Book Review: Death’s Dream Kingdom by Jessica Penot

Review: Death’s Dream Kingdom
Series: –
Author: Jessica Penot
No of Pages: Ebook
Release Date: Published May 1st 2011

Synopsis:

Death’s Dream Kingdom is the story of a woman who is ordinary in every
way. She’s an average mother and wife and is happy living every day mired in the
ins and outs of the mundane, until she is murdered. After her death, Cera finds
herself lost in a nether land somewhere between life and death where demons,
ghosts, and old gods roam the streets preying on the living. In this strange
world, Cera is told that she is everything but ordinary. In death, she alone can
help heal the rift between worlds and help bridge the gap between life and
death. Caught somewhere between her desire to live again and the desire to find
heaven, Cera fights those that would pull her into the politics of the
netherworld. But the will of the Fates is stronger than Cera’s will and Cera
quickly finds herself pulled into a quest that will drag her to hell and back
and into the arms of an ancient demon lover. She will find that she is a child a
Fate and that she alone can challenge Death himself for dominion over his
kingdom.

Excerpt:

Remembering your death is like remembering your birth. What you remember of it is really pieces of what others have told you. They are images pieced together from photographs and others’ memories. Cera remembered her death like an old movie. She remembered the dark sky and soft clouds. She remembered the scent of lavender and green grass.

Cera was happy. She thought she was happy. She knew that she was loved. She had children. She had three beautiful boys who loved her as deeply as she loved them. Long after her death she could still see them in her mind’s eye; their cherubic faces, their little feet. She could smell their breath as they kissed her. When she thought about it, the pain became as tangible as any pain in life. It was as real as the pain of child birth. It was as real as the pain of death.

Cera was running. She always went running in the evenings, after the children went to bed. She loved to run around the park. Cera went out running in the moonlight, listening to the sound of her own tortured breath. She ran over soft grass and cobblestone, counting her miles. She must have been lost in the rhythm of her own motion, because she never saw him coming. She never saw the man that slit her throat as easily as she buttered bread. She didn’t see the delight he took in the motion or the smile on his face when her body fell at his feet. All these things were lost to her.

My thoughts:

It’s funny, I just read and loved Jessica Penot’s Twilight Saint and now I can say the same for Deaths’ Dream Kingdom. It’s a very intriguing book that literally keeps you guessing, which honestly is great for me because I can not stand it when I know at page two what is going to happen at the end!

I’ve also been reading a bit of mythology and you’ll find that in here also but it never weighs the book down, it adds to the information in the book and there is a lot! At times it is a little much with the information and you may find yourself waning, just keep with the story, it always comes back!

Cera, one of the main characters is very interesting. The only thing I didn’t much like was at the beginning when she starts questioning everything. After living a life full of following you would think it would take her a little while to come to terms with her death. But she takes the bull by the horns and does anything and everything she can to figure out what is in store for her. And of course I guess this does make sense after figuring out that your God isn’t really there for you and that the pearly gates of heaven and all that jazz isn’t what you are going to get. Cera really comes together for me about halfway through and her decision making starts to make more sense.

Arawyn and Cin probably take the favorite character awards. Cin is so devilish, you just can’t figure out if she’s out for her own skin or if she has some goodness in her. Arawyn… well! He’s Arawyn! Handsome and also devilish, but yummy!!

Plot overall was really good. Ups and downs here and there, some slow parts but totally worth getting to the end. Love the mythology and the settings!! The way Jessica Penot writes is definitely out of the box.

And that cover!! Beautiful!

About the author:

I am a therapist and writer who lives in Alabama with my three corgis, children, husband, and other strange creatures. My short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies including CSM, Summer Gothic, Bound By Blood, and Outer Darkness. I have ghost story columns in theValley Planet and White Cat Magazine where I share my love for ghost stories that send shivers down your spine and keep you up at night. I also share my passion for all things ghostly and haunted at my blog, ghost stories and haunted places.

I am currently working on my next Haunted America Book for History Press, Haunted South Alabama. Follow me at my blog to learn about the ghost stories I am chasing and collecting for this fascinating addition to Haunted America. I’m also workng on the next book in my Circe series. The demon is awake and waiting for my new heroine in the swamps of Southern Alabama. Click Here to Follow My Blog!

You can contact me at jessica.penot@gmail.com

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