Welcome to Gothic: A Twisty Romantic Suspense Novella of Murder and Hollywood History

Last Seen in Gothic #.05

by Christina Dodd

WELCOME TO THE PAST

At the glittering heart of Hollywood’s golden era stands the regal Gothic Palace Theater—the pinnacle of thrilling shows, opulent decor, and the biggest stars of stage and screen. Here, drama unfolds on and off the stage.

WELCOME TO THE PRESENT

Today, in the abandoned backstage, fitness guru Wendy Giordano is knocked unconscious and wakes to find herself performing a daredevil stunt in the Gothic Palace Theater…in glamorous 1940.

WELCOME TO GOTHIC

Wendy is swept into the hypnotic bygone world of desperate gamblers, powerful divas, and one tormented actor who might be her ideal man. Can she save a child and stop a murder before time once more sweeps her away from all she has come to love?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Romance, Fiction, Time Travel, Historical, Paranormal Romance

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2023

About the author

Brand new! TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction
Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all… The Daughter of Romeo and Juliet, the real story
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

New and Now!
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction
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— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback
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Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.

(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )

Reviews

[Madison Warner Fairbanks]

Welcome to Gothic by Christina Dodd
Last Seen in Gothic series marked as book .5 or 1.5. Contemporary romance novella. Intro.
The Palace Theatre in Gothic, California is filled with history and stories for the Golden Era of opulent drama. In current day, it’s rundown, and in need of repair but still being used for different purposes. Wendy Giordano is looking for old costumes for her fitness class entertainment and begins searching in the old storage rooms. She is knocked unconscious and finds herself back in 1940.

Full story but lots of questions. I’m intrigued and can’t wait to read more of this series.

[Tracey]

Fabulous, well written, entertaining time travel romance novella! I did not want it to end!
Christina Dodd never disappoints her readers! I listened to the audio version of this book, and the narrator, Vanessa Johansson, does an outstanding job depicting the characters and their personalities.

[Carolyn]

I did enjoy the paranormal twist in this one. It's a good series.

[Nicki Noo]

This novella was a unique time travel story which delves into the idea of soul mates. I liked the mirrored plot points. Incidentally, Bendy Wendy is the best name for a yoga instructor! I want to visit Gothic for my own story!

[Katherine]

Appeal terms: time travel; likable characters; fast paced

[Alacyia]

🎧I give this story a 3.8. I listened to this on audio book. It was a cute novella about a woman, Wendy, who finds love in the history of an old theater. The love story wasn't too mushy and the characters were interesting.
The narration was well done with distinguishing voices as to not confuse which character was speaking. The story itself flowed well kept me wanting to keep listening.

[Antonietta tesfaye]

I only wished that this book was a full length! It was so good. I loved the characters. Loved the witty banter of the dialogue. Love the mystic aspect of her going back in time. Just perfection. I want more!

[Natalie HH]

This was an interesting novella that vaguely reminded me of Outlander, simply for the time travel aspect. This was a fun but dark story, and I found myself pretty invested in the main character once the plot thickened. I questioned where things were going to go at one point, with so little of the story left, but I dug the ending and overall everything wrapped up neatly.

[Wendy Bunnell]

fun intro to this universe. I'd definitely read more in this series.

[Jen]

This was really enjoyable. I wish it was full length!

[Trisha]

This was an interesting begining to a story but I don't think it quite hit the mark for me. Although I thought the meeting was cute, I wasn't 100% sold on the lovestory. It was cute but not enough to hook me in to read the series.

[Laura]

Short love story of time travel and love at first sight.

[Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛]

This was really good. I wish it had been longer

[Kaetrin]

It was an Audible Daily Deal so super cheap. It's just over 2 hours and of necessity the romance is thin but it was an enjoyable series start. For a change it's a prequel with a complete HEA. Book 1 features a different couple altogether.

[Lisa Townsend]

This book would make a good light Halloween read for adults. I liked the book's premise but found the romantic scenes to be cringeworthy.

