Keta Diablo is a multi-published author of paranormal,
historical and occasionally gay fiction (paranormal). In 2009, her erotic
romance Decadent Deceptions was a
finalist in the RWA Molly contest. In 2010, Keta's entry Phoenix Rising finaled in the Scarlet Boa contest and in 2011
Keta's acclaimed paranormal shifter, Where
The Rain is Made, was nominated by Authors After Dark for a BOOKIE AWARD
AND by Deep In The Heart of Romance for BEST ROMANCE OF THE YEAR. In 2014 Sky Tinted Water was nominated for a
Rone Award.
Many of her books, including her gay fiction series CROSSROADS have won numerous awards: Top Reviewer's Pick, Recommended Read and Best Book of the Month.
Many of her books, including her gay fiction series CROSSROADS have won numerous awards: Top Reviewer's Pick, Recommended Read and Best Book of the Month.
About Chasing the Dead
Madrid Arrende is a young woman of Mexican descent who has
inherited her mother’s abilities to communicate with the dead. She’s beautiful
and feisty, set to inherit the large prosperous ranch which her father has
built up from nothing. She is engaged to marry a weak and pasty town boy, but
has known love and lust in the past, thanks to a rugged cowboy named Deacon
Bannister. A woman with her fire and her future needs a Deacon Bannister by her
side; we all know this. But how will they come together?
Chasing the Dead
gave me everything I have come to expect from a good western romance: strong,
likeable heroines, desert sunsets and palpable settings I could lose myself in,
and Most Important Of All, that dreamy lustable male character. Deacon is
everything a western hero should be: strong, manly, outdoorsy (he breaks
horses), rugged, stubborn, insanely
handsome, and ever so swoonfully dedicated to the one love of his life. (Of
course, in real life, who could live with a man like this? BUT, that’s why we
have book boyfriends. They stay in their books where they belong, forever hot,
twenty-something, and forever the ardent lover.)
Now for the rest of the story. I was a little unsure of the ‘communicating
with spirits’ bit, but this was very well done. The spirits were sit within the
context of Native American beliefs. I am far from an expert in this culture,
but knowing Ms Diablo, she will have done her background research and traditional
customs will have been drawn on. The Spanish certainly was spot on, except for
one instance where it stood out like a sore thumb - and then I realised that a
gringo was speaking, and it made me laugh instead.
I loved that the main character came from a Mexican
background. I liked reading about a heroine whose skin was not alabaster. She
spoke a lot of Spanish and her home had a very strong Catholic influence. It
was very substantial, and believable.
There were other likeable characters too. Deacon’s brother
and the Apache girl who Madrid becomes friends with are both strong, three
dimensional characters with their own back stories and their own motivations.
The story arc is nicely done, and I would expect nothing
less from Ms Diablo. Her character introduction is splendid, and the story
builds with the usual crests to the climax, and a well-earned happily ever
after.
All in all, there is very little that is new here, which
fans of this genre will be relieved to hear. Ms Diablo has kept the romance
bones in the usual order- ankle connected to shin then knee etc etc - and
fleshed them out with an Apache / Mexican / Cowboy overlay. Which I really
like. The paranormal thread sews all three together very nicely, and not too weirdly, which I can’t handle (I’m
not much into zombies and everyone turning into werewolves). The finished story is the one we all demand -
of love, lust, romance, strength and individuality - whilst also giving us a
beautiful underlying story of ethnic co-existence and co-dependence.
And that’s the story I really appreciated here.
Read about Chasing the Dead on Goodreads here
Buy it for $3.51 here on Amazon
Read more about Keta and her books on her website
Connect with Keta via Twitter here
No comments:
Post a Comment