Adult

21 Feb 2012 No Comments

Fallen by Traci L. Slatton

Title: Fallen
Author: Traci L. Slatton
Publisher: Telemachus Press (July 27, 2011)

When the world ends, all that is left is love….

As chaos descends on a crippled Earth, survivors are tormented by strange psychic gifts. In this time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test. One woman with mysterious healing power guides seven children to safety. Charismatic Arthur offers her a haven. Slowly Emma falls for him. But at the moment of their sweetest love, his devastating secret is revealed, and they are lost to each other. Will Emma stay with him?
The first in a romantic trilogy set during the end times.

Fallen is set in a post-apocalyptic world where death-dealing mists create chaos amongst survivors. Emma leads a group of young survivors through the remnants of a world they use to know in hopes of finding a safe zone. During a narrow escape with the mists, they encounter a group of men that joins their camp with the hopes that their situation will improve. It seems as though their prayers are finally answered and they are safe at last… or are they.

Slatton’s Fallen is a breath of fresh air and an exciting mix of the romance, dystopian, and paranormal genres. Slatton is a fantastic storyteller, quickly immersing you in the lives of her characters and the world they struggle to survive in. Several of the survivors are gifted with talents that define or support their character, propelling and strengthening the plot. The death-dealing mists are simply fascinating.

When it comes to emotions, Slatton puts it all on the table, allowing readers to feel the love, hate, pain, and hope of the characters as they fall in love, become wounded, or simply attempt to rebuild a life they once had. Fallen awakens emotion and captivates with the turn of each page.

Overall, Slatton developed an intense world with a paranormal twist that meshed very well within a post-apocalyptic romance. From every angle, Fallen is a captivating adventure with just enough romance to keep you enthralled and begging for more. Slatton is an author to watch as I expect this isn’t the last we will see of her.

by Jennifer in Adult, Reviews Tags: Fallen, Telemacus Press, Traci L. Slatton

06 Feb 2012 No Comments

Otherwise by Jennifer B White

Otherwise by Jennifer B White
Paperback: 330 pages
Publisher: OakBluffs Press (December 21, 2011)

Reluctantly, Delilah Gray has returned to her childhood home—a ramshackle cottage where her compulsive, hoarding grandmother, Meema, raised her. Meema’s ghostly manifestations refuse to let Delilah clean the filthy house, or to stay there peacefully. And that’s just the beginning of Delilah’s problems.

Lonely, angry, and hiding a painful secret, she tries to find a place for herself in a town that she once discovered was “in-between”—a portal to the worlds of the supernatural. Upon her arrival, Delilah unwittingly gets caught in the middle of important business between The Keeper, whose job it is to keep souls on the physical plane, and The Sender who helps speed the dead on their afterlife journey.

When Delilah discovers that she is connected to Lily Defoe, a woman who leapt to her death many years ago, and to a man who refers to himself as The Gravedigger for Lost Souls, she realizes there is more to her homecoming than she anticipated. Who she is, and who she’s been, crosses the boundaries of life and death. Nothing—not the people she meets, not this very moment in time, not even the tragic death of her daughter—is what it appears to be. Not only does Delilah have her own “soul searching” to do, but she must work with some of Green Lake’s oddest characters to uncover the mysteries of several unsolved deaths that have never been forgotten.

While strange and supernatural occurrences threaten Delilah’s already fragile emotional state, she still has a crucial choice to make that will change everything. She comes to understand that there are some things that are worse than death. There is Otherwise—to be confined to a twilight state between the spiritual and the physical worlds. OTHERWISE is a chilling tale about lonely spirits, protective forces, and departed loved ones who are never really gone—and a woman who, after wanting to die, finds a reason to live and to love again. Only to discover what it is to be Otherwise.

Otherwise is a fantastic blend of mystery, suspense and the paranormal, all rolled up into one amazing tale. White takes readers on an adventure into Delilah Gray’s life and death, unfolding the mysteries behind the ghostly hauntings throughout the novel. Gray’s story is one that immediately grabs you, pulling you into her world and keeping you enthralled in the odd characters she meets along her journey. The characters are well developed, with personalities that are truly unforgettable. Each of the characters put a unique spin on the plot, driving you to flip the pages even faster. The paranormal aspect of Otherwise isn’t defined clearly in the beginning, but White gives you the perfect amount of a hauntingly good time as you anxiously wait for the mysteries to unfold.

Overall, White’s Otherwise is an exciting paranormal read that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting more of the unusually captivating characters that grace the pages. The only thing wrong with Otherwise is that it ended.

