When Soren Jarell is magically whisked away from her life of distress in a dimension overrun by monsters she thinks her problems are over, but the struggles of office romance and trying to fit in with her strange new surroundings are only made harder by her home world trying to drag her back in. To make matters worse she appears to be in a long-standing fight each time she returns.
When Soren Jarell is magically whisked away from her life of distress in a dimension overrun by monsters she thinks her problems are over, but the struggles of office romance and trying to fit in with her strange new surroundings are only made harder by her home world trying to drag her back in. To make matters worse she appears to be in a long-standing fight each time she returns.
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Soren's P.O.V.Â
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Dimensions 2400Â
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Fall, 2023Â
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I feel like a fool. For as long as I can remember, the world has been a pretty shaken-up place. I can't even think of the last time I saw the stars in the sky. And the only amount of love I could give is for one person. The very person who said it was probably best to leave our home. My eyes darted over to the tall, black ruffled-haired man, with beige skin and brown eyes as he eyed the city. Â
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I wonder if he feels regret or anger. He was right in the end but chose to stay with me. He's probably questioning his current choices, to stay or to go. "I'm going to get more firewood." The man I knew, as Ulises said. I nodded. Â
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"Okay, I will secure our tent." He nodded before picking up his backpack and leaving. The moment he did, I took a breath. Â
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It's been seventeen years since the monsters came to Sven. They destroyed our people and town faster than many expected. I expected zombies to cause an apocalypse, not monsters. Â
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It was unexpected. Â
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I stared at my sword. The first gift I got from Ulises. Before the apocalypse, his father collected anything from swords to knives. Whatever suited his fancy. And for him to suddenly give me one of the few things he had left of his father made me feel even more grateful for him. Â
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I walked over to our tent and tightened up the ropes. It would be bad to lose the tent like last time. I went back to the fire and sat in front of it. I wish things were back to normal. But who is to say I would have met Ulises? Honestly, if things had never changed nearly two decades ago, I would have probably worked an ordinary office job. I leaned on my hand. An office job honestly doesn't sound as bad as living in a futuristic dystopia. I chuckled to myself. At least Ulises and I would be in a safer position than now. Â
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Two Hours LaterÂ
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Smoke filled my nose, causing me to sit up. I brushed the dirt off of me and looked at the fire. It went out. I looked around to see our camp was empty. Ulises is not here. I stood up. My heart raced while my thoughts ran back and forth in my mind. Did he get hurt? I grabbed my bag and sword before making my way in the direction he went. I looked in our usual areas to see it empty. I looked in the city's direction. Did he go to the city? I took a step and saw his jacket. My eyes looked in the direction ahead to see some more of his things. My breathing hitched. Did something drag him to the city? I ran in its direction. Halfway down the path, I stopped. Â
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The odor of death filled my nose, nearly causing me to throw up. It's sweet, yet the worst thing I've ever smelled. I looked around. As I turned to the right I stopped. I saw a tall black-haired man dressed in the same clothing as Ulises. I felt my breathing hitch. It must have been him. I ran to him and the moment I did I fell to my knees. "Ulises" I shook him. "Ulises, wake up."Â Â
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Please UlisesÂ
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Please don't leave meÂ
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Did I not love you enoughÂ
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 to keep you safeÂ
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If I did I would have Â
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done everything I could to Â
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have kept you safeÂ
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The gray clouds rolled over and spewed their rain. I quickly scrambled. Ulises is getting soaked, and I have nothing to cover him up with. I looked at myself. My jacket can help. I took it off and covered him. In seconds I felt the feeling of something sharp poking my back. I turned my head slightly over my shoulder and from the corner of my eye saw a tall, muscular man with warm beige skin, gray eyes, medium-length gray hair, and taped glasses. In the man’s hands was Ulises’ sword. Â
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I felt my body begin to shake in anger and heartache. This man must have been the one who did this to him. I grabbed the handle of my sword. Â
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Ulises, I will get you your peace. Â
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I glared at the gray-haired man. The moment he made eye contact with me, I rushed away from him before turning around and charging at him. He dodged my coming hit. I turned around and swung, only to trip and fall into a puddle of water. Â
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I quickly looked up but froze at what I saw ahead of me. The broken dystopia I once remembered seeing looked different. It was almost as if I was looking at something I always saw in books. A place with no pain not hurt. Instead, it's full of life. A fixed-up city. Something I always remembered our town looked like years ago. In seconds, an average-height man, a muscular built man with beige skin, short ruffled black hair, and brown eyes dressed in a suit caught my attention. My eyes widened.Â
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"Ulises" Something covered me, stopping the rain from soaking me even more. Â
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"Are you okay?" I looked behind me to see a tall, triangle-figured woman with an espresso brown skin tone, light brown eyes, bobbed deep brunette hair, and dressed in a brown pantsuit. "You suddenly fell out of nowhere." I looked ahead to see if I could find Ulises once more but he was gone.Â
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What's going on? Â
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I could have sworn Ulises was deadÂ
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"Are you dehydrated? I believe I have a bottle of water somewhere in here." I looked back at the woman to see her digging in her purse.Â
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With the buildings, Ulises being alive, and this woman's clothing in front of me....Â
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"Did I travel to a different dimension or something?" The woman looked back at me with confusion.Â
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"Huh?"Â Â
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"What year is it?" I asked.Â
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"It's 2023." My eyes widened. I'm in the same year, but something isn't right. I stood up and looked around again. What's happening? The woman handed me a water bottle. "I know. The year has passed by so fast. One moment it's New Year's and now it's suddenly November."Â
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How is it 2023?!?Â
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Over the Clouds is a contemporary slice-of-life fantasy romance about Soren Jarell, a woman who was sent to a different dimension after witnessing a close friend get murdered. Most mysterious of all, the person she saw kill him, Dakota Onio, thinks she's an entirely different person and seemingly knows nothing about the murder. To lower suspicion and keep from revealing the truth about her identity, she agreed to be his roommate and got a job at the same company as him. Now, Soren has to battle with her morals over killing Dakota and avenging her ally or having mercy on the man she's learning may not be as bad as she first thought.
Or at least, that was what the story set itself up to be about in the beginning. After the first few chapters establish Soren's reason for being in the new dimension and wanting to kill Dakota, the action and fantasy aspects take a backseat to office drama and the slow-burn romance between them. As a result, it feels disjointed from the rest of the story when we get snippets of Soren getting pulled into the other dimension where she's facing danger or trying to survive.
While I love slice-of-life stories, it failed to keep my attention for long because I hadn't been expecting this to be one. There were periods when the plot didn't seem to be progressing beyond the romance and office drama, which may put off readers who expected more of an action-packed fantasy read. But, for those more interested in the romance aspect, the progression was very sweet and satisfying. The author noted at the end of the book that she intended for the story to be more action-oriented, but it came more naturally when she wrote it as a slice-of-life instead. I respect the decision, but I wish the beginning of the book had been edited or re-written to set the reader's expectations more accurately.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes sweet romances, office drama, and interesting interpersonal conflicts.