Updated on January 18, 2013: These are reviews written by readers of Revelle, a novel. The book is available for sale now on Amazon. Return to the opening chapter here.

I love the heroine/main character; she reminds me of a mischievous fairy but with all the human hopes, dreams and frailties. I envy her loving description of her ‘tribe’; we all want one like that. I highly recommend this book. – Dr. Barbara Cox

I generally don’t read novels and had just finished reading Wildso I was a pretty tough audience when I cracked open Revelle and started reading. What a treat I was in for! It is an incredibly honest novel yet manages to leave room for beauty and dreamlike descriptions. You will fall in love with Revelle as you get to know her. She isn’t perfect and doesn’t pretend to be but she is available and open about her challenges and hopes. I found myself remembering past romances and long forgotten dreams as I traveled through the novel learning about Revelle and her beautifully complex world. This novel is worth your time. Alison Wiley has created a fascinating journey that is waiting to be enjoyed.  — Jen Patterson

Revelle is the angel-devil spirit who weaves a way into your life and consciousness with no thought of consequences to her or to you. She suffers for this, and you might too, but the dance goes on!

Like some kindred animals you may know, Revelle dances into a marriage and even into a studio business; and like this reader, cannot seem to make a living by following her heart. But I digress from the drama.

If you cherish a story on how to begin relationships of love, or how to end them, this book is not for you. I must say that Revelle would not do as my choice of partner, as captivating as she may be in her movement, her dance, and her emotional intelligence. No, Revelle enters into her relationships, and even her marriage, with the speed and conviction of a prized mare. She exits the covenant just as readily, though not without pain and confusion (and danger) on all sides.

Revelle pranced onto our stage as “damaged goods,” although no one else is the wiser. Dear Reader, you must witness for yourself how Revelle claws her way back to reclaim her integrity, with enduring support from her community, and the silent assent of her Oregon homeland.    — Michael Fortune

I loved the entire book; I couldn’t put it down. Afterwards, I felt the freedom to dance to my heart’s content. - Sheryl Cousineau

Revelle is like the soulful side of Portlandia. — Erick Mertz

Revelle Jones Champagne dances to know she’s alive, and suffuses her blithe spirit into those around her. She could be the heroine in a Barbara Kingsolver novel set further north in Portland, Oregon. Ms. Wiley leaves us eager for more. — Karen Frost

Wiley’s first novel is a meticulously crafted five-senses read. Revelle is a spirited young heroine who stretches, twists and pirouettes into the life she craves. We can smell the moist, rich woods of Oregon and the smog of Southern California. We can hear her laugh with gusto and sob with remorse. We feel the beating heart of a woman seeking a spirit that matches her own. Wiley holds us in rapt attention. — Vicki Lind

Here is a literary, energetic dance with with a fresh protagonist: the huge-hearted, emotionally confused and fully alive Revelle. Wiley paints an authentic portrait of a Cultural Creative and her eclectic community. No formulaic fairy tale, this story is a realistic upward spiral, similar to my own life and the lives of friends: a life of inspirations and missteps, of fears and eventual courage. — Gene Latimer

Two rollercoaster years in the life of a thirtysomething woman, this book is an inside look at finding purpose through failures and setbacks. Revelle is a character that a reader can love. — Colleen Kaleda

Revelle is the Northwest’s refreshing, unjaded answer to Sex And The City. — Thor Hinckley

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Purchase Revelle from Amazon