Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Paranormal

ISLANDS by Sara Stamey – a contemporary thriller that combines the lure of the Caribbean with gritty reality

When anthropologist Susan Dunne goes to a Caribbean island to investigate a mysterious stone carving, she finds that it is not only the ancient past that haunts her, but a ghost from her closest family.

Susan is drawn to the islands by a crumpled letter from her murdered brother, who before his death made a find that could lead her to academic fame. If she can locate his discovery, she may be able to prove that a petro-glyph hundreds of years old is of African origin, predating the incursion of Columbus to the Caribbean. The combination of her professional dreams and the nightmare of John’s violent killing quickly pull her into the bloody heart of the region’s notorious voodoo cult. Seeking an old, wise professor, Phillip Holte, who may know where to find the petro-glyphs, she is aided and at times thwarted by John’s grieving girlfriend Laura, and by John’s worst enemy, possibly his killer, Victor Manden.

With Vic dogging her tracks and Laura watching from the sidelines, Susan, perilously naïve concerning the secrets of the island people, believes she is close to her goal when she finds and is befriended by Phillip. But she continually ignores the warnings of those who know better than she the danger she’s in. Almost too late she realizes that someone she has trusted is a force for savagery and suffering, pulling her into a morass of occult horror beyond her worst imagining. Before her island visit is over, Susan will have to confront the most primitive aspects of her own nature.

Author Sara Stamey has lived some of what she has created in the fictional Islands: she is a world traveler, who, like Susan and her Caribbean companions, is an avid scuba diver. Stamey knows the region, colorfully painting the searing sunlight, the sparkling clear underwater world viewed by divers seeking buried treasure, the ubiquitous sweet and sometimes doctored rum drinks, and the tight, tense lines drawn between island “natives” (actually former slaves) and the “continentals,” the name given to the minority whites, former plantation masters now trying to cynically exploit their properties as a glitzy tourist trap.

Mystical, romantic, intellectually and viscerally stimulating, Islands deftly depicts a woman’s encounter with deadly lies and the chance for true and lasting love.

December 22, 2016
CREATURA (Book 1) by Nely Cab – Do Dreams Come True? YA Paranormal #Mortal

A young girl living in Los Fresnos, Texas, whose loss of control over her dreams sets her on a long journey to discover how hundreds of years of history between gods and humans will turn her life upside down in the first book of this paranormal young adult series.

Isis Martin, a high school junior just starting to think about college plans, is living with her single mother Claire, who separated from her father just before his death. Her biggest problems are her recent breakup with her first love Gabriel and her lack of sleep, the latter of which is caused by a recurring nightmare in which a terrifying and mysterious creature that returns every night to threaten her.

Frustrated with the nightmare, Isis confronts the creature, who surprises her by questioning why she has intruded on his realm. He teaches her about a history between humans and gods that she doesn’t want to believe – until he forces her to by proving himself to be real by showing up at her high school.

Everyone is intrigued by the mysterious and alluring new student, David, but Isis is more intent on getting away from him and his disturbing past. He, on the other hand, is hell-bent on figuring out how a typical girl can intrude on the divine realm in her sleep. David works against the prejudices built by hundreds of years of complicated and bloody history between the mortals and gods to try and understand Isis.

As David and Isis work together to figure out what her dreams mean, they are impeded by his meddling family, her well-meaning but nosy mom, and her ex, Gabriel, popping up at an inopportune time.

Cab’s first novel in her series has some of the expected elements in a typical teen paranormal romance and a few unpredictable developments. Her overarching plot about the long history between Greek gods and humans cleverly adds a new and unique twist to a familiar paranormal narrative.

Cab’s main character, Isis, shows herself to be tough and an independent thinker early on in the novel, which makes her an easy character readers will easily identify with. But, as is common with teen paranormal romance, the roles of the characters are clearly defined. Nevertheless, their romantic narrative has a sweet nature and more than a few affectionate moments that readers will appreciate.

