Tag Archives: paranormal

Book Review: Ghost Hope (The PSS Chronicles #4) by Ripley Patton

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Ghost Hope (The PSS Chronicles #4) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (06/15/16)

Summary:

After everyone was displaced at the end of Ghost Heart, Olivia is with Mike Palmer stuck waiting for the hackers to find out where the dome and everyone else went. Mike Palmer leaves to find Kaylee. The hackers find the dome and Olivia is ready to go back because her goal is clear: get into the computers in the dome and find out everything the CAMFers and the Hold know about PSS, what they’ve been doing, and what they’ve done. Olivia doesn’t plan to stop at finding the research, however, she has bigger plans for the information.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan, Reuniting, Lost, Dome, Desert, Oregon, Fighting, Human Nature

My Review:

What a wonderfully satisfying ending to this series! Everything I wanted to know and everything I didn’t realize I wanted to know was revealed throughout this final and fourth book. What is PSS, how does it work, and finally where did it come from are fully answered. As a series, Patton does an amazing job at revealing the perfect amount of information on her imaginative PSS concept at the perfect intervals. Everything came together in this final book.

Characters I thought were minor were given more depth. For instance, Anthony, was shown to have a bigger role in the overall plot and more significance to the story than just as Dr. Fineman’s henchman. Every character mattered. Every character was their own person. Even Anthony is not entirely evil as a bad guy. His motivations and why he thinks the way he does is shown. He even gets some of his own chapters!

The breakdown of POV in this book was masterfully crafted. There were multiple POV, but they didn’t always alternate every chapter. The reader gets inside the heads of everyone important, except perhaps Olivia’s mother. There’s David Marcus, Olivia, Anthony, Jason, Mike Palmer, and Kaylee to get to know better. Kaylee was the most unique and different voice. Even though I couldn’t get into her perspective as much as I could the others, she was the most interesting voice to read.

The climax was excellent in both this book and as a series finale. There was buildup of tension throughout, with action interspersed expertly with character development and scene. The ending was as tense as any thriller and the conclusion was perfect for the plot, even though I thought there could be more written for the denouement. Some of the character reactions to the climax were not as full as they could have been.

I look forward to reading whatever Ripley Patton writes next.

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on June 15th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Coup de Grace (The Gift of Grace Book 2) by Esther Jones and Frog Jones

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Coup de Grace (The Gift of Grace Book 2) by  Esther Jones and Frog Jones

A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Novel published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. (02/19/14)

Summary:

Grace Moore is the interim director of the Spokane Grove of summoners and must convince the other Groves that she deserves to keep her position. Some are very eager to replace her. Grace does what she has to do to protect her apprentice Robert and the good people of Spokane. When her contact in the local police clues her in that someone has reopened the mall investigation from book one, she must act. Robert is also living under the radar, but he hasn’t forgotten the girl he left behind in Cythymau’s world in book one. After graduating from high school, he will go on to college, right? Or is Robert powerful enough and trained enough as a Summoner to go after the poor trapped girl?

Keywords:

Summoning, Magic, Danger, Fighting, Police, Damage, Power, Runes, Blood, Organization, Politics, Teacher, Learning, Graduation, Teenager, Hiding

My Review:

It took quite a few chapters to get pulled back into the Summoner’s and Grace and Robert’s stories. Much of the beginning of this book was taken up with Grace’s trip to Vegas and her attempt to be political, gain support and more members for the Spokane Grove. Meanwhile, back in Spokane, Robert is going to school and biding his time until graduation. Not much is going on. The slow start, however, was made up for by the epic second half of the book. The buildup and perfectly paced climax kept me at the edge of my seat. I absolutely loved the ending.

The tie-ins for this book were very clever. Anytime Cythymau showed up, he was a true villain. He was the right amount of clever and evil without being overwhelming.

Robert’s relationship with Grace was stretched to the utmost in this book. Robert had to grow as a Summoner and a person to make the right choices, but he doesn’t always make the right decisions. He is human after all. I wish I could have read about the incident in December. I’m sure it would be interesting and show a lot about Robert’s growth as a Summoner and a person.