[Diane Morrell]

Good intro into Gothic. Seems we've been waiting forever for this book to come to e-book. I liked these characters and the plot . A little quick for the romance but I understand. Looking forward to reading many more books from this talented storyteller.

[Kelly]

I thought this was a stand-alone novella and I am DELIGHTED to see it's only the introduction to the town of Gothic. Because this story? Was goooood.

Gothic is a quirky, nearly forgotten town populated by quirky individuals. One of those quirks (or maybe two of them) sends Wendy back to the 40s where she meets a man who is everything she never knew she wanted and then some. The problem? He's an actor with a tragic past and a future that takes place before Wendy was born. Which makes their connection a little problematic.

But Wendy can't deny the attraction and neither can Hugh. And when a fresh tragedy happens while Wendy is in the past, Wendy and Hugh jump in to set things right. Not going to lie, this leads to yet another tragedy. One that might break Wendy right in two.

A little mystical energy, a glittering world that's faded with time, a precocious kiddo, a man with a past, and a lady who will risk everything to keep others safe. *thumbs up* all around on this one.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Shea]

My first successful attempt at an audio book. I listened to it in the car coming home from Grand Rapids. At first, I could not keep track of who was talking and which characters were in a scene but eventually I settled in and then it wasn't so difficult to follow. This short story stars Gothic's fitness/martial arts/yoga instructor "Bendy Wendy" and some of the towns first residents. It contains one of my favorite tropes, love across time. It was a great way to pass the 2 hour drive.

[Amorina Carlton]

This was a short, sweet listen. I can't really remember how it ended up on my Audible library - I think on one of the one day sale things.

I was surprised to realize it was part of a series, but I could kind of tell really quickly. I felt out of the loop, like there was an in-joke I was missing.

It had lovely supernatural feel too it. This was a cozy, quick-solve thriller/romance. The other book/books seem to be more thriller/romance/horror. Not my usual genres, but this was good enough that I might give those a try when I have a chance. We will see.

[Candace]

Don’t be fooled! There’s nothing gothic about this.

[Catherine E Larklund]

Happy and sad

Happy because this is such a good story. Sad because I didn't realize it was a novella. I want more story! The story did rap up completely, I just want more. Ms Dodd always turns me into Oliver- "Please sir, I want some more." I love all of here books. I've yet to find a bad or even slightly bad book.

[Wendy]

Cute story.

[Noelani Marie]

3⭐️ good palette cleanser 🙏

[Mike]

This was fine but feels like roughly half a book.
One thing that surprised me was how short it was, definitely more of a novella.
The action moves pretty quick and the main character didn't appear to have any issue with just accepting that she's either time traveled or was in a dream right away.
It was good, but the story hooks to make you more interested in a larger series weren't that compelling to me.

[Galatea Smith]

Sweet Time Travel

A short story of soul mates and time travel. No surprises but well written with very accessible characters. You can it was written by a pro,

[Hilary]

This brief time-slip romance almost had a "Hallmark" feel to it. Fun premise but it felt a little rushed overall.

[Molly Shondell]

Cute, short and simple story to listen to/read in an afternoon. By looking at the cover I expected something a little darker and different. But I wasn't disappointed in that it delivered on what it was intended to.

[Helen]

Gothic!

I love this little town and this little novella is right back in time. Lovely cozy story to fill a rainy afternoon. It always makes me want to go back and revisit all the other stories. I need to visit this part of california too some day. Time travel in California fog with a very happy ending.

[Elspeth]

This is a very cute time travel romance novella. It takes place in Gothic, CA. Wendy hits her head and ends up in the 1940s in Hollywood. She ends up being an extra in a film and has an adventure and meets her perfect match.

It's also sort of a mystery, though the mystery ends up happening and being solved very quickly. The time travel and romance are the feature and even though I don't tend to like time travel, this really reminded me on some level of 11-22-63 by Stephen King but with a much better ending.

Try it out if you like old Hollywood, time travel, romance or even mysteries.

[Cassi (books.and.shh)]

I need to go into the Gothic Theater and bump my head on something.