An unexpected delight of the novel was the wonderful relationship between Isis and her mother, Claire. They have an amazing amount of care and adoration for each other, but they also treat each other with mutual respect and friendly nature of two gals helping each other sort through their complicated romances. The interactions between Isis and Claire provide entertaining reprieve from the rest of the plot.

Overall, Cab uses traditional romantic narratives to appeal to avid paranormal readers, and she makes it stand out by developing an entertaining history between divine beings and mortals.

This is our pick for young readers experiencing “Twilight” withdrawals and hungering to get their hands on a unique take on a familiar struggle between two lovers plagued by forces beyond their control.

December 12, 2016
ZOOMBIES from PLANET X by Karl Larew – Vampire Special Agents to the Rescue!

Another madcap adventure of the Good Vampires—especially the hilarious special agents of the New York Good Vampire Association—battling the mean old Bad Vampires to save the world from mayhem comes to us from university history professor and author of wacky spoofs, Karl Larew. Good Vampire-loving readers you know who you are! Prepare for a spookin’ and spoofing good time with this one. To newbies, join the party. You’ll have a rollicking good time. Larew has come through again with a fun read for adults who’ll surely appreciate this mash-up between James Bond, Inspector Clouseau, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This third volume in the Good Vampire Trilogy commences, not surprisingly, with Lance and Carol snug in bed. Lance pats Carol’s bare bottom before using his spring-powered lancet to make two neat little holes in one nicely rounded cheek and begins to suck her blood. The humanly handsome Good Vampire Lance Blodgett, now married to totally human Carol, leaves no bruises, causes his beloved partner little if any pain, and takes care not to be greedy. After all, Carol must produce more blood for her own needs now that she is pregnant. However, Lance (a professor of vampire lore at a university in New York City) has been away at an academic convention and requires at least a few sucks to appease the vampire’s metabolic need for a ‘nip’ of human blood now and then.

Once satisfied, he applies a Band-Aid to Carol’s rear-end, and the loving couple turns toward each other with a passionate kiss. But no sooner has their love-making begun when the door buzzer sounds. Punching the intercom button, Lance learns that Nigel and Becky, their friends and New York Good Vampire Association special agent partners, have urgent news. As Lance lets them in the apartment, he can see the excitement in their lustrous, dark Nigerian faces—especially the pregnant Becky’s. (Yes, these newlyweds are expecting also!) Nonetheless, Lance and Carol can’t help but grumble about the exquisite timing of their friends’ unexpected arrival.

“Sorry, Old Boy,” Nigel apologizes and snickers a bit. But, he explains, they’ve got to burn rubber and get to Headquarters. Their leader, Mr. Granville, needs them NOW. As they leave the building, they discover the legendary Arnold Robertson, Ace Special Agent of all Good Vampire branches in Europe, crumpled up on the floor by the mailboxes in the foyer. Robertson is barely able to mumble a message for Mr. Granville—“pyramid in Egypt-Nubia area…secret of mummies…chemicals for zombies…find pluh, an, et, X”—before dying. The NYC agents call a Good Vampire ambulance to come for Robertson’s body before heading out.

Arleigh Granville’s Good Vampire hit men, Gladdy and Dizzy, admit the four special agents to the mansion, and they are soon closeted with their leader. Mr. Granville is saddened by Robertson’s death but realizes that it must be related to a new Bad Vampire plot in Europe and, apparently, Egypt, to overcome the Good Vampires and conquer the world. Noticing Carol’s and Becky’s ‘baby bumps’, he wonders if they’re up to accompanying their husbands to Europe to quell the plot (of course they are!), and proceeds to tell them that his wife Inge (a reformed Bad Vampire) is expecting also. Then Gladdy and Dizzy exclaim that their new wives (also reformed Bad Vampires), twins Delivah and Helovah, are suffering morning sickness. The group soon discovers that all five babies are due in October (just possibly on the 9-month anniversary of a super party celebrating the last victory of the Good Vampires over the Bad ones?). Then Lance, rubbing his chin, breaks the happy spell with the thought that perhaps Robertson was trying to say “Planet X” (wherever that is!).