The humor was more on par in this second book, but I missed much of the foodie aspect in this book that was present in book one.

This novel was published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. on February 19th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Frog and Esther Jones’ Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Grace Under Fire (The Gift of Grace Book 1) by Esther Jones and Frog Jones

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Grace Under Fire (The Gift of Grace Book 1) by  Esther Jones and Frog Jones

A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Novel published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. (10/11/12)

Summary:

Summoning isn’t legal, but it’s done all the time under the nose of the public and the police. Summoners work to maintain balance in the world and make sure nothing nasty gets through the Weave that separates worlds. Grace Moore is an average Summoner sent to investigate the mass murder of a group of summoners in Spokane. Why Grace? Because she’s good enough and everyone else is busy. And did I mention it was dangerous? While in Spokane, Grace encounters the source of the murders, a rather large nasty beast that almost kills her and wants to eat Summoners and soak up their power. At the last minute, the beast is distracted by an unusual power burst and takes off, straight toward a crowded mall. Meanwhile, Robert Lorents is enacting petty revenge using Summoning and Grace has to save his butt. As a Summoner with loads of potential, perhaps Robert is the key to saving Spokane from the big nasty.

Keywords:

Summoning, Magic, Danger, Big Beasts, Escape, Fighting, Police, Damage, Power, Saxophone, Teen Crush, Foodie, Runes, Blood, Hunting, Organization

My Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed the juxtaposition of a high school boy and a mid-thirties hippy chick. Both main characters, Robert and Grace, were well defined and full of their own personalities. It was super neat to see how each character viewed themselves and each other through the POV changes between chapters.

The world and rules for Summoning (magic) were very well defined. There were plenty of explanations for how the Groves functioned and what the Weave was and the ins and outs of Summoning. Summoning was unique enough for magic to be intriguing every time it was defined and every time I saw it in action.

The climax was phenomenal and perfectly timed.

My only critique is that many of Grace’s one-liners fell short and I did not find her as humorous as she was supposed to be written.

This novel was published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. on October 11th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Frog and Esther Jones’ Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton

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Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (10/14/14)

Summary:

“I had been moving on blind faith and pure desperation.” (Kindle Location 338).

“Why would someone sit around waiting for bad things to happen? Action was better.” (Kindle Location 2347).

Olivia was left behind at the Eidolon, only to be captured by the CAMFers and the evil Dr. Fineman. He will torture and manipulate Olivia to get what he wants. Olivia tries to stay ahead of him, but at every turn he bests her. She will just have to wait for her rescue to arrive. But back at the Hold everything is chaos and things are falling apart.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan, Reuniting, Lost

My Review:

Book three picks up where book two left off and the story has diverged because the original PSSers have become scattered. Jason and Passion are alone in the woods. Samantha and the Hold are off somewhere else. Olivia has been separated from everyone and is now at the CAMFer camp. Marcus is at the bottom of the lake. There is a lot going on to begin with and a lot of tension right from the start. A continuation of the climax and resolution from book two feeds right into the conflict buildup in book three.

I still love Olivia. In fact, I love her even more. I’m still on the fence with Marcus. Passion has become a strong character with her own personality and I love her too. Jason gets more time in this book as well and we learn much more about him than we ever knew before.

We learn more about PSS, especially Olivia’s ghost hand. The overall story arc is becoming clear as well. All the hints and setups in books one and two are most or partially revealed in this third book. But all is not over! I can’t wait to get my hands on book four and find out what will happen next!

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on October 14th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

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Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

A Paranormal/Action/Romance Novel published by Second Circle Press (03/22/16)

Summary:

“If grace had a scent, it would smell like you, Ava.” (Kindle Locations 1836-1837).
Remus Reese was branded an Omega and thrown out of the largest Pacific Northwest pack. He is not completely lost, because he knows he wants to be a part of a pack again, but before he has a chance to convince another pack to take him in, a Hunter catches up to his trail. Ava, the Hunter with a chip on her shoulder, has a personal vendetta with Remus and will stop at nothing to bring him in, but when she finds out more about who she’s working for, will she ultimately change her mind about how much she despises Remus and the Moon Forged?

