The Bringer - Samantha Towle

Title - The Bringer

Author - Samantha Towle

Genre - Paranormal, Paranormal Romance

Date published -   May 4th 2011

Publisher -  CreateSpace

Format - Paperback

Pages -236

Author's website - http://samanthatowle.blogspot.com/

Rating - 3 out of 5

"Are you an angel?"
"If I had a penny for every time I've been asked that, well not that pennies are of any use to me, but still. No. I'm not an angel. But I am the one who's here to take you to the angels."

Lucyna is a Bringer, someone who's job is to deliver humans to the door of Heaven. She can't feel..I mean, she is not entitled to feel sorrow, grief, pain. She does understand humans and their feelings, but actually can't sympathize with them and what they are going through while finding out they're dead and about to leave their loved ones. Yes, it's a difficult job, but that's the only thing Lucyna does.

But everything changes for her one day when she "meets" James. She is changed irreversibly!

Could it be she is actually starting to feel? Could it be she is starting to have emotions? Why does she feel she can't bear to be without James?

I did like this book, speaking generally, but since I am giving it 3/5 there must have been few things I didn't like.

Well for start, I really think the story was interesting, but I had difficulties in getting into it completely. Lucyna is confused, that I understand. And I perfectly understand what she is going through, and though I liked the descriptions of her inner turmoil, I think the author over emphasized it.

Another thing which I think this read is missing, though this is totally subjective, is more dialogue. It seemed to me that the author manipulates well the description and the psychology of her characters, but still I felt certain lack of dialogues, which could've made me enjoy this book more.

However it was an interesting book, and I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to read it. Thank you PNR&UFF group on Goodreads and thank you Samantha for generously giving me a copy of this book.

My rating

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Elemental: The First - Alexandra May

Title - Elemental: The First

Author - Alexandra May

Genre -Young adult, Paranormal

Date published - July 22nd 2011

Publisher - Pauma Publishing

Format - Paperback

Pages - 280

Author's website - http://www.alexandramay.co.uk/author/

Rating - 4 out of 5

I would like to thank the PNR&UFF group on Goodreads and the author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is Alexandra May's debut and I am glad I found another new and talented author. I really didn't know what to expect from it. I was pretty much sure about one thing though - I love the cover. However I am not the type of person that judges a book by the cover, yet I must admit a good cover always seems to catch my eye.
The plot is centered around Rose Frost, who has just been told the news that she is about to spend her summer with her grandmother whom she really doesn't know well and haven't seen for years. The reason behind this is her dad's work. He is a geologist working for the government traveling around the world looking for rare metals, so they move a lot.
Rose is on her way to Wiltshire, England feeling her life would never be the same again. Though the town seems friendly and she enjoys seeing her friends again, some things are about to shatter the life she was used to. Illusions, lies, romance, mystery and action - this book has it all.
While reading the synopsis on Goodreads before actually reading this book I imagined Rose as a strong person who doesn't give her trust to people easily. However, my impressions after reading this book were contrary to this, I have the feeling Rose is a fragile girl, afraid to use her powers and gift to heal and a bit confused. Indecisive at moments, especially when speaking of Morgan and Aiden, two boys she likes and feels strongly attracted to. Morgan and Aiden are just like water and oil, can't mix 'em. They hate each other, but by the end of the book you will see the reason behind this. And I must say, there is a BIG reason.
This is the part that intrigued me the most. I liked Morgan because he was gentle and really sweet, but Aiden with that "bad boy" written on his face and bad reputation in his town was just a tiny bit more intriguing to me.But who will she trust?I didn't mind Rose's hesitation, I've seen this in many YA books and it's something I would pretty much assign to teenage years, but the end of the book surprised me and even disappointed me a bit.
Still, knowing that this book is the first one in the series to come I look forward to Alexandra's explanations and to the sequel. I really loved how she managed to create a story with so many different genre elements, paranormal, romance, mystery and yet make it so enjoyable to read.

My rating:

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The Calling - Ashley Lynn Willis

 Title - The Calling

Author - Ashley Lynn Willis

Genre - Paranormal Romance

Date published - October 12th 2011

Publisher -  

Format - e-book   

Pages - 360

Author's website - http://authorashleylynnwillis.blogspot.com/

Rating - 4 out of 5

What's the first image that pops into my mind now that I read the book?



Yes, that's the one! Two alpha males having the fight of their lives.
On the left we have Ty (and I will quote the author on this) the prick or the selfish bastard. On the right we have Justin who obviously has certain advantages over Ty, among which the fact that he is the gifted one and can manipulate waves.
So what are they fighting for? A FEMALE!
And in this story that would be Mandy. She's went through lot in her life..a mastectomy a year ago and a terrible break up. Yeah, that monkey on the left, Ty, dumped her soon after finding out Mandy had a breast cancer. What an idiot!
But Justin is something different. He is protective, yet has deep and sincere emotions for Mandy, the only problem being there is the fact he is Ty's friend.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Didn't get me sucked in from the very begging though, because I really think the author went into much details explaining the day Justin saved the kid from drowning. But as the story evolved I found it very interesting and captivating. Some might think that the story deserved more paranormal elements to it, but I loved it the way it is. I admire Mandy and found Justin very, very cute.
The book also includes some hot, spicy scenes, but I wouldn't go that far in including it in the erotica genre. Yet, they did make me blush one several occasions, but on the other hand the author sure described well the passion between Mandy and Justin. I could feel the "electricity" even through my reader.
Overall, I think the author did a great job and knowing this is her debut I bet her books are going to get just better in the future. I sure hope to read more from Ashley.

My rating: 

 

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