Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
One wouldn’t expect to find magic and evil in a rural Pennsylvania town, but that’s just what Cole discovers in his attempt to find a nice, quiet place to write his novel. After years apart, Cole’s childhood friends, disciples, and first loves return to him from brilliant lives that each took sudden turns for the worse. Cole is torn between the joy of being reunited with his lovers and the frightening possibility that he may have inadvertently caused their misfortune. If the friends cannot escape the machinations of the sinister wizard dwelling at the center of it all, none of them may live to find out. Cole’s only hope is to sacrifice himself, or risk losing them once again.

BOOK REVIEW:
“Coal to Diamonds” by Augusta Li is an enjoyable paranormal story. The characters are interesting and complex, the situation fraught with danger and hot sex, and the writing seemed top notch.

There are three main characters in this tale, and each comes with a thorny history, conflicting desires, and ever-shifting feelings that make them seem like authentic and real people. Each character seems to represent a facet of Gay community ~ the recovering crystal meth hustler, the outed married man, and the less attractive, insecure man. Yet, within each of these ‘facets’, growth and healing occurs. The only way the three men can overcome the danger and threat in their lives is to work together, unified in mind, body and spirit.

The milieu of this story is a good one. The three men are together in the woods being attacked by an ex-lover of all three who has frightening powers to destroy. As the men work to protect themselves and to neutralize this ex-lover, they learn more about each other and their relationship. The environment is used effectively to evoke fear and danger. When the action moves from the woods to a house, it is appropriately an old Victorian house that feels just as dangerous as the woods. I especially enjoyed the moment when one of the characters is experiencing horror and yet could sense outside the house where children were playing oblivious to what was happening. This was a delicious moment of juxtaposition ~ not surprising in a story that is told with a sure hand and a strong wit.

Also, the sex was really hot!

This is a well-written paranormal tale that will keep you turning pages to see what happens next.

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