3 out of 4 stars
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Some books take you to another completely different, and sometimes amazing world. It’s like living another life; a well written book can make you feel like you lived in that world for a moment. The Engine Woman’s light, is a book written by Laurel Hill, set in the 19th century in her own version of California. This piece of work is amazingly written. Laurel did a pretty good job with this story.
It begins with an old woman, who is daring enough to escape with a child from a train that is headed for an asylum. Despite resistance from the nurse and intern who are in charge of the train, she’s witty enough to create a distraction that takes their attention away from her, and gives her just enough time to escape. What people don’t know is that she’s guided by her dead husband’s ghost. She struggles even through injuries to get Juanita Elise Jame-Navarro, whom she just found out is her great granddaughter, to safety.
Years later Juanita is a traveler of the mystic world. She has a loving foster family and friends, not forgetting her lover, who is very committed and devoted to her course. She connects and communicates with the shadow world. Her ancestors also communicate to her by possessing animals and objects; in some instances, they also possess her. She is later entrusted with a mission by a spirit to derail another asylum train; just like the one her great grandmother escaped from years ago to save her. She mission is difficult but Juanita’s confidence is kept high by assurance of guidance from Billy, a spirit who was a locomotive engineer. However, despite having guidance from Billy, the mission is a catastrophic fail. Juanita loses everything. She then meets another spirit who is a guide man, and calls himself that. The guide man helps and mentors Juanita, but never reveals his true identity. For Juanita to succeed, she has to learn to do certain things like being conniving, and learning how to kill. But will she?
Through some themes, Laurel brings out some social evils such as rape, oppression, harassment and abuse. I love Laurel’s writing but I thought some scenes, like those about Juanita’s love life, could have been written better. Sexual intimacy descriptions throughout the books with all the characters in general, were also not the best. They could be better.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, I think the sexual intimacy descriptions could be improved, and that this book is only meant for a mature audience. The plot is great; the story line is very captivating and I love Laurel’s writing style. I think this book is amazing. I’d recommend the book to those adventurous people who love works of fiction, with a setting that is way back in the 19th century. If you love a story about a brave heroin with supernatural abilities, you’ll love this book. However, if you don’t love adventure, this book is not the one for you.
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The Engine Woman's Light
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