August Prather is Not Dead Yet
Danielle Roux
Publication date: August 7th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, New Adult, Romance
Katherine Garnet is a writer who has never cared much about much, making it awfully difficult to create new content. Despite the fact she has the “edge” of being trans (according to her cis male editor) she is not looking to capitalize on her own personal story. Garnet tries to sneak a peek at her rival, August Prather’s, latest fantasy manuscript about a quest for the elixir of life. While reading, Garnet gets accidentally dragged into a bizarre cross-country road trip that may or may not have a purpose and begins to see parallels in the story of the manuscript and the reality of their journey. Along the way, they encounter a parade of equally troubled individuals, including ghost-hunting priests, a robot magician, a discarded piece of furniture, a runaway teenager, and a Japanese rock star. As Garnet confronts her past, she begins to understand why someone might want to live forever.
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Author Bio:
Danielle K. Roux is a writer, teacher, and historian. Her first novel August Prather is Not Dead Yet is currently available in e-book and paperback through Parliament House Press (and soon will be available in hardcover and audio book). Danielle has always loved reading and telling stories – especially stories with adventure, mystery, humor, romance and at least a little bit of spookiness. Not Dead Yet has all this covered, with a story-within-a-story structure and a quest for immortality in the early twentieth century paired with a present-day road trip. There’s a lot of existential crisis and a male/male romance that is sweet and steamy.
Danielle has been writing fiction since she was nine, after getting tired of reading from the perspective of white, straight male characters in fantasy novels. Her first written story involved a group of middle school girls who find necklaces used by a dead witch that give them supernatural powers. It was written in notebooks in purple and green gel pens that are currently housed in a box in her linen closet. She is inspired by travelling to new places and reading about the stories tied to landscapes. She has at least three novels building in her brain (or wherever novels come from) and wishes she was writing them all right now.
Danielle lives with her wife and two orange cats in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has added a lot of young adult fantasy fiction to her bookshelves recently, and regrets nothing. Her dream library would be accessed through a secret door and look something like the library in the animated Disney Beauty and the Beast, although it would also have a cute barista or sentient coffee machine that once was said barista.
When she isn’t writing or thinking about writing, Danielle is building houses in the Sims, listening to podcasts, or taking Buzzfeed quizzes to find out what kind of tree she is based on her hair color. She has recently been watching lots of old BBC period pieces, and some of them are good. She has begun to drink Diet Coke and is worried this might be a real problem. Coffee and tea are still her primary beverages of choice.
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GIVEAWAY!
Rating: 4 stars
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*
When author Kate Garnet unintentionally joins fellow author and rival August Prather and her friends on a mysterious road-trip she finds herself on a wonderfully, crazy journey of a lifetime.
What I enjoyed most about this novel was the diversity and richness of the characters. All of them had traits to like, dislike and that made them really leap out of the pages and feel alive. You could really connect with them and their experiences, and getting to know each one of them was a delightful journey in itself.
Speaking of journeys, I really enjoyed the exciting and sometimes insane road-tip that August and her friends took, and especially the sometimes random and strange ‘passengers’ they encountered on their way. All of which were cleverly linked into the story and had a part to play.
The only thing for me as the ending fell a bit flat. I can see what the author was trying to do but I would like liked perhaps for something more for these wonderful characters that I had come to love so much throughout the novel. This may have been just me and I certainly recommend you checking out this unique, fun and at times poignant read.
Shari Sakurai 
A sentient coffee machine that was once a barista, love it! Garnet sounds like an interesting character, and Danielle sounds like an interesting real-life person.
Great review, Shari! This sounds really unique and well written overall! Glad you liked it! 🙂