Tag Archives: Ghosts

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The Gifted Soul

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22428690

The Gifted Soul

by Jeannie Ingraham (Editor), Sharon Prudente (Editor), Nada Orlic (Illustrator)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the blurb and cover I was thinking that I might not enjoy this a great deal. But I have to say that it was not the case at all, I was very pleasantly surprised . I found myself pulled into the story immediately because I really like the main female character from the beginning. There are some glitches with grammar, spelling, and word use in some places but nothing to severe as to draw away from the narrative for long. The main characters are very well fleshed out with the secondary characters having enough depth to still keep things moving smoothly.

Sophie Walters is a junior in high school and has been able to avoid being found out in the Sweeps since she was in the sixth grade. She is one year away from never having to worry about it ever again, then something goes wrong. Sophie can see auras, ghosts, and read minds with touch, she is sought after for these abilities like so many others around the country. Now she is going to be sent away from her home and friends to an institution for others like her.

Lyle Raider ferreted out Sophie even though her administrator could not prove she was gifted. He is the reason she is now going to a school for kids with abilities like hers. But something is not right there and soon Sophie and her new friends will find themselves going against the grain to save themselves and others.

This had a little teen angst with some good psychic abilities on display. Definitely a good read for anyone who likes stories with a paranormal theme. Recommended for all ages!

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Cades Cove

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8783169

Cades Cove: The Curse of Allie Mae (Cades Cove #1)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first book that I have read from this author and I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading many more. I was totally sucked into the story from the very beginning. The characters were interesting and made me feel for them and their plight, I was even drawn to the ghost who I felt sorry for even while she was doing things that were so evil to innocent people. The action flowed effortlessly and had me so wanting to know what was going to happen that I stayed up reading when I should have been sleeping so I could get to work.

David and Miriam Hobbs take a weekend trip for their anniversary to Gaitlinberg, Tennessee. While there they go to Cades Cove, a place recommended by his boss as being very picturesque and romantic. When they are about to leave they find a small bag containing the keepsakes of someone named Allie Mae. Miriam tells David to return it but he cannot bring himself to turn it over to the rangers and so takes it back home with them, without telling his wife.

When strange things start to happen around the house and it begins to affect his children he wonders if maybe he brought home more than some simple souvenirs. When things turn deadly he knows that he has to do whatever it takes to end the terror.

This was an excellent ghost story with suspense, scares, terror, family, and love. I would say that there is a scene of rape that is very unpleasant and may offend some. Other than that I would recommend this to horror fans and anyone who just likes a good ghost story.

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Engaged off Bourbon Street

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23850515

Engaged off Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun Short Story, Book 3.5)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a perfect entry in the Jade Calhoun saga as she moves forward with her new life in New Orleans. This was an intimate look at all the mains as they come together to help Jade and Kane celebrate. Everyone is feeling the holiday spirit and Jade is just happy to be able to share her happiness with those she loves. Even though it is a short story it has the impact of a full length novel in both plot and character development. These characters are true to who they are and even though there are background people, who are never heard from, things move quickly from start to finish.

Jade and Kane are having their engagement/Christmas party at the house in the bayou that he did not really go to until he met Jade. Jade made a promise to Pyper that she would string mistletoe all around the house to make sure she had a chance to kiss Ian, and she has misplaced it. In order to locate it Jade decides to use magic, and we know how that can go for her. The spell is cast, the guests arrive, and the mishaps ensue.

This was a nice quick read that made me smile and shake my head. You would think Jade would learn, but then if she did we would not be so entertained. I would say fans should definitely read this!

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Wide Awake

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11558491

Wide Awake (Academy of the Fallen #1)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I flew through this book within the span of several hours and was surprised at how much I liked it. I like YA but it is not my usual read and so finding something that pulled me in so completely is a testament to how good it is. The characters are so well-defined that I couldn’t help but be drawn to them, even the side characters had a definite feel that gave you insight into them and what could be expected from them. Based on the ages of the characters the dialogue was spot on for they talk to each other and the adults they interact with giving them even more life.

