On their road trip they discover they have 'superpowers' and meet others who also have powers of their own. As I said, Dissolve was certainly a different take on the paranormal. I wasn't crazy about Cora's voice at times, her immaturity, and some of the the decisions she made. I found her lacking emotion in pivotal scenes and could not connect with her. I enjoyed the friendship between the two friends, despite occasional dialogue sounding unreal. The author's writing style was easy to read but at times I found it uneven with some scenes missing key information or others having too much information. The pace was fast which kept me reading and wondering who the bad guy was. Still, for a debut novel, Ms. Heltsley has created a YA novel with an intriguing storyline and I wonder what the rest of this series will hold.

Rating: 3 stars

Cover comment: Very attractive cover, love the colors and the model who's supposed to be Cora.

Book source: Received from the author for my honest review posted during a book tour.