After a visit to the Good Vampire Laboratory of Doctor Lester Griswold—who presents them with his latest James Bond-like secret weapons: a pen enclosing a long poison-tipped ‘toothpick’ that can pierce mummy bindings; a pistol that shoots a hardening goo that can stop and stick a mummy or a zombie in its tracks; and another pen that is actually a laser gun, whose light makes these critters turn away in pain and might also set them on fire—the four special agents are soon flying across the Atlantic on their way to Paris. Annette in Paris (a Good Vampire) has reported that the Son of Elmer (a very bad vampire) is vowing revenge on all Good Vampires.

With this news, the special agents’ task is spelled out. Although they team up with Annette and the Paris branch, the agents share a sneaking suspicion that the European group has perhaps been infiltrated by Bad Vampires. (It has happened before!) So, they decide to head to Egypt alone, where they team up with Mr. Granville’s contact, Professor Anwar Jones of the Egyptological Institute. They learn that the fiendish Son of Elmer has discovered a chemical formula that can turn mummies into zombies, who will be sent out to eliminate not only Good Vampires but also many good humans. Their bodies (even un-mummified) will be transformed by the chemical formula into more zombies, who will join the other zombies and the Bad Vampires in their maniacal plan to conquer the innocent human world—unless, that is, our special agents cunningly devise a way to stop them!

As seasoned readers of Volumes I and II can guess, and newbies will soon discover, the two special agent couples and the professor make their way from one sticky adventure to another by every means of transport imaginable (even roller skates?)—cleverly skirting danger and generally dispatching their enemies with the aid of Dr. Griswold’s ingenious arsenal of James Bondish devices. Exploring a pyramid, they run into both mummies and zombies. The dummy mummies and lumbering zombies aren’t too hard to escape from until they meet up with a zombie on roller skates—he’s soon zooming right on their tails. By golly, he’s a ‘zoombie’!

Cunningly escaping from the Egyptian zoombies, they head back to France—Alsace and Reims, then to the Rhineland in search of the Son of Elmer (aka “Ralphie”), back to the Paris branch (YES, there HAS been a Bad Vampire infiltration), and once more to Egypt—always remaining a RAT-A-TAT-TAT ahead of the zoombies, not to mention Ralphie and his henchmen.

Don’t bite your fingernails too short reading all about that, because you’ll soon follow our agents to Nashville, TN. Why? A new venue for zombie business, that’s why, this time involving Vampire Cows, and Ralphie, of course. “Who writes this stuff?” (a voice out of nowhere asks). Enough!

Remember all those babies due in October? Well, all five mothers-to-be go on maternity leave at a bucolic boondocks mansion in upstate NY, under the care of Dr. Griswold. Needless to say, the boondocks don’t remain bucolic, but you can read all about that, then join our agents in the maternity ward, and, finally, learn why this wild tale ends with a single, innocent-sounding word…breadsticks?

November 29, 2016
CROSSING into the MYSTIC by D.L. Koontz – a paranormal mystery that crosses genres

Grace MacKenna has a problem – actually, she has two. At sixteen, she loses her family and is sent to live in Boston with her greedy aunt. Then she discovers she has something called “subtle vision” that allows her to see spirits. But not the spirits of her family, who have crossed fully to the other side. Grace sees the spirits trapped in limbo on Earth, who must complete their business before they can escape.

Her first spirit confrontation occurs when she inherits Crossings, her stepfather’s house in Maryland. It is haunted by William Kavanaugh, a young man murdered during the Civil War who needs her help in solving the mystery of his death so he can move on.

