Review : Whispers at Dusk

Whispers at Dusk by Heather Graham

Blackbird Trilogy #1

Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Fantasy,

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Purchase Link: Amazon | BN | Walmart eBooks 

Pages: 400

Published:  June 27, 2023

When darkness falls, there’s nowhere to hide.

Four bodies have been discovered along Europe’s riverbanks, placed with care—and completely drained of blood. Pinpricks on their throats indicate a slender murder weapon, but DNA found in the wounds suggests something far more sinister. Tasked with investigating, the FBI recruits Agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter to Blackbird, an international offshoot of the Krewe of Hunters. If you want to catch a vampire killer, you need agents who can speak with the dead.

The pair travel to Norway, where the shadowy forests of Lillehammer reveal a gruesome scene. The killer is thirsty for more victims, and the bloodless trail soon leads Della and Mason to a group that believes drinking blood is the key to immortality. To catch the culprit of such an intimate crime, the agents will have to get close. Mason’s already lost one partner; he’s not ready to risk Della as bait. But sometimes justice requires a sacrifice…

 FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter are on an international case that are leaving young women drained of blood suggesting it could be a Vampire Killer. As they get closer to the culprit of the crime it seems that someone has their eye on Della so they can use her as bait but Mason is a bit conflicted because he already lost one partner and now he's going to do whatever he can to keep her protected. And find the culprit

I really enjoyed this book watching as they work together to solve the case. I thought it was interesting seeing them internationally and to many different places to see as the body trails were starting to go upward and figuring out who was behind this branch of what is going on. There was a few close calls and it was interesting how they work together to get out of the tight spots as well as seeing how Ghostly people were helping as well. Because this is the crew of hunters clearly there is going to be a go someone paranormal around to help where they can. This book is clean which I appreciate. I just really enjoyed this mystery suspense novel with a bit of paranormal thrown in if that's your kind of thing you might really enjoy this. I can't wait to see what's next in the series.

Review : Aura of Night

Aura of Night by Heather Graham

Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Suspense, Romantic Suspense,

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Purchase Link: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Walmart eBooks 

Pages: 336

Published: July 26th 2022 by MIRA

True evil never dies. It only waits in the dark.

All book editor Megan Law wants is to bury the memory of her brutal kidnapping and move on with her life. So when her publisher asks her to spin her hellish experience into the next bestseller, Megan agrees only because it might help keep other women safe. Then a mysterious, gruesome package arrives in the mail—a reminder that the nightmare isn’t over just yet.

FBI investigator Ragnar Johnson is running out of time. He knows in his gut there's more to the recent Embracer killings, and he needs Megan's help. Even with their rocky past behind them, working together now isn’t going to be easy. But when things take a deadly turn, Megan and Ragnar discover a deep connection that they'll have to use, because something is trying to tear them apart…forever.

I love mystery suspense novels and the Krewe of Hunter series so this book was perfect for me. I really liked getting to know these set of characters and hearing from time to time previous characters from the series pop up. There was just so much twists and turns and just so much to keep me hooked till the very end. Overall great mystery. Also if you are new to this series they can be seen as stand alone were if you missed the previous books its easy to catch up of what's going on being that each book has its own different set of characters and mystery its just nice to see previous characters pop up sometimes but you won't miss a thing if you just pick this book up its a really good one!

Review : Imaginary Friend

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky

Genre: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Paranormal, 

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Purchase Link: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Walmart eBooks 

Pages: 705

Published: October 1st 2019 by Grand Central Publishing

Christopher is seven years old.
Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.

I had this book on my TBR list for so long and decided to finial take a chance when I came across a audiobook. It seemed less intimidating tackling this book that way. It was one of my anticipated reads then I saw the amount of pages that are in this and was iffy about it. The synopsis dosent give much up and I was curious what this book would contain and whew was this a trippy ride. There was so much to get through in this book when things seemed to chill clearly there was more to come. Nothing was as it seemed and I can defiantly say I really loved this. I kinda wish I waited till October to read this but I'm definitely glad I did. Maybe I'll see about a reread then because this book has so much to offer I'm sure there's a detail or two I missed and will enjoy this book just as much. I love a good trippy read like this and defiantly recommend. Don't let the amount of pages intimidate you if you like a spooky read its defiantly worth it. Highly recommend. 

