Reader's Favorite 5-Star Editorial Book Review

Part of the Rising Wind Book Series, author Diane Olsen presents Rock My Soul, the multicultural adventure journey of two main characters in the series, Secora and Gideon. This book features their encounters with the many different beasts they meet along the way, most specifically, the Bigfoot sightings in the northwestern United States. As the Bigfoot lore has permeated popular culture, Secora and Gideon will attempt to better understand this cryptid.

Accounts of its nature vary, from its reputation of eating humans to conducting experiments by observing people to see if we are willing to play on their terms. Secora and Gideon will hear different experiences of encounters, but their takeaway from these interviews is that such a being is not aggressive--but there are undoubtedly exceptions.

Rock My Soul reads like a documentary with a found-footage movie thrill in it. The first-person accounts and the brooding monster theme work well in Diane Olsen’s narrative. It feels like a slow-burn horror as you breathlessly await the outcome of Secora and Gideon’s investigations.

But it has a strong leaning toward an exploration of myths and folklore, of how human beings find answers in the comforts of creative imagination, and how it has shaped different cultures. You can tell that a diligent amount of research went into the writing of this book based on references that Olsen has provided.

The bulk of Rock My Soul consists of the collection of interviews that Secora and Gideon have gleaned--interviews that lend strength to the theme of the story, making it mystical and mesmerizing.

This book is definitely a must-read for anyone who is fascinated by cryptozoology.

~Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite