Title: Does Lightning Strike Twice?
Author: Regina Price
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1728317533
Pages: 162
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Hollywood Book Reviews
What happens when fantasy becomes reality? It all started with a recurring dream that Molly couldn’t shake. One about Sylvester Stallone that was honestly too good to be true. Some advice from her therapist later and she makes the impulsive decision to leave everything behind, to trade her life as wife and mother for an adventure in California to track down the legendary actor. Little does she know that not only would she befriend one famous man, but two and would become swept into her own action-adventure that will change everything about how she views her own life.
The story has several fun elements to it by blending humor, relationships, and action for a truly unique tale of self-discovery. Molly’s just a normal person: a mom of four hockey player sons and wife to Dash. She has a support system which includes her closest friend Barb, who is a nonjudgmental ear that she can share her fantasies with. Her routine is set in its ways with only one change: a recurring dream about Sylvester Stallone. Molly has felt confined in her life and following her therapist’s suggestion about finding freedom, she takes the literal approach by shucking her life and embarking on a spur of the moment adventure to California in search of Stallone. She’s literally seeking out her fantasy, an attempt to shake up her life. Her marriage is typical with ups and downs, and a blasé way that shows she’s not fully content in her life. Her husband is no longer her dream man instead that role has been taken by Stallone who is a muscular action movie star that sweeps her into this grander life.
Does Lightning Strike Twice? has a wonderful sense of humor and a light tone that is derived from Molly’s personality which is larger than life and idealistic. She’s taking charge and the events unfold in a fun and insane way which makes the story a delightful and quick-paced read. The world around her is created through her dream, antics, and dialogue to create humor and fantasy that twists her life. She makes her dreams come to true through crazy and humorous turn of events which brings her face to face with Stallone. The story gives a unique and almost whimsical view of Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which shows them as real people among this larger world of Hollywood. The characters of Stallone and Arnold are zany and humorous, adding to the tone of the story and creating a new support system. In honor of the famous names, the story takes an action movie twist when she’s kidnapped and rescued in this brazen, surprising way that helps put her life and marriage into focus. The story transitions from her mundane life in the beginning to the new life she builds, taking her from life as a mom, to this incredible journey where she’s writing, hanging out with celebrities, and finding the freedom to see who she is as an individual.
The story strikes a balance between her fantasy and her reality with the two merging when she chooses to make her fantasy come to life and change her reality. This thrill for taking charge of her own story is seen through her mindset as a writer, and how she stands up for her story and uses her protagonist in a way similar to a mentor for how to live. As the story progresses, she takes on a more carefree spirit and personality as she reinvents herself as she’s drawn her back into a new reality and also showing her what she really wants in a man by twisting her dream man. Does Lightning Strike Twice? is humorous, lighthearted, action-packed, and a delightful adventure from beginning to end.