Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Psychics

The GIFT of the TWIN HOUSES: Book One, The Perils of a Reluctant Psychic by V & D Povall – Ghosts, Mystery/Suspense, Psychic

Six-year-old Sarah Salas blurts out a piece of information she could not have known at a friend’s birthday party. The neighbors begin to gossip about this, calling wee Sarah “evil” and “witch.” In a jiffy, things get uncomfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, Sarah’s parents to sell their home and relocate to protect their daughter.

From that moment on, Sarah’s parents beg her to ignore and suppress her natural psychic abilities. Completely. What’s a six-year-old to do?

Sarah, eager to please her parents, buries her abilities throughout her life. As a consequence of suppressing such a strong aspect of her character, Sarah inhibits the most essential part of herself: the ability to be transparent, intimate with another living soul. So much so, that her first fiancé leaves her at the altar. Suffering the humiliation, she shuts down another part of herself: her sexuality.

And the story would end there, but for the fact that upon her early retirement, Sarah heads out to parts unknown, driving with a purpose, but lacking conscious intent. She is, for the first time in decades, allowing that ‘other’ part of her to lead the way. It is only when she truly lets go of the restraints set upon her in childhood that she finds herself in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington state.

Following a private path, she stops her car in front of a beautiful and compelling home. The house has a note attached to the door indicating it is for sale.

This house, she knows, must be the reason why she’s here.

What follows is a whirlwind of characters, both living and deceased, that import their stories into a meaning narrative that forms the basis of the book. And there are a lot of stories to be told: from forbidden love to murder and more. As Sarah opens up to her long, supposedly dormant psychic talents, she creates a path toward understanding the people who once lived in this house – and its twin – and how they wove their DNA into the rooms, floors, and wall, and moreover, how they affect the lives of those still living. The gift is in the telling, and how love conquers all.

Husband and wife writing team, David and Victoria Povall, bring their talents to the page to introduce the characters in book one of The Perils of a Reluctant Psychic series. The writing is fine with a sweet romance set in the middle of it that lovers of paranormal romance books of a certain age will relish. What is clear, is there are plenty more storylines and adventures in store for Sarah Salas and her rediscovered psychic abilities – and more romantic adventures with her handsome soulmate. A paranormal romance with a happy ending and a promise of more to come! A win!

The Gift of the Twin Houses by V&D Povall is also available on Barnes & Nobles and iBooks.

December 13, 2018
CORRALLING KENZIE: BOOK 4 of the WINTERS SISTERS by Joanne Jaytanie – Genetic Engineering, Fantasy, Romance, Psychics

Jaytanie veers off the sister track with her introduction to brand-new characters in her latest sizzling Winters Sisters Series read, Corralling Kenzie.

Kenzie Vaughn leaps out of her bed in the dead of night, responding to a cry from her horse. She discovers Boone shot and bleeding out. Kenzie contacts her neighbor, Victory Winters, who happens to be the closest vet in the area. While Victory is tending to Boone and Kenzie, Logan Mendoza, one of the DNA-enhanced Special Operations Command team (SOCOM) who investigates her ranch, is confident that the notorious Kaleidoscope Group (KG) used the mysterious shooting to get to Kenzie. Further probing indicates that Kenzie’s background may provide essential clues, particularly from her brother, Marcus who was sent to an institution when he was seven.

It is during an attempt on Kenzie’s life that she encounters Marcus. He, in turn, sets up a meeting with SOCOM to divulge the connective tie with KG. Indeed, KG is in the process of furthering their diabolical DNA experimentation, and Kenzie is a key player. More information unfolds with each day as Kenzie develops friendships with the Winters sisters. During Logan’s assignment to guard Kenzie, the two become close, and their friendship evolves into a steamy romance. Logan determines to keep her safe even while he’s away on a brief mission. But upon his return, Kenzie is not around. She’s been kidnapped!

For fans who are caught up in the lives of the Winters sisters, they are in for a big surprise with Jaytanie’s fourth installment. Up to this point, books one thru three have mainly concentrated on Victory, Payton, and Willow and KG’s sinister schemes directed toward the girls. But with the addition of the sisters’ neighbor Kenzie, Jaytanie opens the door to a whole new world of outsiders who have fallen prey to DNA tampering. Although pseudo-realism in design, this chilling realm into the dark side of medicine is reminiscent of the grisly experiments on children throughout history.

Jaytanie does a stellar job balancing the bad and ugly with the good, and “good” comes in various forms, the most obvious from the alpha-male SOCOM team and the Winters sisters. But on a deeper level, Jaytanie has created relatable characters; their near-realistic personas are riddled with strengths and weakness, even on a romantic playing field. Certainly, when Logan and Kenzie get their mojo on, it’s steamy. Leading up to those moments, Jaytanie sets an example of what a beautiful friendship should look like—slow but steady.

As with all of the books in this series, Corralling Kenzie functions perfectly well as a stand-alone read. There is richness when readers start from the very beginning of the series. Let’s just say that Jaytanie is a master of all things and will thrill and delight new readers as well as her loyal fans with this new installment.

The exciting aspect of this series is that book four does not complete the set. Closing on a major cliffhanger, Jaytanie has much more in store for her beloved audience. Stay tuned!

October 29, 2017
CHASING VICTORY: The Winter Sisters, Book One by Joanne Jaytanie – Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Psychics

Greed, power, and genetics combine with a steamy love story to stir up an action-packed, hot read in Joanne Jaytanie’s Chasing Victory: The Winters Sisters, Book One.

Responding to a cryptic phone call from an old college classmate, Victory Winters, veterinarian and geneticist, makes her way through the foothills of the Olympic Mountains to the agreed upon meeting point. Spotting him from a distance, Victory’s excitement quickly turns to dread when shots ring out.

To make matters worse, Victory observes a local police detective at the scene – and not in a law-enforcement capacity, either. She can’t go to the cops, and she’s terrified the killers know she witnessed the murder. Needing a safe space to retreat to, Victory flees to her sister, Payton, who is residing in a motorhome at the San Francisco Fairground for a dog show.

Author Joanne Jaytanie is off and running with a tension-driven novel, opening with a gripping scene. Jaytanie sets the stage for her story by featuring Victory—a vet who combines telepathy with acupuncture to heal dogs. Victory is also close to finding “a genetic link between the canine world and the human world,” an endeavor that has promising potential to cure diseases in humans. This work of hers makes her a hot commodity – so hot, in fact, others will go to great lengths to gain control of her and her work.

Two entities are indeed keeping track of our heroine. One, Tristan Farraday, a special ops hunk from the U.S. military sent to protect Victory. And second, a nefarious group headed by the malicious Lawrence Braxton, a genetics corporation. Of course, our gal doesn’t know about Braxton’s intentions when he sends her a rather flattering job offer which is where the proverbial screws tighten, and the story takes flight.

Jaytanie shifts character POVs which increases tension gives her the opportunity to develop her characters and drives the story forward. There are some proofreading errors, but on the whole, this book is a good start for the first in the series. Jaytanie adds chapter cliffhangers, sprinkles in romance and everything sinister, and proves her worth through rich descriptions and excellent dialogue all to produce a flurry of narrative twists to make a fast, fun read.

April 26, 2017