Review : Seekers

Seekers by Heather Graham

(Krewe of Hunters #28)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal

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Purchase Link: Amazon | BN | Walmart eBooks 

Pages: 384

Published:  July 23rd 2019 by MIRA

THE TRUTH IS SCARIER THAN FICTION

Kerri Wolf has joined the crew of The Seekers, a show that searches for paranormal phenomena, as they explore a supposedly haunted old inn on the road between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The place is famous for its warm welcome—and infamous for being the site of an ax murder rampage in the 1920s. They’ve barely begun when a very real dead body is discovered in the basement. As a nonfiction author, Kerri is supposed to be the rational one, but she can’t explain a terrifying apparition that seems to be both a threat and a warning.

Former detective Joe Dunhill knows what she’s going through—the strange gift of being able to see and talk to the dead is a struggle he shares. A new member of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, he’s on the team investigating the disturbing death. The town is steeped in old-fashioned superstition, and the deeper Joe and Kerri plunge into the dark secrets of the inn, the closer they get to a devastating truth. Will a bloody history be repeated? Or can the spirits of the past reach out to stop a killer?

Kerri writes non-fiction books and has joined a crew "The Seekers" to explore haunted places. This time its in inn and while they were expected old ghosts long dead no one expected the new body laying dead. Joe Dunhill along with others are on the case to find out what happened to the women left dead. Kerri will join Joe Dunhill to dig up secrets of the past, maybe get a bit of help from some ghosts because the Krewe of hunters are around so naturally there's some paranormal activity going on to pop up and maybe aid in what's going on.

I normally am not a fan of one of the theme that popped up in this book, but I dived right in because its a Heather Graham book and I've been following along with this series for a long while so there was no way I was not gonna see what would happen in this book. I loved that there was so much going on, while there was clearly a romance that was going to happen in this book it didnt overpower the main point of the murder mystery of it all. I love that there was plenty of leads and connections that lead the readers wanting more and taking a stab at guessing who could it be, who was apart of what was going down. Theres just so much to love about this book and I really enjoyed myself reading it. Can't wait to see what this author writes next!

Review : The Phantom's Apprentice

The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Retellings, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance, 

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Purchase Link: Amazon | Apple Books | BN | Walmart eBook

Pages: 344

In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…

Christine faces an impossible choice: be a star at the Paris opera as Papa always wanted, or follow her dream—to become a master of illusions. First, she must steal the secrets of the enigmatic master who haunts her, survive a world of treachery and murder, and embrace the uncertain promise of love. To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.

"Webb combines music and magic seamlessly in The Phantom's Apprentice, weaving glittering new threads into the fabric of a classic story. Romantic, suspenseful and inventive, this novel sweeps you along to its breathless conclusion." -- Greer Macallister, USA Today bestselling author of The Magician's Lie

"In her captivating novel, Heather Webb casts an intriguing new light on a much-loved tale...Full of magic and atmosphere, lush historical detail and page-turning suspense, The Phantom's Apprentice is sure to enthrall, enchant and delight... Brava!!"--Hazel Gaynor, NYT bestselling author of The Cottingley Secret

"A performance worthy of the Paris Opera...Christine’s evolution from 'damsel in distress’ to self-reliant woman is masterfully done, hooking the reader from the first page. Webb's work is immersive, well-crafted, and beautifully paced. A must-read!"--Aimie K. Runyan, author of Daughters of the Night Sky

Ever since I seen Phantom of the Opera on Broadway as a six grade trip decades ago my love of the story and musicals started. Surprisingly enough after all these years seeing the musicals and movies way too many times to count and I'd never even picked up the book! (Yea I know shame on me) For one it wasn't until early last year I got into reading classics and I was a bit worried that it would change my view on the story because of what it was based off of or how disappointing would it be if I didn't end up liking the book? I ended up listening to the audio book and I loved it! After that I went on a Phantom of the Opera kick getting hold of whatever retelling I could get my hands on. By then one after the other I read at least 3 or 4 retelling and this one was the last to get hold of and I burnt myself out by then and didn't end up picking this book up.