It takes her a while to figure everything out, being distracted by the maneuvers needed to occupy her new home without her guardians and understand the “subtle vision.” When she trips over Clay Baxter, a recovering young veteran just home from Afghanistan, upon moving in, more conflict comes into play. He’s “a ruffian and a gentleman all in one package”; “night to my day, truck to my Volvo, grease to my silk, bedroll to my egg-roll.” He’s also twenty and can’t approach Grace as he desires because she’s a minor (and he happens to be engaged). To make matters even more complicated, Grace thinks she’s in love with William, who becomes progressively more solid as she masters her perceptive powers.Clay worries that Grace is being pulled, dangerously, more and more into the world of the dead.

Grace’s physical and emotional reactions to the paranormal are convincingly portrayed by the author. Koontz grounds the story in the area’s history, teaching readers about the Civil War era while riveting us with suspense—all in a Gothic undertone of ghosts and graves, shadows and groaning doors. Grace is believably mature for her age while intermittently reverting to the normal insecurities of being at the crossroads of teenager and young adult. This makes her character even more to root for. The plot-line twists and turns adding suspense, the setting is, well,vividly haunting, and the author adds a dash of wit and humor to the mix while the characters are rich and complex.

“Crossing Into the Mystic” is the launch volume of this paranormal mystery trilogy that crosses genres (YA+) told in a bright, new-adult voice. Also, while the central story is resolved nicely enough, there is plenty to entice the reader to look forward to the next two books.

November 9, 2016
REAL-LIFE GHOSTBUSTERS Discover What Goes Bump in the Night at Author’s Farmhouse by Sharon Anderson

Anonymous, a riveting story based on a real-life grab-the-seat-of-your-pants thrill-fest by Chanticleer First Place Clue Award-winning author, Christine Benedict, is making news! Her hair-raising novel is based on the real-life incidents that she and her husband experienced when they lived in a haunted 1875 farmhouse.

It all started the day she and her husband moved into the 14-room farmhouse with only a few of the rooms in livable condition. Her husband worked hard and socialized with his brothers while she stayed at home with the baby, trying to discern if she was going insane like her mother, or truly was hearing footsteps on the floor above… when no one else was at home. Benedict puts her character, Debra, into some of the same horrifying situations she lived through, from thinking the house is haunted to thinking she might be inheriting her mother’s insanity, and to receiving explicit and terrifying letters from a stalker.

With a new plot twist around every corner, the author delivers a complex story of obsession and jealousy that will keep the reader turning page after satisfying page. Christine Benedict’s Anonymous hits all the marks for an engrossing, edge-of-your-seat read.

Real Life ghostbusters discover what goes bump in the night at author’s farmhouse!

Welcome to the party Munroe Falls Paranormal Society!

MFPS is based in Munroe Falls, just outside of Akron, Ohio.

Their mission statement is: The Munroe Falls Paranormal Society strives to provide an objective and unbiased approach to the scientific study, investigation, and research of paranormal phenomenon.

They are a well-organized, science-based group of individuals whose passion is to discover if the noises you’re hearing are just normal noises, or actual disembodied voices trying to scare the crap out of you.

The MFPS has taken on investigating Benedict’s house, and what they discover is both shocking and hair-raising. Watch the video of the investigation and everything that happened here.

Christine and The Munroe Falls Paranormal Society invite you to join them at The Berea Branch of The Cuyahoga County Library on November 14, at 7:00 pm to see this incredible documentary. Sponsored by Mysterious Midwest.

Christine Benedict is the 1st Place winner of the 2015 Clue Book Award

Chanticleer Reviews: “With a new plot twist around every corner, the author delivers a complex story of obsession and jealousy that will keep the reader turning page after satisfying page. Christine Benedict’s “Anonymous” hits all the marks for an engrossing, edge-of-your-seat read.”

Watch the Anonymous’ spooky Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/70eys8mECFY

Contributor:

Sharon Anderson is a horror writer with a sense of humor. Her book, Curse of the Seven 70s answers the question,

‘What happens when Vlad Dracula’s younger brother comes back to life bent on revenge, but finds love instead?”

