Genre Fiction: Paranormal Romance.

Blurb “Hardworking nurse Simisola Oladeji is unlucky in love.
When reclusive billionaire Aiden Essien walks into her life, she knows there will be no future with him and even more so when she stumbles upon his bloodthirsty secret.
She is safer reuniting with her long-lost boyfriend Femi, surely?

Caught between the two, trouble is never far away as she discovers some disturbing truths about her past life. A dark force is rising, and the messy trio is going to have to fight, together, to save lives.”

Dialogue

Themes Love, Family, Sacrifice and Good vs Evil.

Editing Some errors.

Plot Simi, a 28-year-old nurse is focused on her job to the detriment of her relationships. She meets Aiden, a 30-year-old billionaire, who is inexplicably drawn to her. But Simi is cautious about getting involved with Aiden after her past experiences, and her ex, Femi who has just waltzed back into her life seems to be a safer choice.

All three characters turn out to be linked to one another and a secret in their previous lives that threatens to consume them all. To triumph, they have to put aside their differences and work together, but can they?

What worked? This book has been on our radar for some time now. Lady B was hesitant because it is paranormal and she doesn’t like fantasy or magical realism. If like Lady B, you don’t like fantasy or magical realism, you may find parts of the book difficult to digest but overall, it is not too heavy on the paranormal angle, and reading Guardian of the Fall by Umari Ayim in 2018 certainly helped to prepare us for what to expect.

Dawsk is a moderately paced book which is more about the protagonist, Simi trying to get on with her everyday life and less about a love story. If you like your love stories sappy and intense, this isn’t the book for you. The love story in Dawsk is more understated and mature which worked just fine for us.

Simisola and Femi are more believable as characters than Aiden. Aiden is too perfect, his one imperfection was out of his control, which made him a bit more difficult to relate to.

If you are looking for a good read this forced holiday period devoid of heavy themes and subtext, this book will work for you.

Lady B As someone who doesn’t usually read fantasy/magical realism, I enjoyed reading a romance story with a bit more complexity. I think Erhu did a good job tying all three characters to a common issue mid-way into the story.

Mo This is one of the better books we have read this year. The structure of the story is well thought out and engaged my interest. The book is dialogue driven so if the dialogue had been tighter, it would have been a really good read.

What didn’t work?

Lady B The end didn’t work for me. I think there should have been a better explanation for why the story ended the way it did.

Also, I thought the dialogue didn’t always ring true or flow naturally. Parts of the dialogue is stilted.

Mo The dialogue was the weakest link in the book. It seemed forced in parts. For instance, the conversations between Simi and Femi, especially when it was about Aiden.

Unlike Lady B, I read paranormal books and I thought the paranormal bit was not prominent. I was expecting a bit more than I got. I also think if Erhu had established what was at play in clearer terms at the beginning, it would have been easier to have a more believable explanation for the end.

I also didn’t like the damsel in distress vibe I got from Simi who seemed to keep getting into one scrape or another throughout the story.

Number of pages 190.

Publisher Love Africa Press.

Damage $2.72 on Kindle.

Rating 6.5/10.

Dawsk is available on Amazon and Kobo.