After reading this book I want to kick myself for doing that marathon because it sort of forced me into not being into reading this book. I just managed to notice this book and based off the description was curious what was in store for this book.

I can absolutely say that I loved this book! I loved the characters and what the author did in making them truly unique. This book could've easily fallen into being over played and this book was unique in almost every way. There are clear differences where the author drawn similarities stuck to the basic story line but I'm amazed how this book truly turned out. This book was magical in every way and stunning. That goes to say I loved it!.

Review : By a Charm and a Curse

By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal,

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Purchase Link : Amazon | BN | Kobo

Pages: 300

Publish : February 6th 2018 by Entangled: Teen

Le Grand’s Carnival Fantastic isn’t like other traveling circuses. It’s bound by a charm, held together by a centuries-old curse, that protects its members from ever growing older or getting hurt. Emmaline King is drawn to the circus like a moth to a flame…and unwittingly recruited into its folds by a mysterious teen boy whose kiss is as cold as ice.

Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for. 

Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss.

All I know is that someone mentioned that this book was able a carnival and I has just finished reading Caraval and was looking for another book that would suit my love of carnivals. First of all can we just take a moment to prevaricate the beauty that is that cover, its such an eye catching book that even if I didn't know what this book was about I would've picked this book up simply because of that cover. That story line was interesting and I give this book props for being a unique story. I can definatly say I haven't read another book like this which I really appreciate. I loved the characters and how the book progressed in the story. I will admit that I was a bit confused about the curse but as the story went on it slowly became clear enough for me to understand what was going on. When it came to Emma man it must of sucked being her and having to make that choice as picking a new person for the box and I couldn't help but think if I was in her shoes  it would've been tough for me to make that decision that she was placed with. I honestly cant say more without spoiling the book but if you love books that feature unique carnivals then this book might be for you, I really enjoyed it!

Review : Eleanor

Eleanor by Jason Gurley

Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy, Fiction, Family, Paranormal

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Purchase link : Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Pages: 384

When a terrible accident claims the life of Eleanor’s twin, her family is left in tatters, and her reality begins to unravel, dropping her in and out of unfamiliar worlds. When she returns to her own time and place, hours and days have flown by without her. One fateful day, Eleanor leaps from a cliff and vanishes. In a strange in-between place, she meets a mysterious stranger who understands the weight of her family history: Eleanor’s twin wasn’t the only tragic loss. And unless Eleanor can master her strange new abilities, she may not be the last.

After the death of her twin Eleanor's life things went down hill with her mother drinking herself to the point of passing out, her father left and she really doesn't have much going for her. Its when she finds herself fizzing out missing days and time is becoming meaningless. 

Its the best way I can describe this complicated book. Getting ahold of this book was me branching out of my comfort zone. For the most part while reading this book there was a lot of moment were I can confused af that I kept going just to figure out what was going on. Then I'm questioning if what was going on was real or not sure. There was so much going on, personally for me it was too much and overwhelming at times because I had a hard time following what was going on. There was plenty going on with a bunch of different character perspectives and different timelines that was introduced. At the end of the it all it was a pretty good book, and definitely worth a reread so that I can understand the book more.

** I received this book from Blogging For Books for an honest review **

JASON GURLEY is the author of Greatfall, The Man Who Ended the World, and the fiction collection Deep Breath Hold Tight, among other works. His stories have appeared in the anthologies Loosed Upon the World and Help Fund My Robot Army!!! He was raised in Alaska and Texas, and now lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.

Review : Shattered Promises

Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen

(Shattered Promises #1)

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, New Adult, 

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Pages: 284

Purchase link: Amazon (Free!) | B&N | Kobo

Published February 26th 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

For twenty-one year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same. 

Her emotions slowly surface and she starts experiencing love, happiness, and anger, feelings she never knew existed. But they leave her confused and she doesn’t know whether to embrace them or run away from them.

Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares. 

Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on.

As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.

