Dulcinea and The Death Code

Child of Illusion #1

by Victoria Ray

If somebody had told you that you were born under mysterious circumstances, that you appeared on Earth as a baby and nobody knew how you were born - grown by aliens, popped into existence by an invisible gravity force, or assembled in some kind of DNA-factory - wouldn’t you find it absolutely frightening? Knowing that you aren’t you, losing your identity and mind, feeling that it isn’t normal for you to be here, because you are part of something else, but still the part of the Universe. I am asking WHAT WOULD YOU DO?


A mysterious world.
A girl that had never been born.
A strange crack in the backyard that follows you wherever you go.
Death and disappointment.
The journey through the curved space.

It all waits to be discovered in Dulcinea and The Death Code – an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and reality in a thrilling reading experience. Fourteen-year-old Dulcinea is moving from sunny Sumter, South Carolina to frigid Sweden. She is followed by the glowing crack and the strange gravitational sound that has been there her whole life. What it is and why it follows her is a complete mystery. Through her journey, Dulcinea discovers her abilities, while coming to grips with the fact that she is far from human. This knowledge is very dangerous – not only for Dulcinea, but for everyone she meets during this electrifying trip to the place called A-Ria. 
Dulcinea and her incredible new friends learn that the secret they discover might help those they love… and the Earth itself.

A spine-tingling young adult fantasy book Dulcinea and The Death Code will be an exhilarating read for teens, adults and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows of the Unknown Universe.

Genres: Fantasy

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 9, 2019

About the author

SE Crème de la Crème author Victoria Ray lives in a small town 62 miles west of Stockholm. She has garnered much acclaim for her So Absurd It Must Be True series and her Sophia von X thriller.

Victoria is a finalist for the prestigious Readers Favorite Contest and has been nominated for a Book Excellence Award for original writing. When she is not writing, Victoria spends most of her time reading, cooking, traveling the world, walking with her dogs, and catching her favorite Gota Lejon shows. An admitted sweets fanatic, she feeds her addiction by visiting the local bakery April on Sunday afternoons.

Keep in touch with Victoria via: @victoriaray_nb
Ray's blog https://raynotbradbury.blog

Reviews

[Rafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to the author for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Let me be honest here. This is the kind of book that I usually find hard to review. Because I cannot use "simple-writing-style" kind of word in this case. It was a very new concept to me and I wasn't sure about my feeling when I started it. By the time I read the second last chapter, I was dying to know what happens next. It took me a long time to push myself through the last chapter. I wasn't ready for this book to end just yet.

I can see why many people won't be a fan of this book. The writer has a very absurd way of telling the story. Some might even not find the characters to be developed enough. Each character's perspective had only a chapter and also a poem which I found very unique. And this poem said a lot. If you take this one for example:

I'll turn the boat around.
The word now sounds a bit more fresh
I feel turmoil in my flesh
Excitement in my skin-
I'll play a Game of Love and win!

Spoiler alert: This boy is really flirty.

So yes, I found the writing style kinda jumpy but fun and the plot was really really interesting. The author leaves a lot on your imagination. But it was still a hard-to-put-down for me.

If you are looking for a new fantasy world and a YA book that is not so "YA-ish", give it a try.

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

Another good concept with the most horrible execution. The story is way too focused on Dulcinea's thoughts than the plot for most of the first part of the book. I wish they were even worthwhile because it was your cliche teenager thoughts about their looks, wanting to be popular and boys besides them being overdramatic. It tried so hard to be quirky and sassy but ended up as cringey with too many exclamation marks. The pacing was all over the place. It would talk or implied about the future happenings then revert back to the present without a clear transition in the same chapter. Besides that, Dulcinea would just up and does something unrelated to what just happened. How does her friend getting to an accident lead her to being angry at her father and demanding the truth after stalling it for so long? In the end, he just leaves the room as always and never replies and the chapter would just end.

I really hate it when the MC breaks the fourth wall and proceeds to tell the reader everything that is to know rather than showing us the details through the story. And I hate it even more when the MC keeps degrading herself thinking she's so ugly but everyone views her as beautiful. I'm sure there are people who views themselves that way but it's not something I enjoy reading especially when Dulcinea can't decided whether to be depressed and self-degrading then loving her life in the next chapter.