About Jennifer

Jennifer B. White has written a boatload of books, a mass of movie scripts, and, from time to time, epic poems that all begin with the words; This is a very long sonnet, so grab a drink. Go on, get on it! Growing up, her family understood that a certain amount of supernatural phenomena was to be expected. Her father foretold his mother’s death and witnessed her ghost. Many years later, Jennifer received a “sign” that her father was dying when her house was filled with the scent of incense. She got to her dad in time to hold his hand as he passed away. It’s okay, she’s made peace with his death. She’d just prefer if he’d stop playing with the dining room lights.

These experiences, and others like them, left Jennifer with seeds for several good stories like DEAD ASLEEP, OTHERWISE and THE WITCH AND THE DEVIL’S SON—novels that explore intriguing topics like ghosts, witchcraft, dreams, time travel, reincarnation, and the lines between life and death. As well as penning novels, Jennifer is a screenwriter and Hollywood tagline writer. She lives and writes in Boston, Massachusetts, when she’s not in Los Angeles, California working on movies. She holds a BA in communication and an M.Ed in psychology. She has three boys—all were born in late October, the youngest on Halloween.

You can stalk Jennifer on:

Website

Twitter @nakedhollywood

Facebook

Goodreads

Oak Ivy Publishing @oakivy Oak Ivy Website

by Jennifer in Adult, Reviews Tags: Jennifer B White, OakBluffs Press, Otherwise

27 Jan 2012 1 Comment

Taken by the Others by Jess Haines

Taken by the Others by Jess Haines
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Zebra (January 1, 2011)

Once, New York P.I. Shiarra Waynest’s most pressing problem was keeping her agency afloat. Now she’s dealing with two dangerous, seductive vampires who have been enemies for centuries. The only thing Max Carlyle and Alec Royce agree on is that they both want Shia – for very different reasons.

Max is determined to destroy Shia for killing his progeny, while Royce’s interest is a lot more personal. That’s not sitting well with Shia’s werewolf boyfriend, Chaz. As the feud between Max and Royce gets ever more deadly, a powerful vampire-hunting faction is urging Shia to join their side.

Shia has always believed vamps were the bad guys, but she’s discovering unexpected shades of grey that are about to redefine her friends, her loyalties – and even her desires.

Fan of Jess Haines’ Hunted by the Others will really enjoy this adventure in the H & W Investigations series. How long does it take for the action to start? Well, Shiarra has someone pointing a gun at her on the first page… and the action doesn’t let up from there.

While the first book brought a few supporting characters into the spotlight (Chaz, Sara, Arnold), this one provides a little more insight into another group that plays a big role in the storyline — the vampire-hunters known as the White Hats. Yes, the hunters are still a group of gun-toting extremists who are a little too dedicated to hunting down Others, but we get to see a couple of them for what they really are — normal people whose lives were turned upside down when they learned that vampires, werewolves, and mages weren’t just characters in books and movies. While I saw the White Hats as little more than thugs before, I became a little more sympathetic to their cause as I got to know some of them a little better.

Of course, Shiarra is still the main character and what happens to her will have you on the edge of your seat. I like the fact that she has never been depicted as a ‘kick butt and take names’ type of heroine, always exhibiting normal characteristics that add a sense of realism to her, but the depths of vulnerability that she reaches in this book will really establish her as someone you care about.

Royce becomes an even more intriguing character, exhibiting a deadly charm that repels and attracts at the same time. With motives that are always unclear and actions that range from caring to manipulative, one can never be sure if he’s a good guy or bad guy. True to his vampire nature, the only thing Royce can be counted on for is that each move he makes is calculated to benefit him, but even what he considers beneficial is a mystery. Does he view Shiarra as a pawn? a slave? a lover? Nobody can really know for sure, and that’s what makes him such great fun.

Royce isn’t the only powerful vamp in town this time around; Max Carlyle, an old friend/rival, has stopped by… and he has an old score to settle. Through Max, we learn a little more about Royce, and we learn how bad a vamp can really be when he doesn’t play by the rules. Max may possess the vampire power of seduction, but there’s nothing charming about him.

Fast-paced and action-packed, with characters both old and new, Taken by the Others will thrill you from the first page to the last, while providing more than one or two chills along the way.

Other books in the series include:

Hunted by the Others (May 4, 2010) (review)
Deceived by the Others (July 1, 2011)
Stalking the Others (July 3, 2012)

by Marty in Adult, Reviews Tags: Jess Haines, Taken by the Others, Zebra Publishing