Tag Archives: Paranormal

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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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Side Jobs

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Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files (The Dresden Files #12.5)

I had to do an average of the stories I read here which came to 4.5 stars, which is pretty darn great for me. I am a total Dresden junky, love me some Harry! Each story gave me another side of Harry, in some instances a side I may not have had a chance to see before since the situation occurred outside the main novels. There was not one story I would give less than a three and most were at least a four. The writing was always tight, even if the first story was a little less detailed, it was still well worth the time. Each story seamlessly flowed into the next advancing and opening the story along with the characters.

There were three stories which I enjoyed more than others and gave five stars. The first story was It’s My Birthday, Too which revolved around Harry’s half-brother and the fact that Harry really does not know how to deal with family issues. I liked this one because it shows how close Thomas and Harry have grown since finding out about each other. It’s not every day you discover the only other family you have is a vampire. Thomas is helping one of his employees with a LARPing group at the mall, Harry is delivering his gift, and something very bad is about to happen.

My second favorite story was The Warrior, which had the retired knight Michael in it. When Michael and the knights were first introduced I was very happy to see them. Here was something I had never seen before and some very interesting people. Someone seems to be targeting Michael and his family, sending pictures of them to Harry as a warning. While Harry tries to find out who is after the ex-knight, Michael does not fear for himself but his family. What this person wants could cause more trouble than solve it.

The final favorite in this anthology of good stories was Last Call. Finally a chance to get a closer look at Mac. A psychic compulsion is placed on the crates containing his beer which of course transfers to the beer itself. Harry was just planning on having a beer and a steak sandwich but finds utter chaos and a plot that needs to be solved before all hell breaks loose.

All I can really say is that it is Harry Dresden and I love Harry in all his sarcastic, gloomy, sad sack, wizardly ways. If you have enjoyed the Dresden Files in the past this will only make you want more.

“God isn’t about making good things happen to you,or bad things happen to you. He’s all about making choice – exercising the gift of free will.”
― Jim Butcher, Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files Jim Butcher
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Ghost Betweens

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13644342

Ghost Betweens

My rating 4 of 5 stars
I usually like my horror a bit more bloody and dark but for this I will make an exception. While not bloody it did have a dark edge to it. It was an easy read that allowed you to get to know the characters in increments as the book progressed. Some were better represented than others but you still had an idea of who they were in relation to each other. The reasons behind the haunting was never made completely clear but the story was still good even without knowing every detail. It was able to keep my interest and keep me turning pages wanting to find out what would happen next. The term Ghost Betweens was a new one on me and I think I like it, it seems very apt for the teens here.

Citrus Valley is located somewhere between Los Angeles and Orange County in California. There is a farmhouse just outside the town which is said to be haunted and no one can say how long it has been empty. The local kids don’t party there and no one has even stayed for a night in the abandoned house, but it has a feeling that keeps people away. There is a sign out front which changes year to year or month to month and sometimes day by day, yet no one has ever been seen doing it.

Josh and Zach are high school boys who decide to go out and take pictures around the old farm and maybe capture some ghosts on film. They definitely get there wish and when the pictures are shown to one of their teachers he enlists them to continue their search for ghosts. They in turn bring into it Kendra, the girlfriend of Zach, and a new girl in school, Whisper who at first thinks she is joining a photography club. They wake up an evil that wishes to use them and they must race to master skills which will keep them alive and save more than their town from what could be released.

While light on scares it gives a nice story of young love blossoming in the face of horror. Finding the person who completes you before you are even complete yourself and learning to work together for the greater good. There was only one thing that bugged me and that was we never really got any answers about the teacher, like how he knew so much about ghosts, and spells, and evil entities, he was a history teacher after all. But that was a small thing and did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. This book is YA and so has no major heavy content.

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The Departed

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The Departed by Shiloh Walker   The Departed (FBI Psychics, #2)
by Shiloh Walker

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Taylor Jones gets 4.5 stars from me because I like my men broody. I
really, really liked this! All the elements I love in a story were here,
we have a mystery, murder, betrayal, love, sex, and ghosts. This is the
kind of story that makes you sit up all night because all you want is
to make sure that things turn out the way they should.

Taylor
Jones is in charge of a special unit within the FBI which employees
psychics with varied abilities. These special people are able to solve
crimes which might otherwise go unsolved for years if not forever.
Desiree ‘Dez’ Lincoln has the ability to speak to and see ghosts, this
ability had overwhelmed her in the past, before she met Jones. Being
able to help those lost souls has helped her maintain her sanity.

When
Dez shows up a crime scene and insists on going in Taylor goes with her
but things do not turn out well. Dez is injured and Taylor takes it
very hard and demands that she take time off from her job, something she
cannot do without losing herself to the ghosts. She quits and goes out
on her own which takes a toll on her because she cannot forget about
Taylor and the ghosts have become more insistent. She finds herself
being called to French Lick, Indiana a small town where a ghost wants
her to make things right for him. It also happens to be the hometown of
Taylor who just happens to arrive there while she is in town. What is
going on in this small town is more than either of them could ever
imagine. Can they patch up their differences and stop the evil that
dwells there?

Shiloh Walker has crafted a world with hero’s and villains that are very real. As you get to know them you can’t help but root for them. Each story gives you more background into them as individuals. This is a wonderful series and should not be missed.

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