Review: Wrong Side of Forty (Marina at Midlife #1) by Jana DeLeon #PWF

For many, midlife is the beginning.

It was a day like any other day for Marina Trahan…until she caught her husband in bed with another woman. Before that eye-opening wake-up call, Marina would have described her life as average or uneventful, maybe even boring. But now, chaos and confusion reign supreme. She’d expected to slide through midlife with her unwanted extra pounds, chin hair, and hot flashes and move somewhat gracefully into elastic waist pants and having no verbal filter. But with a wayward husband, a high-maintenance daughter, a lackluster career, and a crazy mother all weighing her down, Marina is ready to wave the white flag of surrender.

Then an intriguing stranger named Alexios shows up out of nowhere and insists she is descended from a goddess and is the only person who can save the world from certain destruction. She has roughly a week to do it. Solving a centuries-old mystery seems like a more interesting proposition than the other situations Marina is facing, so she accepts his challenge. But her search for a magical item of power reveals far more about Marina than she ever knew. Maybe enough to save the world. And even herself.

What did I think?

A Good Story To Start This New Series

Jana DeLeon is a new-to-me author but as a woman in my late forties I liked the premise of this story.

I really liked the characters Jana created. Our protagonist, Marina exhibited all the personality traits that I love. She’s intelligent, resilient, self-reliant and has oodles of gumption. The supporting cast are a diverse group, showcasing lots of different characteristics. I loved reading about Marina’s midlife coming-of-age challenges and seeing her blossom in confidence.

Unfortunately, what didn’t sit as well was the paranormal aspect of the story. Which is completely unexpected as paranormal romance and urban fantasy are my favourite genres. However in this book it didn’t feel as well-written as the marriage break-up aspect. The time line, plot development, character interactions, magical mythos and final resolution felt jarring. Without the paranormal in this book, my rating would have been higher than the 3 stars I gave it on.

This is a good read and I did enjoy it. Plus no life-or-death perilous cliffhanger ending! WoopWoop! So, I’ll probably read book 2 at some point to find out how Marina copes as a divorcee.

About Jana DeLeon

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon was raised in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators. Her hometown is Carlyss, but you probably won't find it on a map. Her family owned a camp located on a bayou just off the Gulf of Mexico that you could only get there by boat. The most important feature was the rope hammock hanging in the shade on a huge deck that stretched out over the water where Jana spent many hours reading books.

Jana and her brother spent thousands of hours combing the bayous in a flat-bottom aluminium boat, studying the natural habitat of many birds, nutria and alligators. She would like you to know that no animals were injured during these "studies," but they kept makers of peroxide in business.

Jana has never stumbled across a mystery or a ghost-like her heroines, but she's still hopeful.

She now resides in Dallas, Texas, with the most spoiled Sheltie in the world.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my thoughts, I really appreciate it. I hope I’ve sparked enough interest that you’ll check it out for yourself. 😉

Before you go, find out why I love this genre so much and which bestselling authors are championing Paranormal Women’s Fiction.

Bye for now,

Flora x