BOOKS ‘N COZY SPOTS BOOK REVIEWS – Apollo’s Curse by Brad Vance

4 Stars!

Review of APOLLO’S CURSE, by Brad Vance

(received a copy from the author for review, but also purchased a copy from Amazon)
Review by Jaycee for BOOKS ‘N COZY SPOTS BOOK REVIEWS, www.Talonps.com
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All Dane Gale ever wanted was to be a successful writer. After a few sessions with his new friends Rose and Sherry at a romance book club, well, the more romances they read, the more they’re convinced they can do better. And do they ever! They join their creative forces to become “Pamela Clarice,” self-published romance novelist. When they look for a cover model for their first book, Dane sees the photos that will change his life.
Paul Musegetes is the world’s most popular romance cover model, and the most secretive. Dane soon finds himself obsessed with this supernaturally handsome man, and when he meets Paul at the Romance Writers’ Ball on the Summer Solstice, he and Paul connect for one night of passion…
After that night, Dane’s a writing machine. He can’t stop writing romances, and every story he touches turns to gold. But he also finds that he can’t write anything but romances. And soon he’s spending every waking moment of every day writing another after another…
Then Dane finds out that this Midas touch has a heavy price. When the year is over, he’ll never write again. Not a romance, not a serious novel. Nothing. Not even a grocery list. And that leaves him with only one option – find Paul, and get him to break the curse. But before he can do that, he’ll have to track down Paul’s equally mysterious photographer, Jackson da Vinci…
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I had a slow start with this book. Not because I didn’t like it; I knew I was going to like it just fine. I also knew, when it was all over, that I was going to have a difficult time writing the review. And here I sit, just as in English Comp classes of yore, praying for a way to analyze the author’s work in as intelligent a fashion as he wrote. If I get it wrong, as I did so often in school, just remember Mr. Vance (or should I say “Dane”): there is a magical Greek Isle out there where everyone gets it. You can return as often as need’s may…
Based in the world of “Dane”, a self-published author of serious fiction though dismal sales, “Apollo’s Curse” chronicles the course of said author “meeting” the Muse who inspires the romance author in him and who provides him that wild ride called success. Of course the ride (Muse), in this tale named “Paul”, is a hard taskmaster, and like so many success stories before him, the price Dane owes sees him facing the dreaded wall that stops the ride, steals the identity, and leaves a useless husk with no option but to walk off the end of the earth. Metaphorically speaking.
Hiding in plain sight is the romance disguised as merely a friend: “Jackson-don’t-call-me-Jack” is also a creative sort and he is facing his own creative wall, though he does seem to have better insight, at least into Dane, and an abundance of patience for Dane’s plight.
In a climactic “Come-to-Paul” moment, the Muse offers up the obvious to Dane: he can write the never-ending-story, or he can write the ending he wants. Of course, he scales the wall, finishes the story, gets the man, and lives to write another day. His way.
This is a really, really smart tale of the life, the highs, the lows and the potential life-traps of being an author. In a cunningly presented fictional romance and with terrific humor and supporting cast of friends and acquaintances, Mr. Vance has managed to pen a cautionary tale to writers, while hopefully giving astute readers some appreciation of the war between creative process and commercial success that is the life of an author.
So if I didn’t ‘get it’ as intended, Mr. Vance, perhaps I just visited a different Greek Isle. After all, art is very subjective, and the same story behind different sets of closed eyes has nuances that personalize it. At least a good story like this does…
…and THAT is how I got through English Comp!
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APOLLO’s CURSE also received the following ratings:

 

ROMANCE FACTOR ~ 2 Cozy hearts

TWIST FACTOR ~ Supernatural elements

TWISTER FACTOR ~ The Pursuit of Happiness