The Orientation of Dylan Woodger by Chiuba Obele - Book Tour - Book Review - Author Donating 25% of Book Sales to RAINN!! - Giveaway - Enter Daily!!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Chiuba Obele and his new book, “The Orientation of Dylan Woodger,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Chiuba and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Also, I would like to point out that the author, Chiuba Obele is donating 25% of book sales proceeds to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network!!!  As if there wasn’t already a fabulous reason to buy this book – now the money you spend will be going to help sexual assault survivors, like the one you will be reading about!!!

The Orientation of Dylan Woodger

A Central New York Crime Story

by Chiuba Obele

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GENRE:  Crime Fiction

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BLURB:

Solving mysteries is never easy. Dealing with an infuriated mob boss and acute amnesia only makes it worse.

"The Orientation of Dylan Woodger" is the story of a young man who is torn between his capacity to do evil and his desire to do what’s right. This book explores racism and feminism, and addresses controversial topics such as male rape, hate crimes, and misogyny toward women. Readers may be disturbed by the characters, but the book aspires to be hopeful, as these characters ultimately succeed in finding some measure of humanity.

Dylan Woodger is a college student who is captured and tortured by the mafia. After amnesia obscures the last three years of his life, Dylan learns that he has stolen three million dollars from a ruthless mafia boss. When, how, and why – he doesn’t remember. But someone betrayed him and gave him a drug that erased his memory. He was then given over to be tortured.

Determined to recover his memory, Dylan begins delving into the events of the past. But as each new piece of the puzzle falls into place, Dylan realizes that no one is who they seem . . . especially himself. People who claim to be his friends are hiding secrets from him. And his girlfriend is beautiful, but that’s all he knows about her. Who are these people? And who is Dylan? Even he doesn’t know! But he has links to rapists, white supremacists, and murderers. And his quest for the truth is made even more complicated by the presence of assassins, gangsters, and detectives.

There are so many unanswered questions . . . But first, Dylan must survive the torture.

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EXCERPT TWO:

As the men approached, their boots crunching on twigs and fallen branches, I rushed over to them. I kept my left arm still — the pain of moving it alone caused my vision to flash white and my ears to ring. I stumbled a bit, but soon I could see them clear enough. The men wore plain clothes, just any random winter jacket and jeans someone might get at the nearest Walmart. They weren’t uniformed as you would normally expect police to be.

“Thank goodness you’re here. I thought I would freeze to death.”

The men looked at each other in confusion, until one of them finally said, “Are you here with anyone?”

“No,” I replied. “I found myself tied up and managed to escape, just before you got here.”

“This guy is lying to us,” one of them said. “This must be an ambush.”

“An ambush? What are you talking about?” I struggled to keep my voice even. “I just woke up, and I haven’t seen another person until you guys showed up. I’m glad you got here, though. Can you please take me home?”

Just at that moment, one of the men pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. My hands flew out in front of me, and my blood ran cold when I saw the barrel. “Wait, hold on! What are you doing?”

“You better tell us right now. Is this an ambush? ’Cause if bullets start flying, you’ll be the first one to die.”

“No, sir. I promise, this isn’t an ambush.”

“So where’s our money?” he demanded.

I was confused. Then I thought I had pieced it together. “Yeah, okay. You guys obviously want money for going through the trouble of finding me. That’s fair. My mother’s pretty well off, and she probably offered a reward to find me. I’ll make sure you get it. That’s how these things work, right? So can you please take me home now?”

The man kept the gun pointed at me. I heard a click and knew he had cocked it. I realized then, that this was no ordinary search party.

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is an interesting, intriguing, and suspenseful crime fiction read filled with intense, emotionally sensitive themes, storylines, and plot points.

This book starts off with the main character, Dylan Woodger, claiming to having lost his memory, and having been kidnapped, tortured, and interrogated by the Utica mafia.  Dylan states that he is suspected of stealing three million dollars from the mafia but doesn’t remember where the money is or if he actually took it.  However, if he doesn’t tell them where the money is, they plan to kill him.