**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content.

(A re-imagining of my young adult book, The Fallen Star, told as a New Adult Paranormal)

Gemma has gone a while without feeling emotions for as long as she rember. Then it seems like a spell is broken and she seems to be getting flooded with emotions like she never felt before and dosen't understand why. Then there's the whole cryptic dreams and wierd yellow eyes she seems to keep seeing around. In drops Alex to help her out and tell her about things shes ever known before.

Shattered Promises is the sexy new adult revamp of The Fallen Star. I've read the Fallen Star quite a few years ago and forgotten I had Shattered Promises so when I reread this book I was pleasantly surprised at the different changes there was. I loved getting to see this different glimpse of Gemma and Alex. It was pretty intense and seeing her and many of the other characters and getting to see how she was handling emotions, the emotions that were once taken away from her. 

This book had a sort of The Mortal Cup kinda vibes if they were a bit older. rather then Magnus there's a vamp and I'm terrible at describing why I got that feeling. Just read the book you'll understand. Just if your under 18 I don't recommend you check this book out, read The Fallen Star instead that way its more age friendly. Both are free so check it out. Highly Recommend!

Blog Tour / Review : Freeks

Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Goodreads: Click

Pages: 400

Published : January 3rd 2017 by St. Martin's Griffin

Welcome to Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow, where necromancy, magical visions, and pyrokinesis are more than just part of the act.

Mara has always longed for a normal life in a normal town where no one has the ability to levitate or predict the future. Instead, she roams from place to place, cleaning the tiger cage while her friends perform supernatural feats every night.

When the struggling sideshow is miraculously offered the money they need if they set up camp in Caudry, Louisiana, Mara meets local-boy Gabe and a normal life has never been more appealing.

But before long, performers begin disappearing and bodes are found mauled by an invisible beast. Mara realizes that there’s a sinister presence lurking in the town with its sights set on getting rid of the sideshow freeks. In order to unravel the truth before the attacker kills everyone Mara holds dear, she has seven days to take control of a power she didn’t know she was capable of—one that could change her future forever.

Bestselling author Amanda Hocking draws readers inside the dark and mysterious world of Freeks. 

Macmillan | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Mara isnt like her mother who possesses the Necromancer ability to join along with her mother at Traveling Side Show so she works the side jobs for them. Struggling to keep the sideshow open the owner takes up an offered large sum of money to stay in Caudry for week. Mara longs for a normal life which makes it harder for her to deal with when she meets a local boy Gabe knowing it'll end soon. Gabe doesn't know Mara is apart of the traveling show and he makes her feel normal for a change. When some of the acts start disappearing or found mangled the struggling sideshows need to find out whats going on before there is no one left.

A couple years back I had met the author which is why I was drawn to this book. When the second book of the Trylle Trilogy came out and I went to NYC to get my books signed. I know I have a picture of me and her buried in my computer of that day but she seemed like a pretty cool person and I really loved her books. The second thing that drawn me to this book was the beautiful cover because it's really well done and even without reading the synopsis I would've swiped it off the shelves to purchase because of how it looked. After reading the synopsis I was sold to wanting to get my hands on this book because it sounded like something I would really love to read. I got this as a ARC on my kindle so when I head to the books store I'll be sure to buy myself a copy because this book belongs on my bookshelves. :-)

Anyways It's been awhile since I've read a paranormal book and this book reminded me why I like the genre. I loved the characters and how some points of the book managed to surprise me. I loved that there was hits of clues when it came to a certain character and I couldn't help but think to myself I know what that character is I was just waiting for it to be revealed and loved that my guess was correct. As for Mara I wished what was revealed about her wasn't done towards the end because it seemed rushed when it came to the time where everything seems to go nuts but it was still enjoyable. You don't understand how hard it is for me to be vague as possible and still want to be able to talk to others about this book because it really was a great book and I really enjoyed it.

If you are looking for a great paranormal read with a set of interesting characters then look no further because you'll want to get your hands on this book! Highly Recommend.

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Tour & Review : Captivate Me & Fight for Me

Captivate Me by S.J. Pierce

Publication date: April 1st 2014

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

Captivate Me is Book One of The Captivated Series, a Young Adult Paranormal Romance

“My mom had always told me – when you meet “the one,” you’ll know; they’ll captivate your heart the moment you lay eyes on them. I had always wondered, though,if my mom’s words of wisdom were finite – if they applied to everyone. Maybe those who had found their one great love were the lucky few, and maybe the rest of us would have to settle for less than earth-shattering.”

