Estella isn’t looking for love. In fact, she’s had her fill. Still recovering from a devastating break-up with a man she refers to as the “International Playboy”, all Estella wants to do is walk her beloved dog, Moochie, and the other pooches who encompass her dog walking business. Sure, she lives in Los Angeles, and could have the occasional run-in with a famous ne'er do well, but it’s not her style. She’ll leave the celebrity-ogling to her friend, Mandy. Mandy is desperately attempting to attend the same church service as Mark Wahlberg, for Pete’s sake! No, Estella is content. She’s 33, never been married, but there are worse things in life, right?
Then Estella is dive-bombed by a deranged hawk one day, while on her daily walk through the Hollywood Hills. She’s convinced it’s a sign. How many people get attacked by hawks? She is even more convinced when the incident brings her to Johnny Von’s doorstep. Who knew he lived in the very neighborhood she walks the pampered pooches in? For Estella, it’s love at first sight, and it has nothing to do with his famous background or his latest blockbuster. He’s a bonafide celebrity, but she senses a down-to-earth mentality about him, a closeted introvert, just like herself. This becomes the catalyst for getting closer to Johnny Von, signing up as a volunteer for the contractors working in his home. She walks the dogs as much as possible in his neighborhood so she’ll get a sneak peek at him, and Estella attends a big Hollywood party with her celeb stalker friend, Mandy. Johnny Von will be there. Estella’s not obsessed; she’s merely entranced. Two very different things, and when Johnny Von begins to reciprocate the attention? It’s nothing short of destiny!
Edith M. Cortese has written a clever book from start to finish. Mixed into the story line are snippets of Estella’s dreamworld; she and Johnny Von the Priest, fighting for their love in the 1500’s, or she and Johnny Von the Fly Boy, daring the unfriendly skies in the 1940’s. Those stories are just an example of how far Estella’s imagination will take her as she places herself at random times in history, always with her leading man, Johnny Von. It’s at the Hollywood party where Estella learns a very valuable lesson (I think the Rolling Stones said it best): “You can’t always get what you want- but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.”
If you treasure dogs, adventure, and love to be in love, join the pack. Read A Thousand Years of Johnny Von.
Thanks to Author Marketing Experts for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Sara Steven is a wife and stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys in Bellevue, NE. When she’s not running marathons, or working on her novel, she takes a break and opens up a good book (or turns on her Nook). Find her at her blog.
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