**(Mind Blown) ** Please give me a few moments to re-assemble my thoughts within my brain.  (1, 2, 3…10).

Ok, I think I’m good now. Have you ever experienced that feeling of complete weightlessness, like every bit of air in your lungs has left them leaving you suspended in time? That feeling of floating, not knowing where your next breath is coming from and all time stands still? Yep, I didn’t think I’d ever experience that in my lifetime either, however, following Seven Minutes ‘till Midnight that’s how I felt. I, very cautiously put my kindle down (despite me wanting to throw it repeatedly) and just absorbed everything I have read. OMG, y’all, this book is EVERYTHING!!

I never knew that I needed a ‘Troy’ in my life, but I immediately want to put my order in for one of my very own. From his tri-colored dreads to his passion in playing the drums, I need everything about this man! (🙋🏻‍♀️Have you seen the cover model? Anybody have a name for that man with gorgeous eyes?👀)

Troy Armstrong is a mountain of man. He is tortured yet is epically sweet with a beautiful soul. There is so much understanding and love behind the intensity of those safari green eyes. Eyes that are luminescent and make a person feel as if he is probing your soul. Troy is kind and dedicated about his endeavors. One of which is his drumming.

Aishe Xodyar is a mid-20’s gypsy girl, who was the ‘merch girl’ for Clown Irruption the previous summer and has made friends with the band and their wives/girlfriends. She is a spitfire and will dole out the verbal lashings and comebacks before you can blink. Despite being this outgoing girl with a fiery personality, she isn’t very keen on having the attention on her. Aishe has left her gypsy family to come to America. She believes in her gypsy heritage and customs immensely and hopes that she has outrun some of them in the US. (This becomes an important concept between Aishe and Troy).

‘Troy is the air I breathe and the godd*amn devil I want to stomp out like a cigarette under my shoe.’

I am always in awe at the worlds and storylines that Sunniva creates. She has a way of creating deeply thought out fictional stories that suck you in. I don’t know how she does it, but it is a breath of fresh air. Her ability to create characters that are rich, full-bodied and in tune with multiple cultural/social/ethnic diversities is stunning and completely out of this world. I always leave learning a little bit more about our world!

“‘Drago Fuoc.” I breathe my people’s fear out in a shudder. “Different clans have different names for it, but this is ours. It’s our Romani name for the love fire.'”

“‘What you call ‘love fire’ I would call ‘heartbreak'”.

Here’s the difference between a Sunniva book and others. A good book sucks you into that fantasy world, making you a part of it instead of a spectator. An excellent book not only sucks you into the story and makes you a part of this experience, it also leaves you learning a thing or two and truly thinking about sociological issues with society.  Ms. Dee has taken this concept and upped it by 20 times. Her storylines are that good!!

Sunniva is not only a ‘thinking’ author with storylines to match, but her technical writing is on point. Throughout her books, she fully embraces her characters and their back story. She is completely thorough, and it shows that she has researched whatever character has as a job, beliefs or customs, both national and internationally. As a former percussionist, I appreciated reading about flam-taps to triplets to single and double paradiddles! It brings back my playing days and I fully drummed along with Troy and I could empathize with his need to drum along his thigh, table or chair. That was me too. It still is. Y’all should see me driving while drumming my fingers.

Now, without a doubt, hands down, do yourself a favor and pick up any of Sunniva Dee’s books, especially ‘Seven Minutes ‘till Midnight’. She will leave you aching, blown away and yearning for more. Sunniva is a Mistress of Words and a genius with her writing. She is a profound, technical professional in assembling these thoughts, concept and beliefs into an extraordinarily well-read book.
👍👍👍👍 and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Moixcha. Is that what he said? Troy called me “forever love”.