The dialogues, characters and the writing style are so CRINGEY. They speak like they're drama queens rather than fourteen years olds. Her stepmom doesn't feel real, I mean who acts and talks like that? She is her aunt before stepmom yet she never acts like it. Moreover, all the characters are so flat and two dimensional. Erik was annoying as hell, Loo just keeps eating, Osa is constantly excited, I don't even know what Joel does besides smile at Dulcinea and Broelle is a genius but doesn't get the time of day besides one liner summaries. Does Dulcinea like Erik or Joel? I can never tell.

The characters would go on a tangent and then say "don't be a child!" They're fourteen! What do you mean don't be a child? Then in some chapters, they go "but I'm a child how do I change this?" It's so annoying seeing them trying to act so mature and trying to do everything by themselves without thinking ahead. Even the adults have no concept of consequences by letting the children do whatever.

Dulcinea can know when people die though it was never mentioned how she knows. But anyways, I don't see how she's called Death when she can know when people die rather than cause the death itself. Even when it mentions that she can, we don't see any evidence of said life and death powers.

There's a "modern poetry" for some characters but I didn't like it much especially Dulcinea's and especially Erik's but it was nice that there was an illustration of how the main characters looked like (except for Broelle for some reason).

Overall, this was kinda short especially with some chapters having spaces in between so I managed to bear through and finish this. It was a good concept and I feel very disappointed with the cringey execution. I don't plan on continuing the series because of that and the characters are too childish for me despite it having some good revelations. I think the book would have been way better if the characters were older and mature. Everything was somewhat vague and somewhat of a mess. It ended in an interesting note but not enough for me to pick up the series just yet.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

[Nata · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Let the world…”
How do you continue it sentence? What will you do with your world? I paused mine when I went into the fantastically mysterious world of this novel!
Fighting fears, finding answers, friendship, saving the world, mystery and mysticism - all fall on the shoulders of the teenage girl Di. If you suddenly thought that this is writing for teenagers, you are mistaken. Adults here too will find a place!
The novel is very easy and fast to read. At a certain point, I caught myself thinking that I wasn't reading a novel but watching an exciting series. With the end of each series, you want to see a new one, move on and on. After swallowing 65% of the book, I became so much "friends" with the main characters of the novel and I wanted to become a part of this fantastic 6.
This story is like a breath of unbelievable air that fills your thoughts, soul and heart! This is an unusual novel, it can't be evaluated from the first pages. Only by looking further into the middle of it you connect the flight of all your fantasies and you begin to feel and understand it. Abstracting ...
PS There's also a wild desire to tear up a book for quotes! ♥ already dedicated a separate page in my notebook!

[Athena (OneReadingNurse) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I can't pick out one main concept from this book but it could be like an Xman origin story of sorts. The book itself is extremely disjointed and lacking a lot of necessary explanations. The plot jumps forward in odd sequences - for example - during one chapter the teens are still testing each other, and after the next break they are all best friwnds.

The ending also made no sense, if there was going to be a sequel I would understand it more, it wasn't set up for a sequel. The last 40% of the book went so quickly that all I could do was keep reading and try to pick out important things. By the time that we finally find out what A-Ria and codes are, the book is almost over. Another big issue is that the characters were inconsistent - like would Dulcinea actually obey Kaitlin without giving her any hell at all? The characters switch between existential rambling and chatting about boys and I just could not follow.

We never find out what happens to A-ria or Earth or any of the characters, they are all left in a very odd place at the end. I would expect the epilogue to wrap things up a little... But the 'extra' did not fit either, was it an exerpt of a future novel? Some story from the past?

Lastly: I know this is self published but it really needed a professional or at least competent editor to smooth out the worst of the spelling and mechanical issues. The idea at the base of it all is a good one, but I can't really recommend this as is.

[Andreea Pădurean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dulcinea and the Death Code is more than a book of fiction. It is ’the cool glass of lemode in a summer day’ that reinvigorates your mind and imagination, regardless the number of books that you have read or the favourite genre.

The main character and the references to the X-men series place Victoria Ray’s book on a large variety of shelves, begining with those of the teenagers. It is also suitable for a more mature reader due to the ideological background that is woven through the allegorical story of Dulcinea.

