PRE-RELEASE REVIEW: 'Heartifact' by Aisling Mancy - Benefit Release
Title: Heartifact
Author: Aisling Mancy
Cover Artist: Timmy Ashton
Published: November 24, 2016
Publisher: Men Over The Rainbow
Genre: Adventure Romance
Length: 88 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Thriller
BLURB: Harper Kidd is a highly respected marine archeologist. Yet, with the economy in a slump, he’s trapped working in an oil company’s exploration division. Now, at the ripe age of thirty, Harp is disgusted with his employer’s damage to the undersea world he loves, tired of his ATM-card-filching ex, and tormented by beautiful dreams of an undersea lover. It’s time for a change and when his best friend, Stick, pleads with him to assist on a deep-sea dig in the Mediterranean, he jumps at the chance.
Harper’s spirits are high when they discover the ruins of an ancient civilization, and soar to the heavens when they discover a statue of an ancient pelora, a mysterious hybrid creature said to mediate between the worlds of reality and fantasy—and the very lover who holds the starring role in his dreams.
When the crew discovers the site is teeming with unexploded ordnance from the conflicts in the Middle East, and the excavation turns deadly, Harper must choose between saving his best friend and the pelora he’s fallen in love with.
Releases November 24th!
Net proceeds benefit the The Trevor Project in the US,
4 HEART READ
REVIEW:
A Modern Odyssey
Like a riptide, Aisling Mancy's Heartifact sucked me in! I had to re-read this fast-paced thriller to review it critically. And it proved even better the second time around, watching how Mancy constructed the story.
Dr. Harper Kidd, a marine archaeologist, is to explore the wreckage of a ship, possibly from Alexander the Great's fleet. As he approaches the dive site, he experiences vivid dreams of sex with an ancient God.
Much like the epic Greek journey, our hero’s mettle must be tested. To help him is a Greek chorus of secondary personalities.
As Harper falls in love with his dream lover, he encounters unexploded ordinances, scary sea mammals, and an eerily "alive" ghost-stone. (Oh no!) But, as we know, Greek Gods are capricious creatures.
Since Harper is a scientist and his love object is mythical, this is more adventure story than romance or character study.
And it ends abruptly, leaving readers to question: What IS real and what is fantasy?
If this were a standalone, I might have wished for a few more ending paragraphs to clarify. But, could this be the beginning of a series (hope, hope?)
Here's a short list of admirable features: Mancy’s excellent pacing creates a “can't-put-it-down" read. The plot pits science against emotion, concluding people needn’t choose between them. And the sex scenes are as vivid as the archaeological dive.
Aisling Mancy makes his story come alive. The reader falls for the plot, just as Harper falls for his ancient God.
Heartifact is more than a good read, the proceeds benefit three good causes (Le refuge, France. Arcigay, Italy. The Trevor project, USA.) Give it a go!
A copy of Heartifact was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Aisling Mancy, in exchange for our fair and honest opinion.
HEARTIFACT IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
en français
Read Our Author Interview with Aisling, HERE
Ash is an author who lives, most of the time, on the West Coast of the United States. Ash writes adult fantasy, science fiction, adult romance, and fiction for gay young adults as C. Kennedy.
Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Ash doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Ash contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Ash can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much-maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary. Ash does respond to emails because, after all, it is all about you, the reader.