This book then quickly shifts to Dylan reflecting on his last recallable memories, which include his arrival to Utica, New York to attend college in 2016, three years earlier.  Dylan goes into great detail describing his road trip journey with his mom to Hamilton College while trying to recover additional memories that led him to his current predicament.

This book covers many important and difficult topics that the author pushes the characters to face head on.  The author clearly doesn’t shy away from making the characters and on occasion the reader uncomfortable, hesitant, and unsure while the author drives the reader to be completely swept up in the storyline.  The author was able to create deep, complex, multidimensional characters that he enjoyed pushing them to their limits to see how everything would fizzle out – and he held no punches.

Many scenes in this book felt realistic, raw, and well represented.  The author clearly seems to have done his research and/or possess insider information that truly made these scenes genuinely authentic and well detailed.  The author does include an acknowledgement at the beginning of the book that he did meet and interview actual residents of Utica, alumni from Hamilton College, and real sexual assault survivors, among a variety of other sources to help create truthful and accurate details for his book.

This book is certainly not a quick read as it is in on the much longer side, divided up into three parts, spanning over 19 chapters and covering 448 eBook pages.

I appreciate the author having included a vitally important trigger warning at the beginning of the book, which cautions readers that this book does contain scenes of rape, which may be upsetting and uncomfortable to readers who have experienced sexual assault.  As an avid reader and someone who has been a survivor of sexual assault, I truly appreciate the author enclosing such an important detail.  It is very upsetting when authors don’t, and these types of scenes are just sprung on readers.

Furthermore, I would like to point out that I found the author’s note at the very beginning of the book, inspiring and encouraging.  The author stated that he published this book on April 5^th, 2022, in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and that he wanted this novel to help make a difference for rape survivors.  In addition, he pledged 25% of this book’s earnings to be donated to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network!!  Even more reason for readers to pick up this book and help support such an important cause!!!

There are some predictable scenes.  However, there are still a few very unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming but will enjoy watching unfold!!

While this book is on the lengthier side, and covers a large array of material, it does conclude with a thorough ending wrapping up any loose ends and is sure to leave the reader satisfied.

This book is not currently listed as part of a book series.  It can easily be read as a standalone.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it!!  I think all crime fiction readers and mafia book fans will like this book too!!  As this book supports such an invaluable cause, RAINN, and was created to help sexual assault survivors cope and heal; I would recommend this book to other survivors for guidance and support to encourage them that they are not alone; it’s not something you just get over but there are ways to push through; and the trauma will probably always stay with you, but you learn to carry it, live with it, and even grow from it.  A sexual assault does not define you; it is one page in a very long book.  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

Did you find this review helpful???

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R29V61FM83OIHZ

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AUTHOR BIO:

CHIUBA EUGENE OBELE is a poet, writer, and author of The Orientation of Dylan Woodger: A Central New York Crime Story. He can usually be found reading a book, and that book will more likely than not be a crime fiction novel. Chiuba lives and works out of his home in Boston, Massachusetts. When not absorbed in the latest page-turner, Chiuba enjoys spending his summers vacationing with his parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews.

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CONNECT WITH CHIUBA:

Website:

https://chiubaobele.com

Email:

chiuba@gmail.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chiubaobele7

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ChiubaE

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chiuba-obele

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-orientation-of-dylan-woodger-a-central-new-york-crime-story-by-chiuba-obele

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22199682.Chiuba_E_Obele

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60288723-the-orientation-of-dylan-woodger

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3KH6IFE

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALES DONATION DETAILS:

**The author, Chiuba Obele, published this book in recognition of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month AND is donating 25% of his book sales to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network!!**

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/39Czuub

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3MP91rz

Amazon US Hardcover:

https://amzn.to/3kE8cpm

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Orientation-Dylan-Woodger-Central-Crime-ebook/dp/B09RG39YH6

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Orientation-Dylan-Woodger-Central-Crime/dp/B09X4YHNQW

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/Orientation-Dylan-Woodger-Central-Crime/dp/B09XGV68C9

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Chiuba will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.