Tag Archive: Paranormal



ElsewhereElsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was going to give this book four stars because the author uses the trick of present tense writing. Most of the time, I hate that method. Sometimes on an action-packed story it works but even then I find it tiring. But the five stars are restored because I just felt it was such a precious story.

It moves slowly at first. But after you get to know who she, Liz Hall, is and where she is you start to feel more for the whole tale.

Poor Liz Hall killed in a hit and run when she was almost 16 years old. Never to reach adulthood, never to get her driver’s license, graduate, get married, have a career, have her own children… And if we are sorry for her loss you should see how she feels!

What an interesting take on the afterlife. Neither Heaven or Hell. Just… Elsewhere. Where you age backward from the day you get there. Where you can learn to talk ‘dog’ or other pet languages. Yes, our pets are there.

There are many sweet moments throughout the book. Then again, many bittersweet moments pull at you. In the end, I had tears running down my face, Not telling why. No spoilers here!

It took me a while to read. But I’m glad. I liked having the story to fall into as I chose. The font was okay and the amount of vanilla-colored paper made reading easy. I think I might like to get the Kindle version to read it again someday. I am sorry to let it go, ya know?

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Pretty Witches All in a RowPretty Witches All in a Row by Lisa Olsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a complicated find. My husband read and recommended book two of this series, Kiss the Witch Goodbye. I went to the Amazon page to see if I could afford it. Nope. So I borrowed it from him. Meanwhile I found there was a book one and it was free, so I picked it up. Then I loaned it to my hubby. He had to read them in reverse order. I was afraid I was doomed to the same, but he finished just in time for me to start on book one. Yay!

SO… I just finished this book. I was fun, as fun as a murder mystery can be. Yes, there is blood and bore, but there is plenty of light-hearted repartee, think Castle TV show for example. Don’t expect, or let’s hope we don’t expect this kind of behavior from our cops. It tells a good tale this way, ya know? Also, the witchy bits, not quite real, but there is a bit of an education into the basics of Wiccan life.

But as a story it was fun. It doesn’t live up to my goal of reading Fem leads by fem writers, but hey, if you saw my recent reads, you’d realize this is very light in comparison. As for the mystery, it did have me guessing almost to the end. The characters were fun and the world seemed real enough. I highly recommend this book for a light, fun read.

Now I will go and read book two.

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The Ocean at the End of the LaneThe Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can see my friends faces as they shake their heads and murmur, “It’s about time!” So. Yeah. This is my first Neil Gaiman. Note the five stars. I know! He’s written Doctor Who episodes that I loved. How could I not love his other writing? I do have another book and narration sitting around waiting for me to get around to it. But this one took priority. Library book. They always take top of the list because of their due date. So, sorry other authors, waiting for me to get to your books. When a book comes off hold and lands in my lap, I have to read it first.

Do I dare say I would have love to have a teacher read this aloud to my class as a kid. You know the chapter books that you would have to put your head on your desk as the teacher read. Yeah, it had it’s scary parts, but I think a child could handle it.

Okay. I can, also, hear mumbling about my reading goals of strictly female writers with strong female characters. Well, it’s not written in stone is it? Sometimes a person has to stray to see the color of the grass or, in this case, interesting writing of the others.

Though the main character is a young boy, the heroes of this story were women. Strong women! Witchy, magickal womyn! Without these womyn, this story would be BORING! But you never get to know them or get inside their heads. This is all from the boy’s head. In fact, you never even learn his name or where he is. And since there are references to place in gestures, food, accents, it seems unnecessary to name it. Funny how that bothered me, but I didn’t care if I had the kid’s name. Really. Did I miss something? My guess is this is somewhere in southern US. But other clues made me wonder if it were in some British colony (Australia? South Africa?). Hmmm.

But enough about needing labels. This story was the most imaginative I have read in a while. And yet, maybe because it is coming from inside the head of a kid, the most believable. Ocean in a bucket. I want that bucket! I miss the ocean so here in the Nevada desert I could have my beach!

