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Enormous Forces
After four years in San Francisco, Leah lands back in Seattle in desperate need of a job. Broke and out of options, she jumps on board with a startup that caters to extreme sports junkies and seemingly has a bright future. But then the economy crashes, the company goes into a spin, and Leah’s future is in jeopardy yet again.
Meanwhile in a parallel universe, the Informant comes to life in Seattle in September 2008. She’s been sent there by the Order to protect her new boss, Alexander, and his nightclub, from the threat of an unnamed assassin. As the Informant grows closer to Alexander and he begins to trust her, she discovers the deeper layers of corruption that finance the club. But the biggest mystery still the fact that it’s impossible for her to remember her own past.
As Leah fights to keep her job at her new company, the Informant races against time to uncover the identity of the assassin, and how and where they will strike. But what neither knows is that whatever happens in one world affects the other, and there is no escape until the two—somehow—come together.
Lauren Sapala is the author of the West Coast Trilogy, encompassing Between the Shadow and Lo (Book One) , West Is San Francisco (Book Two) , and Enormous Forces (Book Three) . She also writes nonfiction books for writers and other creatives. For more info visit laurensapala.com.
Meanwhile in a parallel universe, the Informant comes to life in Seattle in September 2008. She’s been sent there by the Order to protect her new boss, Alexander, and his nightclub, from the threat of an unnamed assassin. As the Informant grows closer to Alexander and he begins to trust her, she discovers the deeper layers of corruption that finance the club. But the biggest mystery still the fact that it’s impossible for her to remember her own past.
As Leah fights to keep her job at her new company, the Informant races against time to uncover the identity of the assassin, and how and where they will strike. But what neither knows is that whatever happens in one world affects the other, and there is no escape until the two—somehow—come together.
Lauren Sapala is the author of the West Coast Trilogy, encompassing Between the Shadow and Lo (Book One) , West Is San Francisco (Book Two) , and Enormous Forces (Book Three) . She also writes nonfiction books for writers and other creatives. For more info visit laurensapala.com.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2023
4 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Sapala
14 books378 followersLauren Sapala is a writing coach who specializes in coaching introverted, intuitive writers. She founded the WriteCity writing groups in Seattle and San Francisco and currently blogs about writing and creativity at www.laurensapala.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 12, 2023
Beautiful end to the trilogy
I've read all three books, and this one was incredible (as were the others). A reminder that life lessons are imminent, and that turning our heads will only make us have to learn the same lesson over and over until we get it right😊 but that choosing love is always the biggest piece of the puzzle. Such a beautiful story! Thank you!
I've read all three books, and this one was incredible (as were the others). A reminder that life lessons are imminent, and that turning our heads will only make us have to learn the same lesson over and over until we get it right😊 but that choosing love is always the biggest piece of the puzzle. Such a beautiful story! Thank you!
February 6, 2026
This is the last in the auto fic series but each can be read standalone, each ft. life in a dif city for Leah. The first one was about her in Seattle dealing with her alcoholic alter ego Lo, the second being about her PI and writing job in San Fran (where the Red Queen of a writing guru she works for turns from strawberry sweet to raspberry bitter).
This one is different in that we have alternating POVs as Leah starting anew in Seattle, sober but no stranger to seasonal depression, and a French fedora-clad girl dubbed the Informant who seems to be a bit of a supernatural spy. This seems to be rather metaphorical though about accepting the multiverses your intuition opens up for you. The parallels of people grow stronger as the story goes on but still leaves you wondering how the heck it’ll sync when this is an office novel (if campus novels are á thing, I suppose those can be).
There’s more of Leah dealing with startup office politics in a GoPro-like business. The stress of coworkers being rudely vague (and vaguely rude) and catty. The backdrop of the 2008 recession/housing crisis. It’s more relatable than exciting, reminding me of business degree tech bros who were funnily chatty while the fashionable women were creepily two-faced.
Unique metaphors: “ the crowd crackled and buzzed, like a severed limb being barbecued, sizzling and popping on the spit.” “They were keys to locked boxes and the openings of new doors. With these words, we built a little campfire.” “This was her religion, and she had cut open the heretic who dared to question it.” “Her observational skill were as flawless as an insect preserved, for just as many centuries as her life was long, in an impregnable prison of amber.” “blade the color of silver rain sparkling in the sun.” “felt like my heart had lunged up into my mouth and broken there, and now it was leaking coldly down my throat.”