Keywords:

Wolf-Kind, Hunters, Murder, Harsh Laws, Violence, Fleeing, Fighting, Change, Healing, Pack, Omega, Anger, Determination, Revenge, Experiments

My Review:

The first chapter made me want to put this book down. There was violent sex between the main character of this book and some poor unwilling prostitute. How could I come to like our ‘hero’ if I despised him from the first chapter? I’m not sure what was going on with that first chapter, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of the book and the only way I could sympathize with Remus was to forget that he was the rapist from chapter one. The way Remus acts around Ava is also sometimes off-putting.

Besides the violence in the first chapter, I was hooked into Remus’s story and Ava’s involvement almost immediately. The plot was super cool and very well done, with elements from book one colliding together with a logic I didn’t see coming. The tension was held nicely throughout the story and there was no way I would put the book down after that first chapter.

This novel was published by Second Circle Press on March 22nd, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information:

A.J. Downey’s Blog

Goodreads

Facebook

Book Review: Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2) by Ripley Patton

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Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (09/27/13)

Summary:

“Marcus was staking his claim to a new life, a real life. We all were. That’s what we were fighting for, armed with the weapons of sheer will, hope, and even guns, if that’s what it came to.” (Kindle Locations 516-519).

Olivia has joined Marcus and his group of PSS guys. They have all escaped the CAMFers at one time or another and now they want to help other kids with PSS get away from the clutches of the CAMFers. Marcus has his list of names and the next one that needs to be saved is Samantha James. But this isn’t a clear cut rescue since Samantha’s a part of a cult known as The Hold. They are a group of PSS advocates that have been keeping those with PSS safe. So if Samantha is safe from the CAMFers, how will Marcus and Olivia get her away from the Hold?

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan

My Review:

I love Olivia even more in this book. I love how she takes charge. I love how she gets upset but keeps trekking along. I love how she is resilient and opinionated and doesn’t stop to consider how she looks to others. She is her own person.

I love Marcus and how thoughtful he is and then I despise him for how he lies to Olivia and how he is the most manipulative person. I still haven’t totally figured him out, but I’m sucked into his character and his relationship with Olivia. I want to know more. I want to see them interact more. I want more.

The pacing is great, story points happen when they should. There are reveals and twists, and there is tension held up nicely throughout. Secrets and lies and new information will keep you turning pages. Things are coming together, those little clues you weren’t sure were real clues are turning into bigger revelations.

There are rules to the PSS, and slowly throughout the series we’re getting more and more information on how PSS works and where it came from! I can’t wait to learn more and have already started reading book 3 in the PSS Chronicles

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on September 27th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

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Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (11/28/12)

Summary:

“Don’t think about it. Solve the problem. Get yourself out.” (Page 86).
Olivia was born with a ghost hand. It’s rare to have PSS (a ghost body part), but Liv isn’t the only one. The ghost hand wasn’t that bad, if you didn’t mind being a freak in the middle of a small town, but after new kid Marcus shows up, the hand starts acting up. Olivia just wants to live her life, hide her hand as much as possible, but now she can’t. There are people after her who want to forcefully extract her PSS and if she wants to live she’ll have to team up with the new boy and his band of PSSers.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Small Town, Gossip, Rumor, Distant Mother, Friendship, Leader, Strategy

My Review:

I loved the main character, Olivia. She might freak out, as any normal teen under these circumstances should and would, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to find a solution. She’s a girl of action. She’s a real superhero and a model main female character. She’s funny, snarky, and thinks fast on her feet. She never lets the situation get the better of her in the end. She may get bad things thrown at her left and right, but she’s always trying to think of a solution and doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She is the strong underdog you’ll love to root for.