Find out more about this author at http://www.SharonAndersonAuthor.com

November 2, 2016
DECODING the BUTTERFLY PROMISE: Regaining Our Sacred Power by Gail Siler, PhD. — a spiritual journey

People who feel a pull to go beyond what Dr. Siler calls “Normalville” will find treasures in this book. Devotees of Carlos Castenados will find this work particularly interesting. Followers of different paths can find gems to enjoy. I admire the author for sharing her extraordinary life with us.

During intense seeking and searching for two decades during her unique spiritual journey, Dr. Siler strives to trust the process and not just the results. She feels a knowing pulsing within her and a compulsion to deliver a message, but before she can pass along the information, she feels that she must increase her spiritual energy. Fear and self-doubt block her, swinging her between the positive and the negative. Her supernatural mentors help her forge ahead through periods of deep devastation by easing her journey with intermittent gifts of joy, augmented by physical clues beyond coincidence—clues holding deep meaning for the Dr. Siler.

The author includes a handy road-map to help navigate the book that is divided into four parts. Siler reminds us that this is not a work of fiction, but is an account of her personal experiences. She also warns her readers that at times they may be confused or find that the information meanders and wanders. However, she advises to keep reading as that was her intent so that the information she presents “will percolate” and will make sense as the readers’ minds awaken to flashes of insight.

Dr. Siler tells us that her guides (spiritual and in the flesh) withhold enlightenment from her until she re-energizes her spiritual maturity and is ready to receive their wisdom. Clarity might come to readers like clarity came to the author, at the end of a stage in their spiritual journeys.

Dr. Siler believes the time is at hand for the feminine energy, the right brain creative side in both men and women, to reach its fullness. She states that the attitude of inequality that lingers in some men and women must cease. And moreover, unequal treatment in the world at large must stop.

Decoding the Butterfly Promise: Regaining Our Sacred Power by Gail Siler, PhD (an international consultant and social scientist) invites us to witness her unique spiritual journey. Our journeys are destined to take humankind from the negative to the positive—the power of love is the lesson that Dr. Siler imparts to her readers. Overall, this work will raise questions and open doors to different perspectives, and the satisfying ending promises more to come in the next of Dr. Siler’s series The Godmother Chronicles.

September 6, 2016
WRITING as an OLYMPIC SPORT by Sharon E. Anderson– award-winning author

Back when I didn’t know any better, I thought that if an author had talent, she would never, ever have to revise her work. Her words would flow onto the page, pristine and poignant, ready to be read by her adoring fans.

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Bebe Daniels giving it all in the name of creative endeavor.

I imagined she wore a cream-colored silk robe – although it could have been pink, yellow or light blue because my successful author was gleaned from a 1920’s black and white movie – cigarette attached to one of those long holder-thingies, she would slink across her high-rise Manhattan apartment and wait for her man-friend to pour her a glass of champagne and fix her up a plate of caviar on little toast rounds whilst reading her reviews in The New York Times. Anything less would be, well, amateur.

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Of course the reviews are absolutely glowing — as am I.

Like everything else in life, I’ve learned a few things: I don’t live on the East coast, caviar from the grocery shelf doesn’t taste the same as the kind in the can served at expensive restaurants, nothing comes easy–even if you’re talented, and that smoking is bad for you.

As an author, I may be able to write quickly, but revisions are where the story comes to life – like an athlete practicing a sport. She may not run a stellar hurdle race the first time out of the gate. She may, in fact, fall over the first hurdle and every subsequent hurdle thereafter as she endeavors to complete the race. It isn’t easy. Hurdles are hard and to someone like me, dangerous. But every day she’s back at the track working on her timing, her form, the craft of her sport.

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Authors have their own hurdles to jump.

It’s the same thing authors do. We work hard at our craft and sometimes it feels as if we have fallen. The important thing is to get up and continue learning, producing, developing our craft. Our prize isn’t an Olympic Gold medal, though. Our prize is a great book with awesome reviews (and maybe an award or two).
Many thanks to Sharon E. Anderson to allow Chanticleer to publish her timely blog-post that reminds all of us authors the importance of being persistent and to continually push ourselves to hone and develop our writing craft.