The power of word is revealed by the author’s choice regarding the name of the protagonist, a fact that contributes to the creation of a fresh character that carries all the spiritual beauty and grace of the classical female figure combined with the power, energy and determination of the contemporary woman.

The writing style and the multiple perspectives, powdered with the light poetry make Dulcinea and the Death Code not only a pleasant and relaxing reading, but also a complex literary work that emphasizes the ingenuity of its author. The space allotted to each hero accompanied by a specific point of view and a digital portrait constitutes a pleasant surprise.

[Lesya BlackBird · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found this book on NetGalley, free to read.

I am not going to finish this one. I read five chapters and that's enough for me. There is very little actual story telling here, just a weird stream of conscientiousness, with a teen narrator trying to sound deep, like they have something wise to pass on.

The narrator is a special snowflake that prattles on and on about weird things like, life being like porridge. I lost it at her being born with pink hair and then dying it blue... and lamenting her not being hot, but ordinary, dull and clumsy... look when did extreme clumsiness become the default setting for being not hot? It is possible for a girl to be ordinary, or overlooks in high school, despite being quite competent at a lot of things that don't show up in school and being quite capable of moving through life without knocking into things or knocking things down or tripping more then a general amount all people do. Even hot ones.

The bits I did read was weird and really not well done. I don't have anything against the weird, or different styles of storytelling. This is not it. Too pretentious.

[Liz Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It takes a lot of courage and guts to self-publish, especially in a language that may not be the author's first language. However, that only increases the need for attentive, professional editing services... which this book does not appear to have received. Almost every page had some kind of mechanics mistake -- punctuation, sentence structure, verb tense, etc. These numerous mistakes made it difficult to assess the story itself. The "quirky style" appears to be attempting to emulate The Hazel Wood, perhaps, but falls flat on both plot and characters. I can also see some influence from Stranger Things. The final 15% is a completely unrelated story that felt more childish but was far more interesting. As a whole, it felt like a raw, stream-of-consciousness rough draft, like one might generate during National Novel Writing Month.

One of these stars is simply because there is a character named Joel.

[Manu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book very easily. The style is very fluid and enjoyable. In particular, I liked the characters in the book. Dulcinea and her friends immediately arouse a feeling of sympathy. I also liked that in some chapters, there is a change of the narrator. In this way, it was possible to know all the characters and their perspectives better. However, I was expecting something more at the plot level. I found it a little predictable, without particular twists. Despite this, I found it very interesting how some topics are dealt with in the book, such as death, friendship, family relationships, identity, the meaning and origin of the universe and the potential of one's own person.

If you love this genre, you will definitely find a very nice reading!

[River Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this an enjoyable read. The characters (main especially) were interesting and the plot ticked along at a nice pace. This is not typically my genre, but I will read the next in the series as I am intrigued by how the main character is left at the end of this one.

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story for the moderns about self, identity, familial relationship, friendship and love carved out by the author’s vivid imagination definitely had me hooked from the very start.
I got the opportunity to read Victoria Ray’s Child of Illusion series Part 1, the engaging tale of Dulcinea, a fourteen year old girl who has to move countries and slowly discovers the reason behind that and many other secrets related to both her and the creation which are hidden from the world.
The plot of the book is unraveled by the stream of consciousness technique which the unfamiliar readers might find uneasy but once you know what and how this technique works, it should be good. Besides, using this technique favors the purpose of the author who is trying to stress importance on mind and metaphysical concepts of things which don’t always seem to make sense and are odd. The power of mind and matter, discussions about the universe and a take on how it might be working are the author’s favorite ideas to explore and this makes the story pretty thought-provoking plus challenging. There are bits of wisdom thrown here and there so I must say this isn’t a lazy read. It makes you wonder, it makes you THINK. And if a writer accomplishes this, then that’s a feat!
The flow of writing is smooth. I liked how it is poetic sometimes like in the descriptive parts. A poetic prose you can call it. And poetic style combined with fantasy ahh my favorite!
The writing style may appear childish if you’re way past your teenage but then you realize it is written for middle graders and young adults so it starts making sense and they can relate well with it. Feeling left out sometimes, wanting to rebel, misunderstandings with parents, need of a peer group, need to know oneself on a deeper level. We’ve all been through these right?!
Also, (addressing the wearied of adulting peeps out there) who wouldn’t like some getaway from reality yeah?
Characters. There is a varied number of characters in the book. I like how we get into the heads of the main character and see their story, their pov, their personalities and their abilities. Victoria Ray gives her main bunch different and unique powers and personally I loved Eric’s specialty which was to identify auras and vibes. How cool.
Regarding the main female character after whom the book is named, there is still mystery. We go along with her, watch her how she tackles with the dilemma about her identity; her powers; the bizarre happenings in her life. We never lose connection with her even when she’s absent from the direct actions of others. As things are revealed to her gradually some perplexity always continues which is what keeps the readers turning page after page with much eagerness. I’ve always loved mysteries and thrillers. This book does the job of building suspense good enough.
One downside for me was that there were some places where it felt like the writer hurried through or missed concluding the thought. (Spoiler alert) For example when we are introduced to the fact that Dulcinea can predict the deaths of people she meets, we’re not shown directly the revelation in her mind and how she reacts to it. Some chain of thoughts in her conscious would have sufficed.
Lastly, the ending was a complete cliff-hanger. It definitely kept me wanting for more.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of reading this book. I do applaud the author’s fantastical and far-reaching imagination. Totally recommended especially those X-Men lovers out there!