I laughed out loud more than once! The dialogue between the teenagers is so realistic and the things they say are hilarious! I especially loved and laughed at the scene where Olivia eats some salted almonds.

I very much appreciate books where the genders of the main characters could have been flipped and the book would hold true the same way. Olivia isn’t overly feminized or put into a gender corner. There was a romantic element, yes, but Olivia could have been Marcus as easily as Marcus could have been Olivia. I like the way Patton wrote this book the way it is written because I loved Olivia as a strong female lead. Marcus was also a strong character and a strong person, but his role was not as large as Olivia’s. She was the protagonist of the story.

Thank you, Ripley Patton for giving us more than just the usual paranormal fare. I was intrigued and fascinated throughout the entire story with Olivia’s ghost hand and the whole concept of “PSS” and I didn’t even mind not getting a thorough explanation for how PSS came about. Sometimes things are just unknown. I loved how this PSS concept is fully developed in this book and the characters discover more about it at the same time as the reader, so we gain a full understanding (but not right away). I believe there’s more to PSS than we know about from the first book and I wholeheartedly await reading more about PSS and hopefully Olivia, Marcus and the gang of PSSers in book two and beyond.

The PSS Chronicles are currently available for FREE in epub and mobi when you sign up for Ripley’s Booklist, the author’s discount YA/NA ebook newsletter (similar to Bookbub but smaller and friendlier). You can sign up here now to get your FREE books: http://eepurl.com/bfMiy9

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on November 28th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Emerge: the Awakening by Melissa A. Craven

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Emerge: the Awakening by Melissa A. Craven

A Paranormal Novel published by Midnight Hour Studio (03/31/2015)

 

Summary:

“Immortality doesn’t come cheap.” (Page 149).

Allie is different. Her family is different. She won’t know how unique she really is until she finds that even amongst the other immortals she is in a class all her own. After moving again and again as a child with her adopted family, they finally move back to their home town and Allie, who had never fit in before, immediately is welcomed by a group of teenagers who are not as normal as they let on.

 

Keywords:

Paranormal, Power, Immortals, Mortals, Connection, Loyalty, Friendship, Ignorance, Pain, Fighting, Violence, Torture, Coalition, Control, Love

 

My Review:

It wasn’t the paranormal part of this book that bothered me so much. It was the inability of the writing to let me know who was talking and the jumpiness of all the scenes. This book made me work to figure out who was talking and what was going on when what was really happening wasn’t complicated at all!

There was something missing from the sentences, from the characters, and from the story. The end felt rushed and forced to come to a climax while grinding to a halt to keep the storyline open to a sequel.

The addition of myth/backstory/memory was unnecessary and I skipped over it. Either the book is historical fiction or it’s not and this book was not, so no need for this type of in-depth addition.

I didn’t feel like I knew any of the characters other than Allie, Aiden and towards the end, Liam. There were too many people to keep track of and I started to get a serious Twilight vibe with the way the family kept together and was set against a Coalition.

What was the point of Vince? He added absolutely nothing to the story and he had basically no personality and the reader knew nothing about him. He was basically soothing arm-candy for Allie and annoyingly bereft of usefulness. I wish Aiden was the main character and not Allie. She was annoying and flawed. She didn’t step up her game when it mattered the most, which would have been great for her backstory but not for her (lack of) moment of triumph during the climax.

This novel was published by Midnight Hour Studio 03/31/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 2.50

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Melissa A. Craven’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: Siren by Jennifer Melzer

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Siren by Jennifer Melzer

A Romance/Fantasy/Paranormal Novel published by Dragon’s Gold (01/05/2015)

 

Summary:

Siren Talbot is in love with Carver and thinks he’s about to propose after more than two years of being in a relationship. When the night is over, she is left with a haphazard memory and a box that she thinks contains the ring, but no Carver. He disappeared. Siren falls apart at his abrupt absence and is only able to get through it when she meets Patrick. This new man charms his way into her life and lends her support when she needs it and they grow quite fond of each other. When he proposes, she accepts and they are married, but she can never quite let go of Carver… For three years she hasn’t opened the ring box, but when she’s finally ready to let the past go, the box has mysteriously vanished. There is only one culprit this time: Patrick.