Sharon is the award-winning author of several short stories, screen plays, and books. She says,

“Most of my work has to do with the darker side of life. I’m somehow drawn to the anti-hero, the villain, the underdog. But I’m not your typical horror writer, either. In nearly all of my stories you will find hope, redemption, and humor, because if you can’t laugh, you’re already in hell.”

Sharon is also the president of the Skagit Valley Writers League, human servant to Tig the Cat, mother and wife, and a great all-around gal!

The Curse of the Seven Seventies

Cassandra Blake is having a very bad day. Her fiancé dumps her for a silicone debutante and convinces her to store his boxes of precious research. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s just moved into a cottage stocked only with tinned sardines packed in oil, canned peaches, and 30- year-old Scotch.

Heartbroken, hungry, and a little bit drunk, Cassandra soon realizes that just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, sometimes they can get very strange…like finding a skeleton in the basement of her newly inherited cottage.

But when that skeleton suddenly becomes a hot, romantic, and business savvy vampire named Varo…well, things can get a little better. That is…until his infamous older brother shows up, and their centuries old sibling rivalry threatens her chance at true love.

Can their love survive her conniving ex-fiancé, Varo’s vengeful brother, and the Curse of the Seven 70s?

Edgy, modern, and one humorous vampire tale — an entertaining and fun read. Chanticleer Reviews [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

August 28, 2016
BELIEVE by Annaliese Darr — Magical Realism & Mysteries

Spring O’Flaherty has an unusual problem. From childhood she’s been not only clairvoyant, but also able to see auras. These are not just faint, she can see them if she squints auras, but vibrant auras, dark auras, life force fading auras –a virtual kaleidoscope of energies always swirling.

Fortunately, she comes from a loving and religious family that understands her special talents and helps her deal with them the best that they can. Her father is a preacher in the Blue Ridge mountain country of western Virginia, and often takes the family on revival trips and her mother doesn’t discount her daughter’s unique “gift.”

Even with her family’s support, Spring has some terrifying experiences in her youth that made her suppress her powers and reject God. (“Holding the person you love as he bleeds out is enough to turn anyone into a cynic,” she tells her mom.) She walks away from the painful past and works hard to build a normal life, becoming an attorney in Atlanta where she tries to block her “gift.” Her new world disdains and disavows the mysterious, intangible forces, which suits Spring just fine.

That is, until she meets Jed Collinsworth, a charming, handsome, and well-bred Southern gentleman who is also a top-level district attorney from a wealthy family. When her dream comes true and he asks her to marry him, she then begins to balk from fear that learning of her powers will not only repel Jed personally, but that worries that her “gift” becomes public knowledge that it might ruin his career.

So, she seeks help from a psychologist, who takes her back to the beginning. Through revisiting her memories, she starts to integrate who she was with whom she is, while hoping to find a way to live with her gift, and trying to be honest with the man she loves without scaring him off or ruining his career.

Annaliese Darr, the author, writes of the Appalachian culture of tent revivals, blue grass & gospel music, and beliefs in “psychic gifts” and the old ways with a deftness and clarity that juxtaposes Spring’s new life chapter in the big city. Darr’s dialogue and characters are refreshing and captivating while her heartwarming story encompasses mystery and murder.

The novel is split between her backstory, brought out through the counseling sessions, and the front story of how she deals with Jed and her powers (“I could feel the noose of destiny tightening around my neck”). The narrative is straightforward with no ruffles and flourishes, but is written sometimes with witty and loving banter and sometimes it is written with palpable sadness that steps the reader through a complex tale and time switches without confusion. Darr balances the mystery of “what happened?” with “what happens next?” as she capably builds the suspense and tension on several fronts.