Seventeen-year-old Kat Walsh is a Gifted – a human with paranormal abilities. With her mom a former Angel and her dad a dream prophet, it’s always been in her genetic make-up to be extraordinary. Unfortunately for her, the world can’t handle the strange orunusual. So when she slips up and uses her powers at her high school in Ireland, the entire student body treats her like a freak – even the ones she thought were her closest friends.

Broken, but hopeful for a fresh start, she allows her parents to enroll her in a boarding school buried deep within the forests of a small Colorado town. At Midland Pines, School for the Gifted, she feels as though she can finally be herself; she makes new friends and even has the attention of the most popular guy in school – Levi. Everything feels normal again… or does it?

Not long after her arrival, weird dreams of an alluring boy whom she’s never met surface during the night, and the eerie, shadowy trees encircling their school seem to call to her. As these disturbing, yet enticing developments intensify, other bizarre occurrences happen – students and staff turn up missing, and mystery visitors leave gifts while she sleeps. With all of these other things vying for her attention, a desperate Levi has to fight even harder to keep her interest. But with the dreams of the attractive boy slowly captivating her heart, Kat has to make a choice – will she settle for ‘great’ Levi, or will she search for her elusive dream visitor, possibly stumbling across ‘amazing?’

From the author of the Alyx Rayer Chronicles, comes a refreshingly different Young Adult series with plenty of love, suspense, and a new take on the Paranormal.

Recommended for readers 16 and up due to mature content.

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Kat is just transferred in school for the gifted. In other words the students have some type of unique powers and everyone can settle in harmony strengthening their power. Everything is all good until she starts to get some interesting dreams about a guy who isn't her boyfriend and some students go missing.

I haven't read a paranormal book in a while and decided to take on this book. It sounded interesting enough. Unfortunately this book did seem to drag at some points for me and I kept finding myself gravitate towards other books. Once I finally took a moment to just sit down and really read the book and I enjoyed it. I've been in a reading slump lately and so I've been trying to get out of it with a good book.

That goes to say I did like this book, it wasn't amazing in my opinion. It was interesting enough that I did follow through with starting to read the next book. I just wished there was more development to the characters and backgrounds to everything. Like I would've like to know more about her parents, maybe know more about the character herself. Maybe in the next book there will be some type of improvement. See here's the problem with writing reviews, I can mention some of the bad things without spilling the book but when it comes to the good things that I loved, it would be hard to say without ruining it. I did like that near the ending part with that dream and wondering what it could mean and seeing how it turned out. (Is that a spoiler? I hope not, not much details in that I suppose.) Also that ending in the epilogue, it definitely intrigued me enough that I started to pick up the next book straight after.

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Fight For Me by S.J. Pierce

Publication date: February 14th 2014

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

A fresh start – something Kat and Gabriel thought they would find when they left their pasts behind at Midland Pines High and moved to a compound for hybrids. Or at least safety from a witch seeking revenge. But now… that’sall changed. Now, thanks to a flirty hybrid hell-bent on winning Gabriel’s attention, the terrifying visions of another prophetic Gifted, and the strange and worrisome behavior ofone of their closest friends, Kat finds herself fighting for things that had once come so easily, including her relationship with her soulmate. And now she’s afraid.

Recommended for readers 16 and up due to mature content.

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One thing that I can say about this book is that I loved Kat's dreams and wondering how they would turn out - if they'd turn out - and how it would actually turn out when it did. I was hoping for more when it came to the villain. As nice as it was to read I thought the concept of where they are now was interesting and how it impacted the real world vs the dimension that they are at. There was a bit of drama that kept things interesting and I liked how it turned out when it all came out in the end. I wished that there was more appearances when it came to that villain though.

Susan James Pierce has a degree in Marketing Management, works for a Fortune 500 company in Atlanta, Georgia, and devotes her precious, spare time to writing Fantasy, Paranormal and Sci-fi novels.

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