Kayla is your typical 16-year-old, she has good friends, nice parents, and a so-so boyfriend. The one thing that seems to set Kayla apart is that she was adopted when she was 3 years old and no one has told her about her biological parents. Her days have been spent with shopping and hanging out with her friends until they go on a field trip to the museum and everything changes for her. First she sees a little girl named Carolyn in a back room at the museum and then she shows up again at her home, not totally strange and she takes her home, but then she starts seeing her in other places.

Hunter Chambers was once a friend but now is anti-social and keeps to himself. When Hunter approaches Kayla and says that he knows how to help her and she refuses. He tries a few times and then leaves the ball in her court so she can decide. As things get worse she has to call for help as her normal world starts to spin out of control. Things she never thought existed are now after her and Hunter is the only person standing between her and something worse than death.

Kayla is a kid and as teenagers go not so bad, though we would have issues with her attitude. I found Hunter to be the best part of this since Kayla is still a little to soft for my tastes, hoping for her to get a little tougher as things progress. But overall a very enjoyable and entertaining story leading to an even better story I see on the horizon. I will definitely be continuing this series!

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Dust to Dust

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17608220

Dust to Dust (Experiment in Terror #9)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
 Here we are at the end of a great series that brought a lot of smiles, tears, laughter, dread, and sometimes major scares. This was the kind of send off you would expect from characters who have been involved in the business of ghost busting/investigating who had not a clue as to what they had been doing. This story was closer to home and gave a better look into the life that Dex had led as a child and points out even more why he turned out like he did. This is a walk down memory lane where we get to see where they were and hopefully where they are going in the future. The story is solid, just like every story that has come before it.

Perry and Dex are staying with her parents while Perry tries an experiment on her mother that she last did to test Dex. While they have been working hard on the footage they shot at the school Perry has gone out for some fresh air and left Dex at home with Ada since her parents are also out of the house. When she returns after an encounter that left her disoriented and a little lost she finds that Dex has spirited away and Ada has been knocked out.

Perry and Ada take off to find Dex before anything can bad can happen to him, or so they hope. They have only one clue which leads them to New York, where Dex was born and lived until he could get away. They do not know it yet but they are being herded to a place that will try to rip the very soul from them and make them the destroyer of worlds.

I have loved Dex from the beginning because he was not this straight, boring guy but a total knob who loved everything so viscerally. Perry took a little longer to grow on me because she had so many hang ups, but most of them were due to her parents, but she finally had started to see how amazing she was. Together these two were a power couple os another kind and I am going to miss them. I can hope that they will make an appearance when someone else has a story told or maybe just a short to catch us up on them.

I loved the books for their paranormal elements and the glimpses of a world on the other side that was both good and bad while being neither. There were some serious scares and some minor ones, I got to laugh with them over crazy stuff, and got to cry with them when they hurt each other, and I got to be a part of a love that was hot, sexy, and very real. I would recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who wants a bit of darkness with their love story.

“I love you, beyond death.”
― Karina Halle, Dust to Dust  Karina Halle

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Ashes to Ashes

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19370020

Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reading this book was bittersweet for me because I knew that there was going to be only one more when I finished this one. So I have to say that this one turned out to be one of the most scary adventures that Dex and Perry have been on so far, and as usual their personal life had to make an appearance in the midst of the terror. The characters have continued to grow and change throughout the series, starting as one-dimensional and arriving here as fully formed people who can make you feel their fear, their passion, and anything else which may pass over them. The story is always entertaining because you never really know what might be around that next corner or who might find something behind them unexpectedly.

Dex, Perry, and Rebecca are not going very far from home for their next episode of Experiment in Terror, making a move back to the beginning and the place that they met. There is a school on the Oregon coast that was originally a Sanitarium used for housing TB victims, most of them children. Thousands died within its walls, some of the disease and others with the help of those charged with taking care of them. The building is being haunted and they have been requested by a teacher who has seen and heard things as well as a student who communicates with some of the ghosts.