[Umra Shahzad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review


Enthralling and fascinating, this novel makes the reader transcend their mundane life to a place of higher reality. After all, we all want to escape the present and move towards some adventure promising future.

Victoria Ray beautifully pen downs a story of a girl Dulcinea who has born with superpowers but doesn't realise about them until she moves to Sweden and starts her life with other "gifted" children. With her new identity revealed as a death code and an entity sent from other dimension, she experiences existential dilemma like any other human of a modern society.

Dulcinea embarks on a journey towards the relative truth of her existence, along with a couple of her friends to find the answers of her identity. Unfortunately something dreadful happens and she gets lost for a long time in another dimension.
No one knows where she's gone and when she shall return until one day a girl lost for 2 years appears as her in another country.

To find out her origin and the mystery of her very ambiguous existence, Ray is finally going to reveal it to the readers by next summer.

Concept of the story

It's a fantasy and a science fiction novel full of "Stranger Things" vibes. As Dulcinea's father is a chemist and works at Biofuture foundation.

The novel depicts the foundation as a place for special gifted children who are schooled to tame their powers.
Unlike the protagonist who predicts death, the book has diverse characters with diverse talents. The story encapsulates a world of teenage superheroes who try their best to resolve the mystery of the unknown world "A-ria" and Dulcinea's existence.

The writing style is quite unconventional because the narrative moves back and forth in time, for the readers to delve in completely inside the fantasy world.

Without a doubt this novel reminded me of Brave New World's futuristic society, full of scientific revolution to undo the secrets of the universe.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it because it made me think that what if, this life is a construct? And everything we see or do is a lie? And that i belong from another dimension and this humanistic society is just another phase of a video game.

[Steve M · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes life interesting is the adventure that we come across daily. Going to the waterfalls, the forest and trying to imagine all sorts of things that can happen to us. Imagine waking up one morning to realize that you have supernatural powers. You can control fire and water or like the character in the air bender, that would be exciting. Every teenagers’ wish is that at one point they could have supernatural abilities to perform one task or the other. This is like Dulcinea in the book Duicinea and the Death Code, a teenage girl who discovers she has supernatural abilities as she goes on a trip to a place called A-Ria. Together with her friends whom she met, they discover that their powers are not only destructive but can also save the world and their families.
As you peruse through the pages, one feels as if you are part of their world, you feel the emotions in them and want to be a part of their lives. The book was exhilarating to me as it took me on a journey; I could imagine myself being on her shoes. The struggles she was going through but most importantly the adventure. It is a book that I would advice every parent to get for their children as well as themselves, besides entertaining it is educative with themes like family relationships. To the children, it will be like watching the fantastic four, the x-men or superman. Similarly, Victoria has just created another super hero that children can relate with and emulate. Simple to read straight forward and most importantly is the flow of the story giving a clear picture. The book is engrossing and very engaging, kudos to Victoria.

