Today is my turn on the blog tour for Holliday by Matthew Di Paoli

Here’s the blurb

Holliday follows the infamous 1880s gambler, dentist, and gunslinger, Doc Holliday. From the outset, Doc has been diagnosed with tuberculosis and is told to head to drier climates and imbibe to prolong his life. He has also heard of a spring located somewhere along the frontier that could cure him—what he believes to be the mythical Fountain of Youth.

The novel portrays Holliday as a rock star, a living legend, increasingly hounded by paparazzi, enamored by death, cards, booze, and women. Doc is a mixture of Clint Eastwood and Jim Morrison, and though he is able to help his friend, Wyatt Earp, exact revenge, his condition worsens, traveling from Arizona to Denver, and finally dying in a sanatorium in Colorado with his boots off. A slow and unfitting end for such a bombastic outlaw.

Review

First off it’s confession time.. I’ve always had a soft spot for Doc Holliday. Ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old and caught the movie Tombstone..he’s such an amazing character but often overshadowed.

What I immediately liked about the book is it humanized Doc early on.. you learn about the consumption that ails him.. how he lost his mother to the very thing that is trying to take his life now..

We also get introduced to Doc’s vices too.. and it really brings life to the man and while yes he’s not a saint you can’t help but like him.

Holliday is on a mission.. he wants to enjoy the finer things in life but at the same time is searching for a cure… you can tell he’s torn.. I don’t think he ever really thought it existed but at the same time he keeps going.. keeps looking for hope.

I guess what I really wanted from this book was to know Doc’s story… there’s plenty of tales regarding his time with Wyatt Earp but he’s never the main focus and that always baffled me… he was always the most interesting one of the group.

Doc’s tale is pure raw energy and emotion.. everything is felt in the moment and the author does a wonderful job at making the scenes jump out of the page.. your not just reading a story…you really feel the guttural sense of urgency.. but at the same time see Doc’s clear talent at not letting his emotions show.

I wouldn’t say the book is for the faint hearted.. there’s real emotion and while Holliday is the main character it’s the supporting characters, his links to them and how they interact that really make things become real. Doc doesn’t let people get close to him often but you can see why certain people make it through his shield.

Overall this was a cracking , engaging and thought-provoking read.. it offered me so much more than I could have ever expected and it’s a beautifully woven, harrowing tale of such a fascinating man.

I have to give the book a 5* rating but that truthy doesn’t do the tale or the authors writing style justice.. the book just effortlessly flows and is beautiful in its sorrow.

This is the kind of book I like to see!!

My thanks go to the author and Melissa at Author Marketing Experts for the opportunity to be on the tour. This is one of those books I’ll be getting a physical copy of shortly too.. It deserves to be read more than once by everyone!

Author bio:

Matthew Di Paoli has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times including 2020. He has won the Wilbur & Niso Smith Adventure Writing Prize, the Prism Review, two Elizabeth’s, and Momaya Review Short Story Contests. Matthew earned his MFA in Fiction at Columbia University. He has been published in Boulevard, Fjords, Post Road, and Cleaver, among others. He is also the author of Killstanbul with El Balazo Press.

Website: https://www.matthewdipaoli.com/

Twitter: @MatthewDiPaoli

Instagram: @ruggedemu

Author Marketing Experts:

Twitter: @Bookgal

Instagram: @therealbookgal

Amazon: http://amzn.to/3U2kRVu

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184163597-holliday