 

Keywords:

 Relationships, bad boyfriends, secrets, magic, depression, moving on, romance, love, future, locked away, disappear, second chances, bad magic, evil

My Review:

I didn’t realize this was a romance story. Most of the story was taken up by the romance and Siren pining for Carver and loving Patrick etc. etc. This book was mostly romance with a bit of fantasy thrown in, so if that’s your thing, then go for it. I wasn’t as pleased with the mix. I thought there could have been a lot edited out as the story dragged in many places and the emotions Siren was feeling were repeated over and over again.

The story begins with a high tension scene that makes the slow pace afterward seem even slower. It takes about half the book for the second (and real) inciting action to take place. The opening scene was like a faux inciting incident and seemed unbalanced in the context of the story’s pacing and plot. Quite a bit of editing could have taken place after this first scene, as we are shown Siren pining and grieving and then recovering painfully slow. The author takes too much time with the aftermath of Carver’s disappearance. We get the point already, move on to the real meat of the story please.

I thought the story focused on Siren, but it seemed that she was just a vehicle through which Carver’s and Patrick’s stories could take place. I didn’t like Siren. She was whiny and easily manipulated. She was constantly doubting her own emotions and just going along with whatever was presented to her. She didn’t have much of her own personality until the middle of the book, where the real story begins. The fact that Siren wouldn’t open the ring box for so very, very long makes me dislike her even more. Siren and the other characters would have been more relatable had there been no magic involved, but because there is a paranormal side to the novel, nothing seemed remotely likely and you will have to suspend your belief if you want to really get into this story.

This novel was published by Dragon’s Gold 01/05/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Jennifer Melzer’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: Hunter’s Choice by A.J. Downey

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Hunter’s Choice by A.J. Downey

A Paranormal Romance Novel published by A.J. Downey (03/14/14)

Summary:

‘“Hi! You’ve reached Moonchild’s Owl Haven. The owner, Jessamine Connors is non-verbal so if you hear a high tone it means yes, a low tone it means no.’ (Kindle Locations 414-415).

Jessamine cares for her fly babies – her rescued owls – in and around her regular job working at an animal hospital. Her true love is for the owls at Moon child’s Owl Haven and for her friends and family that made the place possible. Charlie, her best friend, is 70 and Aaron is a teenager given a second chance and volunteering at the Haven. Jessamine has all she needs, except that she doesn’t think she is enough for someone to love because of her stutter. Along comes Hunter, a Barred Owl, and Jessamine is truly happy saving him and caring for him, but Hunter is not just an Owl and not content to sit by and watch Jess get hurt.

Keywords:

Owls, Hunter, Help, Vet, Stutter, Love, Myths, Shifter, Hospital, Friends, Family, Tough Chick, Second Chances, Disrespect, Sex Scenes, Violence

 

My Review:

Hunter’s Choice is one of AJ Downey’s first books and you can see that it is less sophisticated with grammar and writing style than her later works. But from the very beginning, you can also see how great Downey is at writing a compelling story and layering the plot and giving life to her characters. Everything that makes a good book a good book is here in Hunter’s Choice. You just have to get used to the grammar errors and they won’t bother you too much, because the story has great flow and the sentence structure is not difficult to read.

I love how Jessamine is a person before she’s a romantic character aka love interest. Jessamine has her own story and her own background and interests and passions even before the main man shows up. She doesn’t assume someone will save her when she’s in dire straits, she doesn’t just give up. She is a fighter and stubborn even though she has low self-esteem. That is where she has room to grow and she does. She is a broken character that can be healed by the power of love and it’s so gratifying to watch her bloom.

I didn’t need Hunter’s background in so much detail, but it was valuable to have an explanation for the paranormal aspect of this book.

This novel was published by A.J. Downey on March 14th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

A.J. Downey’s Blog

Goodreads

AJ Downey’s Facebook