Oh, and talk about brilliant! The transitions between the boy and his adult self, are seamless. And the character remains the same person. I am more amazed by the book the more I think about it! How is that possible?

So I plan to read more Gaiman very soon! And watch more Doctor Who. Thanks, my friends, for being patient while I catch up! 😉

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Omega (War of the Alphas, #1)Omega by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

But, hey! This was another Sara Reine adventure! How could I not love it? Yet another series is grown from the Six Moon Summer beginning. How it is possible Ms. Reine can be so prolific? She’s the alpha writer!

I have to admit to being a bit lost at first. What in the world is an Omega shifter? But that is, indeed, what the question of the book is. Even though we get to see Rylie for a bit, this story isn’t from her point of view. Now we get to see what has happened to the world since it ended and started again. Yet evil still exists and causes all kind of problems. Our Omega shifter must learn to deal with it all and figure out where she fits in.

This was not my favorite of all the books, but it was fun to revisit old friends and see that there is still hope of more story yet to come.

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The Forever Girl (The Forever Girl #1)The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I became aware of this book one when I picked up book two for free with Kindle Unlimited. Notwithstanding the inside out reading of Marie Lu’s Legend series, I prefer to read books in their prescribed order.

As the title ‘Forever Girl’ implies, this is a young adult book. And though I loved the storyline and the characters, I just got ill with the sexual teen-angst. If you don’t want to have sex with the guy, don’t sleep with him and then dwell on all things sexual. And, okay, the main character is out of school, in her twenties, still a virgin though I can’t see how. She seems immature. Oh, but don’t get me started on the centuries old vampire with another label. Why has he no more self-control than a child especially when he says he cares for her and wants to wait until she is ready to go adult? But vampires and sexual ambiguity seem to be the theme in young adult books these days.

Had I realized that I would be reading about vampires I might not have read this. It is a worn-out cliche, to say the least. But the drawing card, for me, is the awakening of the witch. Even then the main character was so wishy-washy about moving forward.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t hate this story. The writing was well-done. The story carried me past any errors that might have been there. This next problem I put on me. I started getting mixed up by the extras in the story. It was near the end of the book that the name Paloma came up. I still can’t quite figure out who she was.

It was four o’clock in the morning when I finished the story and quickly opened the next book. So that interest in the story kept me from going to sleep. Read this during the day. The end is hair-raising.

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Witch to ChooseWitch to Choose by H.T. Night

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just had to slap my hands and get tough with myself. I am three reviews behind my reading! The problem right now is that I already had book two of this series and I didn’t stop reading to do my own writing. Bad Dar, bad Dar!

And look at this! I didn’t know that this author was a male! So I have to give kudos fo his writing. With my goal of the last couple years to read mostly books written by women with strong female main characters, and aiming for the Bechdel test awareness, this book nearly slid right by. I think it was around the third chapter that I had to stop and look up this author. Women talking to each other and not about the male characters, realistic feelings coming from all of the people in the story. Men who cry. Women with power! Wow! H.T. Night, I am proud of you! And I plan to read more by you.

Oh, and look at this: NO CLIFFHANGER! It ended nicely yet I just wanted to see what happened next.

Now I am not a Wiccan and have only studied a tiny amount. So it felt believable…all except the person who is a warlock. I have heard that men are witches, too. Aren’t warlocks dark magicks? If anyone wants to educate me on that I would be happy to know.

For what it’s worth, Mr. Night has a plethora of books out there with vampires and wolves and all. I may have to stretch our my reading chops and finally include those bitie creatures. Now more reviews to do before I can read more!

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Special Offers (Coursodon Dimension, #1)Special Offers by M.L. Ryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this fun book through BookCrossing dot com. I put off reading it for a long, long time. Why? The title and the cover. Even the blurb didn’t make me want to read it. But I am so glad I finally did!

