Our Lives In Between Review

 

OUR LIVES IN BETWEEN

by Billie Kowalewski

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GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy

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BLURB:

It had been five years since the accident that derailed Veronica’s life, which left her suffering from a strange flu-like illness ever since. Thanks to a barrier set in her mind at birth, she can’t remember her name is Harmony and that this is not her real life. She has no memory of the many lives she had lived before this one and how several of those lives had been cut short. How she must uncover the reason why those lives had ended so early, and how this moment may hold the key, or she risks losing herself and Earth forever.

As Harmony, she wants to uncover the reason why her lives keep ending so soon. As Veronica, she wonders how much longer she has to live like this? What could possibly be left for her? Little did she know, she was about to get her answers...

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Excerpt

My world is your world—only you can’t remember any of it. A barrier exists between what you think is real and what you know to be. It had been put in place during the transition into the world you currently know and will be removed upon your return.

In other words, this is not your real life.

My name is Harmony, and I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am a student at the biggest, most famous school ever known. And so are you! It’s called Earth.

Yep. Earth is a school. Are you shocked? If you are, it’s okay. That is the most common and expected reaction to this news. I will give you a moment to let that sink in…

Just kidding! Based on the fact you’ve chosen to read this; I am going to bet that you’re a lot like me. You’re probably fine, and not shocked by this at all. If you do, however, find this news to be at all surprising, perhaps it would be best if you stopped here. This story may not be for everyone, and I am not looking to upset anyone’s beliefs. Our extreme diversity is an important part of what makes us who we are. So, this may be where we will agree to disagree and possibly part ways. Hopefully as friends.

For everyone else, I will move on.

Yes, life is about learning, and Earth is our school. I’m sure you have heard someone on Earth say this before. I know when I am there, I hear this often. Some people know, but it’s not because they remember it is. They know because people cannot get through a single day there without learning something, somehow. On Earth, learning is unavoidable.

Author Interview

If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be?

An old friend of mine from high school. I unfriended him on social media right after my mom died for a few reasons that I am not so sure anymore he deserved at the time. Hopefully he gives me the chance to apologize eventually.

If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?

Probably a dragon. I would love to train a baby dragon. I’ll bet that would be fun. I imagine it being Just like a cat but with flames to dodge and little fires to put out all the time.

How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

I write what makes me happy. That will always make the difference.

What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?

The worse was “remove the word THAT as much as possible.” THAT was dumb. The other was to read Save the Cat! Writes a novel. Lots of great advice in that book.

Are the experiences in this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I often toy with the idea that maybe the past lives in this story are my own and that perhaps they are memories. But they are not. I made it all up.

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Ornery Owl's Review

Rating:

Five out of Five Stars

This story is a hoot!

This book is well-written, fast-paced, clever, amusing, and lots of fun. The story is based on the premise that Earth is a classroom. In between lives, a soul named Harmony makes a bet with her fellow soul, Kaleb. Harmony believes if a soul concentrates hard enough on what they want to achieve on Earth, they can pull it through from the afterlife realm and make it happen. Kaleb is skeptical, so Harmony says she will concentrate on finding him during their forthcoming lives.

The life where Harmony meets her end by slipping in vomit and plunging from the deck of an ocean liner to her doom reminded me of Agrajag, the unfortunate character whom Arthur Dent keeps inadvertently killing in Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy. This author's style isn't as absurdist as Douglas Adams' was, but she still has a cheeky sense of humor that I appreciate. 

This book is suitable for all ages but will probably be best appreciated by teenagers and young adults. While I enjoyed the ride, as a nearly 60-year-old curmudgeon for whom school sucked like an industrial-strength vacuum extractor, I find the idea of being stuck in an eternal classroom insufferable. As someone who actually does consider reincarnation to be a possibility, I suppose I have to resign myself to suffering through school repeatedly during my youthful phases. However, I refuse to do so during my time between lives. I'll be cutting class!

This book is only 99 cents on Amazon? Hurry and grab your copy before the author comes to her senses and raises the price! I'm not joking. This is a real bargain for an enjoyable story that will make you laugh, think, and raise your spirits all at the same time. 

I can't give a higher score than five of five stars, but I give the author bonus points for having exceptional taste in music. If she were alive in the 1980s (heck, maybe she was) I believe she and I would have gotten along. However, she seems to be much more together than I ever was in the daze of my youth. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Billie Kowalewski grew up in a small town along the Connecticut shoreline. She’s always had a wild imagination and spent her childhood dreaming up stories. This would often lead her to the library or whatever bookstore where she would be combing the shelves for books that closely resembled what was in her head at the time. A lot of the time she would come close and would be satisfied with what she found. However, there was always this one story she could never find. It was in 2010 that she decided to write it herself. In whatever spare time she has left, she enjoys listening to pretty much anything that rocks, like 80's hair bands, metal, etc. She also has a gift for finding the strangest movies and shows ever (according to her children) and loves spending time with her family.

Links to Our Lives In Between:

iTunes: http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1212458275

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/our-lives-in-between

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143953733?ean=9781535604505

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=WMrREAAAQBAJ

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG3PFJKD

My Socials:

https://www.billiekowalewski.com

https://www.instagram.com/kowalewskibillie

https://www.youtube.com/@billiekowalewski9288

https://www.facebook.com/authorbilliek

https://www.facebook.com/enlightenedbookofficialpage

https://www.twitter.com/enlightened31

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/billie-kowalewski

https://www.goodreads.com/harmony31

https://www.tiktok.com/@billiekowalewski3

Buy the book for only $0.99 on Amazon.

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