Perry’s family is still upset over her move to Seattle and into the apartment of Dex, who they hate. They are running a campaign of doubt with Perry, who has a habit of falling for their disinformation. How can she allow them to get into her head and make her doubt her feelings for him or his for her. Dex has shown that she is his world and home, she needs to get with the program.

My only problem is that they seem just as scared now as they did when they first started out. You would think that they would have at least gained a little thicker skin where the ghosts are concerned. This is full of the love they share, the dark and scary place, danger to mind-body and spirit, and the determination they always show in the face of chilling odds. Perry & Dex forever ∞

“When I first met you, I knew, somehow, that you were going to change my life. I just didn’t know in what way. I didn’t know that you’d make me love you. And most importantly, I didn’t know that you’d make me love me. Baby, you make me see the good in myself and the good in everything on this damn earth. You chase my ghosts away, and…” He cleared his throat, and to my surprise, I saw his eyes were watering. Oh fuck. Please don’t cry, Dex, cuz I will fucking lose it. He swallowed hard, blinking tears back. “And you bring me peace. I can’t thank you enough for being in my life. And I want you there for the whole journey. Through everything—the good and the bad, the batshit crazy and the sane, the scary and the sexy. Especially the sexy. Just you and me, baby, until death do us part.” Somehow I found my voice. “Even though we’ve only known each other for eight months?” I asked quietly, afraid of his answer. But he just smiled up at me. “Time has no bearing on the truth. And what we have, that’s true as fucking anything.” He gave my hand a squeeze and reached into his pocket. I sucked in my breath, feeling all my emotions flood me at once, and watched as he took out a beautiful, sparkling ring, and held it poised at my finger. He gazed at me, and it was like I saw every moment we had with each other captured in his eyes. “Perry Palomino, kiddo, baby—will you be my wife?” I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes!” I blurted out in a sob as the tears started”
― Karina Halle, Ashes to Ashes  Karina Halle

 

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Poe

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18729914

Poe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received this book for free through NetGalley for an honest review.

I was really happy that I decided to get this book, it caught me off guard and made me love the characters. The writing was fun but still managed to convey a feeling of menace, maybe because even the bad guy had a sense of humor. The characters are all well-developed and give you a sense of reality in who they are and who they may become. I could identify with each of the characters on one level or another and that just made it even better for me. I wondered about the title at first but it quickly resolved itself in an interesting way. I am a big fan of Edgar Allan and one of my favorite stories of his is The Tell-Tale Heart, which is referenced here. There was no lag in the story and everything played out quickly with just the right amount of tension.

Dimitri is a nice guy who has had his fair share of tragedy in his life. When his parents died on their way to visit him at college he decided to leave instead of completing the semester. He ends up taking a job with the local paper writing obituaries while he continues to work on his novel, a paranormal tomb about Rasputin, not exactly the life he had envisioned but it pays the bills. There is a girl he is interested in and he has not even asked her out yet, though he talks to regularly as a source, Lisa works at the local convalescent home and gives him information on the residents.

The real complications start when he is sent out to cover a séance at the local haunted house, the Aspinwall mansion, where a lot of people died years before. This assignment changes his life in ways he would never have been able to imagine. It is also the beginning of a rash of killings that are linked to his family which will shock and terrify the community he lives in.

I really ended up liking Dimitri, right from the start he was this gawky, self-effacing guy with a personality you couldn’t help but be drawn to. Lisa was is the cool girl that you wouldn’t expect to be with him but she has more going for her than just looks, she is everything that he needs and they fit together. While you have some good gory scenes they are not over the top but just right to keep the interest. I found myself laughing, smiling, talking back to the characters (out loud) and being worried for their safety. I had a great time reading it and am hoping for more time with them, not to mention Poe and Nachiel. Seems like things ended on a draw and payback would be nice. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a little romance, ghosts, demons, angels, and immortal exorcist.