It is only vaguely about Special Offers. What it is is a humorous paranormal story. When I started reading it I couldn’t stop. I needed something light to read as my husband was in the hospital and I was in the middle of a fibro-flare. So I couldn’t be at the hospital with him. Instead, I started this book. What a joy!

The characters M.L. Ryan invented were wonderful. Haily, the main character, is quirky and fun. She isn’t a hopeless romantic, she is practical and has a sharp wit. That romance happens in the deal is felt as rather coincidental. The rest is quite the adventure!

Even though I picked this up from BookCrossing, I want you to know it is free for Kindle on Amazon right now. I recommend it for adults, as there are a couple scenes that might be too racy for young adults. I picked up another copy so I could read it in my other readers when I feel the need of the fun ride again.

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Caged Wolf (Tarot Witches)Caged Wolf by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just when I thought I was caught up with the prolific Sara Reine’s writings, there is more. After the last series which featured a male witch as the main character I saw this cover and thought it would be more of him. Not that Cesar is awful. He is actually amusing. But I love Ms. Reine’s female leads better. Other covers of this book show a female, though so I took a chance. Not a big one. I planned on reading it regardless.

Warning, this is the first of a new series and this one is for adults only. There are erotic scenes that lean toward BDSM in nature. But the story is fun. The main character is actually Cesar’s sister, Ofelia. It is the first time we get to see her side of the story. She now lives in a land between USA and Mexico where demons and other bad guys roam freely. She works at a bar as a stripper. Got your attention yet?

I read this one in one sitting. I couldn’t stop reading. I love the idea that this series, Tarot Witches, nods to the Tarot, starting with the devil. Beyond that would be spoilers. If you like exciting adventures, this is it.

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Deadly Wrong (Preternatural Affairs, #5)Deadly Wrong by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought I was caught up with Ms. Sara Reine’s series. That’s what I get for thinking! She sent me another couple books to review. Whew! That is one prolific author!!!!!

Okay, my tags may include zombies. Don’t be afraid she’s not the “Brains” kind. She just a little undead. Or should I say, a little or almost dead? I love the main character. I like her a lot more than the usual person who inhabits the Preternatural Affairs series. Even though Cesar Chavez is an interesting person, I think Ms. Isobel Stonecrow is much more interesting. Even if she is nearly dead.

When I get e-books sent to me, I have the choice to use my USB to transfer to my Kindle, or email to my Kindle address. But it is so much easier to download the e-book into my Moon Reader Pro. Then I don’t need to read it on my Kindle and my Tablet or Fire together. Because I need the text-to-speech feature I need two items to read with. On MRP I listen on my tablet and the font is adjustable. So it makes me very happy, everything on one reader.

This was a quick read for me. I found it fun and scary. I mean, it does take us to Dis/Hell for a while with demons and nightmares all around. But Isobel can hold her own and even when she makes mistakes they seem to go in her favor in the end. I can’t wait to read more!

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The Fruit Of The FallenThe Fruit Of The Fallen by J.C. Burnham

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has taken me a LONG time to read. It was my first experience with Wattpad. Wattpad is a wonderful idea. But for people with eyes like mine, it is very difficult. The font is not adjustable. There is no text-to-speech to help me out. I should have spent the money and read it on Kindle but by the time I knew it was on Amazon I was about halfway through the book.

Then there is the story itself. I loved the nice quiet fun parts in the school. But most of the book was suspenseful and gave me anxiety. It seemed from the beginning to be a paranoia-producing plot. I didn’t know who to trust. Who was the good guy? Who was the bad guys? And there were so many names to keep track of that I felt I needed a program.

But I did like the main character. She was well, developed and had guts. Even as a small child.

Maybe if you read it you won’t have the troubles I had with it. Maybe it was just me. If your eyes can handle it try it on Wattpad as it is a free read. If not, go ahead and read the Kindle version. Maybe as a quicker read it will have more continuity.

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