[Abantika(hiltonjenkin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dulcinea and The Death Code by Victoria Ray is a young adult fantasy and a very unique one at that. It is about a girl Dulcinia who can fore see people’s death for reasons unknown to her. But as she arrives in Sweden and finds herself among a group of teenagers just like her, all bestowed with some unique power, she sets out to explore herself and in the process, much more .

The book is interesting and offbeat. It is written in lucid language and thus is easy to read and follow. The world building is gradual and effortless to get into. Descriptions are vivid but not over done or boring.

But the plot had a lot more potential than what has been done with it. Plus a lot of questions and situations were left unanswered at the end. But as it happens to be a part of the series probably those will be answered in the next one.

Also I love the cover and the title of the novel. Both are so attractive.

[Victoria Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dulcinea and the The Code by Victoria Ray was beautifully original! I read the book description but I still was enthralled with the content inside. It is very easy to get connected with the characters of the story and relate to their back stories. I literally could not stop reading! The modern/futuristic fantasy world created was so perfect that it sucks you into the book! So many messages inside that will personally make you grow with the characters through the book. While reading I thought of how cool of a movie this would be! Her words created such a vivid world for imaginations of all levels to expand. I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for an adventure getaway within a book. I look forward to sharing with my niece! Thank you Victoria Ray for taking me away!

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little lost in this book.  I did not fully understand what the author was trying for in this book.  I did enjoy the supernatural feel to this book.  I think the story was different and interesting. This book feels like fantasy can intertwine with reality and that was a great job.  I just had mixed feeling in total about the book. *This book was given to me for free at my request from Netgalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

[Linda Vesterlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the author for an honest review.
If you seek for an interesting and entertaining book for young adults, this one is a good choice and you will not regret reading it. The characters are interesting, but weird; the story is full of witty dialogues. Well developed and for sure not trivial plot!
My rate: intriguing and addicting. True unicorn story!

[Sabina Carrara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An other brilliant work from this clever and polyvalent writer.
Dulcinea is a nowadays heroine that brings the readers through a world of adventures where fantasy merged with reality and won’t allow you to stop reading until you reach the end.

[Vaiishnavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dulcinea and The Death Code by Victoria Ray takes us through the fascinating tale of a young girl named Dulcinea Lovinescu who is burdened with the knowledge regarding people's deaths for reasons unbeknownst to her. That is until she moves to Sweden and joins a group of teenagers all who have their own unique powers. With the help of her new friends, she finally sets out to explore her powers and discover the truth behind them. However, she ends up taking on more than she can handle, leading to disastrous consequences. Finally, she learns of her existential purpose in human life as well as the full capacity of her powers, yet still left with more questions than ever. In my opinion, the writer has truly showcased her imaginative skills while creating this book and bringing the world of A-Ria to life. The story also flows quite smoothly and has strong and suitable language to go with it. However, I was not completely satisfied with how the ending turned out and have many unanswered questions. In a way, it felt like an incomplete ending without the closure I was looking for. Apart from that, the characters have been well developed throughout the story, successfully creating an emotional connection between the readers and the characters. The author has done a remarkable job with the protagonist who is my personal favourite character as her narrating voice and way of thinking truly captivated me. As for the other characters, I do think we could have delved a little deeper into certain characters such as Leon and Erik. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I give it four out of five stars.

[Callie Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you could know the day and time of death for every person you’ve met or every person you’ve loved, how would that affect you? That’s the gripping narrative that author Victoria Ray, in beautifully poetic style, has created around 14 year old Dulcinea, a young girl, gifted (or cursed, Dulcinea’s not sure) with a death code. Shepherded by her father, a professor working for a company involved in transhumanism and dark matter, among other things, young Dulcinea is far more than your average teen. Dulcinea can’t escape her special abilities or the strange crack in the Earth that only she can see, following her from America to Sweden. She’s a hero on an epic journey facing her own darkness as well as others, finding helpers and friends along the way, and following her path to find love, hope, and friendship in spite of it all. In this fantastical transatlantic adventure tale by Victoria Ray, Dulcinea seeks answers to moral and ethical questions that would shake the average adult, but in her trials, she faces it with grace beyond her years. For everyone who has ever felt different or odd, but not knowing how or why, or even if it’s good or bad, there’s Dulcinea - the unfounded hero in us all.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent for those with vision!

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book I've read written by Victoria Ray; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.

The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.