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Keep Me Ghosted

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17695088

Keep Me Ghosted (Sophie Rhodes Ghostly Romance #1)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a light and easy read that flew by because the characters were fun and made me want to find out about them. The story was simple and yet still pulled me in with a mystery and ghosts who refused to leave. I read this in the course of a few hours and felt satisfied at the end that everything was as it should be. The characters were well-defined and there was a feeling of seriousness but it had a light touch with a nice romance, even if it happened a bit quickly. Things progressed at a rate that was easy to follow.

Sophie has been looking for job and she has a friend who keeps making things more difficult for her, this friend just happens to be a ghost and her best friend. When she goes to her latest interview the interviewer has a similar friend who does not seem inclined to share him, even with an employee. There is something not quite right about the ghost that has attached itself to Cal, Sophie’s new boss, and she starts to look into it as things start to escalate in the office. Falling for your boss is bad but falling for your boss when he has a psycho ghost is even worse and she needs to find a way to put her to rest before she causes serious harm to someone.

I liked the fact that I there were some serious moments but that there were also moments that gave me a chuckle here and there. Sophie’s ghost friend Marmaduke was a treasure, both a good friend and protector who just wanted Sophie to be happy. You get some light romance, a bit of paranormal activity, some ghostly angst, and mystery. Very enjoyable and most would probably find it so.

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Bell Hallow

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7083562

Bell Hollow: The Ghost Hunters’ Files

3.5 stars for this horror/ghost story. The story itself was not particularly scary but it had a feeling of menace running throughout that made it compelling. The establishing chapters which laid out the area and some of the characters was straight forward and flowed well. but when it came into the present time you had to pay very close attention or lose track of where in the timeline you were. I had a good idea of where it was headed once we got to the sixties but I had to read on just in case I was wrong.

There are forty acres or more tucked away near Nashville, TN that has been shunned since the beginning of time because it has been the site of strange smells, unnatural deaths, and an evil aura. Even the local tribes avoided the area, then a trapper shows up in 1750 and decides to build there and the evil gets more active forcing the local medicine man to try to contain it. He does but settlers come and not recognizing the signs awaken it once more.

This is about a family who becomes embroiled in the supernatural through no real fault of their own. Jared accepts a job that will destroy his close-knit family and drive him to brink.

We don’t even meet the ghost hunters until the last several chapters of the book. But that is alright because they are not a major part of the story. The characters were quickly constructed and did not have a great deal of depth but some still managed to stand out. This was a decent read and I enjoyed it but there just seemed to be something missing. I liked the history of the area that was talked about. Read but don’t look to deep.

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Come Alive

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Come Alive (Experiment in Terror, #7)Come Alive by Karina Halle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zombies and Ghosts and Bokors, OH MY!!

Perry and Dex have settled in after their terror filled time in the Canadian Rockies. With no footage, thanks to its being confiscated, they are faced with the threat of cancellation. Their boss proposes that they take on another member to their team, and guess who it is, Maximus has managed to get himself made their babysitter. Maximus makes plans for them to head to New Orleans and film some haunted locations, but he does not know that he is leading them into one of the most dangerous situations they have ever been in. With their relationship being tested by outside forces and the threat of an evil Bokor raising zombies, Dex and Perry do not know where or whom to turn to for help. This time there might not be an escape for either of them.

We meet a small group of people here who help and hinder our couple. There is of course Maximus, an ex-friend of Dex from college who he is not happy to work with. Especially since he seems to be lusting after his Perry.
We also meet Rose a girl from Max’s past which he would like to forget but can’t. Rose is also special like Dex and Perry and is recruited to help them.
Ambrosia Paris is an apprentice to a Voodoo Mambo and seems sweet enough on the surface, but you can see the corruption beneath that pretty exterior.

This series just keeps getting better and better! Was I surprised by some of the revelations we were given? Yes. Do I think it fits with all the information we have gotten in the past? Yes. Can I patiently wait for the next installment? No! But I will because I have no other choice. Karina Halle has given us a rich world inhabited by complex characters who react like anyone would to the things which are thrown in their path.

Perry, I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you. I’m not going to stop showing you off or rubbing it in to everyone I know anytime soon. Especially not to him and especially after tonight. You’re mine. And you’re mine alone. From now until the end…

Love can conquer all.

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