Spring’s refusal to tell Jed her secret is frustrating to him and to her—especially because Jed is someone whom we, the readers, can believe can deal with it. However, at the point her hesitation turns implausible, we recognize the true battle Spring is fighting. Readers will find themselves rooting for Spring (and for Jed) and for the bad guys to get what they so justly deserve in this very special story that will touch your heart and pull you in.

August 22, 2016
A TOWN BEWITCHED by Suzanne de Montigny — Middle Grade Urban Mystery

When vivacious, red-haired fiddler Kate McDonough suddenly appears in the tiny Canadian town of Hope, it brings disturbing changes for Kira Montgomery and her friends.

Kira already has problems. She plays the classical violin, and “Kids make fun of me enough as it is because I’m a child prodigy—AKA a nerd.” The IGs (In-girls) at school also mock her best friend, Charlotte, because she is adopted, and Chinese. Kira’s beloved father died recently. He had promised to buy her a special violin, but now it’s just too expensive. And after she plays “Danny Boy” at his funeral, that tune starts haunting her.

Now, to Kira’s disgust, everyone in Hope is enchanted by the magnetic Kate’s Celtic tunes, even Kira’s own family. Kira believes she’ s being stalked—could it be Kate? Worst of all, Hope is in turmoil because someone is killing birds and leaving ugly graffiti everywhere, even painting “Liar” on Kira’s father’s gravestone. Trying to make everything right, Kira lands in serious peril.

Author de Montigny sets her plot in motion with action from the first page. Kira is regular enough for teen readers to identify with, yet possessed of some extra perception and grit that make her a fitting heroine. Suzanne de Montigny adds extra layering to this supernatural YA yarn with special musical details, from Beethoven to the Celtic strains produced by the mysterious Kate.

A Town Bewitched offers a magic formula for the young adult audience: a high school full of competing cliques; a beautiful, mysterious stranger; a dark, malevolent presence; and a bold young woman who rises above her personal woes to set things right.

August 4, 2016
THE DREAM JUMPER’S PROMISE by Kim Hornsby, a romantic thriller novel

A mysterious murder and vivid, strange dreams are the perfect recipe for an engaging story. Readers who enjoy a good adrenaline rush will find this a brilliant romantic thriller.

Kristina (Tina) Green’s life was perfect. She owned a diving shop on the beautiful island of Maui, spending her days diving along the coasts and her nights with her loving husband.

But when her husband disappeared, Tina’s life was uprooted, and ten months later she finds herself still unable to move on until she discovers what happened. Worse, her dreams relentlessly push her into the eerie depths of the ocean each night, and she is convinced that the ocean is trying to tell her something.

As Tina desperately tries to move on from her husband’s assumed death and her mysterious dreams, someone from her past enters her life unexpectedly. The person has a preposterous offer of help by entering her dreams to determine what happened to her husband. Tina reluctantly accepts his aid, but her family and friends begin to act oddly. She finds herself on the brink of insanity as everyone loses her trust; she can only cling to the hope of resolving her husband’s mysterious disappearance.

Kim Hornsby’s The Dream Jumper’s Promise begins with a heartbreaking premise and quickly envelops the reader in a cloud of intrigue. At first, the romantic energy of the novel and the developing background of each intriguing character is enough to keep the reader hooked. But soon it becomes clear that the death of Tina’s husband is a larger puzzle begging to be solved. Tina is a strong protagonist worth rooting for. As the mystery develops, Tina begins to lose herself, and the reader must advocate for the resilient woman to push through as she teeters between the waking world and the dream world.

The narrative is further complicated by the strain put on Tina’s relationships with the people around her. The complexity weaves itself around Tina as she copes with her husband’s mysterious death, having someone invade her dreams, and trying to figure out whom she can trust. Readers are thrust into Tina’s mind as they’re left unsure with who and which world is telling the truth.

The Dream Jumper’s Promise, the first in Kim Hornsby’s The Dream Jumper’s series, is a sexy, paranormal thriller that gets the blood pumping and the heart racing.

June 29, 2016