The dialogue is good, realistically awkward but hopeful. The hard conversation over Skype was fitting, giving her time to mull. Would have liked more about the BF in place of the refrain “we love each other but never spoke because of work,” some flashbacks, personality, what he took care of when she wasn’t there (money, fixing things, restocking items, cleaning, etc.?) to show slight affection above á roommate. More subtle backstory in gen of the MC like “Tennis bracelet they call that, I thought absurdly. My stepmother had had one. Simple but expensive. For some reason right now, the diamonds in Olivia’s bracelet had never looked more like cold chips of ice to me.”
Don’t have to wait too long for worlds to collide in some ways. Yet it keeps you guessing the whole time how this could be. The Cat Woman comparison, though I like (the dominatrix scene was really cool), it felt too on the nose when Leah said it aloud to her coworker about life in another universe unless we’re to believe this is her shadow work/fantasizing in traffic home from work when that sounds disputed. Same w/ coworkers besides Seb and Cat, some of their jokes or care or fights in scene to feel closer to them like Leah.
Leah really does earn her keep in every endeavor, which honestly is such á rarity in modern fiction full of whiney leeches. The intuitive seeing-small-metaphorical visions really lends itself to her INFJ personality books. I wanted more of that sprinkled in the book/workplace sooner if in á less strident way. There is á cute pretty end. This seems á deeply personal book so I’m glad the author was able to chug through on their time capsule project.
P.S. I didn’t know Seattle got so hot, lol.
This one is different in that we have alternating POVs as Leah starting anew in Seattle, sober but no stranger to seasonal depression, and a French fedora-clad girl dubbed the Informant who seems to be a bit of a supernatural spy. This seems to be rather metaphorical though about accepting the multiverses your intuition opens up for you. The parallels of people grow stronger as the story goes on but still leaves you wondering how the heck it’ll sync when this is an office novel (if campus novels are á thing, I suppose those can be).
There’s more of Leah dealing with startup office politics in a GoPro-like business. The stress of coworkers being rudely vague (and vaguely rude) and catty. The backdrop of the 2008 recession/housing crisis. It’s more relatable than exciting, reminding me of business degree tech bros who were funnily chatty while the fashionable women were creepily two-faced.
Unique metaphors: “ the crowd crackled and buzzed, like a severed limb being barbecued, sizzling and popping on the spit.” “They were keys to locked boxes and the openings of new doors. With these words, we built a little campfire.” “This was her religion, and she had cut open the heretic who dared to question it.” “Her observational skill were as flawless as an insect preserved, for just as many centuries as her life was long, in an impregnable prison of amber.” “blade the color of silver rain sparkling in the sun.” “felt like my heart had lunged up into my mouth and broken there, and now it was leaking coldly down my throat.”
The dialogue is good, realistically awkward but hopeful. The hard conversation over Skype was fitting, giving her time to mull. Would have liked more about the BF in place of the refrain “we love each other but never spoke because of work,” some flashbacks, personality, what he took care of when she wasn’t there (money, fixing things, restocking items, cleaning, etc.?) to show slight affection above á roommate. More subtle backstory in gen of the MC like “Tennis bracelet they call that, I thought absurdly. My stepmother had had one. Simple but expensive. For some reason right now, the diamonds in Olivia’s bracelet had never looked more like cold chips of ice to me.”
Don’t have to wait too long for worlds to collide in some ways. Yet it keeps you guessing the whole time how this could be. The Cat Woman comparison, though I like (the dominatrix scene was really cool), it felt too on the nose when Leah said it aloud to her coworker about life in another universe unless we’re to believe this is her shadow work/fantasizing in traffic home from work when that sounds disputed. Same w/ coworkers besides Seb and Cat, some of their jokes or care or fights in scene to feel closer to them like Leah.
Leah really does earn her keep in every endeavor, which honestly is such á rarity in modern fiction full of whiney leeches. The intuitive seeing-small-metaphorical visions really lends itself to her INFJ personality books. I wanted more of that sprinkled in the book/workplace sooner if in á less strident way. There is á cute pretty end. This seems á deeply personal book so I’m glad the author was able to chug through on their time capsule project.
P.S. I didn’t know Seattle got so hot, lol.
January 12, 2025
I thought it would be impossible to top Between the shadow and Lo, but this comes close. Excellent
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews