Splintered Souls Flames of Time: Book 1 by Erica Lucke Dean

Description
When Ava Flynn walks away from a scholarship to Georgetown and moves into her grandmother’s abandoned summer home in coastal Maine, she steps into the center of a centuries-old curse. On her first night, she notices a mysterious leather-clad stranger looking up at her third-story window. For weeks, everywhere she goes, Ava catches more glimpses of him, but she can never get close enough to find out who he is.

Over three hundred years ago, Lady Catherine Fairchild risked everything to protect her unborn child, sending a ripple through time that would change Ava’s future. As the mystery unravels, the horrifying consequences of Lady Catherine’s choices drag Ava deeper into a world she never knew existed, trapping her in a conflict that’s been raging since before she was born. A winner-take-all battle for her soul.

 

Hundreds of years ago a pregnant woman rode off in a storm to beg a witch's blessing for her unborn child. That choice would plague her into madness. 

Ava is the new girl in town. She has recently lost her father and has moved with her Mom and little brother into her deceased grandmother's house. On her first night she sees "lamppost guy" as she calls him, a handsome hunk who seems to be staring up at her window. As suddenly as he appears, he is gone. The next day she thinks she spots him  in a store where she's shopping with her mom, but while trying to catch up with him she crashes into her soon to be new bestie and lamppost guy disappears again. Suddenly everywhere Ava goes, she feels his presence, until at last they meet. Ava feels an instant connection as if they are soul mates, but she doesn't know that's only half the story!
Full of romance and suspense without graphic sex, this is a perfect read for young adult fans of paranormal romance. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review

Leaving is My Colour by Amy Burns

Description

A brilliant, blackly comic novel about one young woman’s disintegrating family, her breakdown and ultimate recovery.

“I hadn’t spoken to Mother in years. Not since she tried to poison my father with lawn fertilizer. She thought he was sleeping with another woman. Because he didn’t die, he was able to explain to her that he was actually sleeping with another man.”

Set in the Southern US, this is a funny, smart, sassy and deeply moving account of a young woman’s disintegration and redemption.

After her family becomes unexpectedly wealthy, Rachel, a witty, intelligent young woman, succumbs to drink, drugs and OCD, falling in and out of rehab and dysfunctional relationships. Leaving is My Colour follows her often hilarious, always bittersweet, attempts to make it back from the brink and reconnect with those she loves. A brilliant and unforgettable new voice.

 

Rachel grew up in a dysfunctional family of what she thought was modest means until the day her father decided to announce they were rich. She was in and out of counseling sessions from the time she was a child when her hateful sister Julie claimed she was sexually active just  for spite. Through drug addiction, rehab, and several failed marriages she never forgot about her first childhood sweetheart Jack, but it's a hard lesson to learn that letting go of the past is the only way to find our future. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, Rachel's sarcastic humor kept me turning the pages. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review.

Never Out of Sight by Louise Stone

Description

A daughter’s secret. A mother’s betrayal.

Every mother knows never to let their child out of their sight. But Freya has been distracted recently, and now her teenage daughter, Zoe, is missing.
Freya knows that the only way to bring Zoe back is to tell the truth, but when your whole life is built on secrets and lies, the truth could destroy everything.
Surely there’s no harm in telling just one more little white lie?

Freya and her husband Stephen have drifted apart. He has never understood or forgiven her for suffering with post natal depression 16 years ago when their daughter Zoe was born and has held a grudge against her ever since. When Zoe goes missing, both parents are so wrapped up in themselves that neither of them even notice she is gone until the next day.
This book started off with a bang but as it progressed the arguments and excuses between Stephen and Freya became rather repetitive, as did the conversations between Freya and her student Robert. The more Freya uncovered about her missing daughter the less I liked any of the characters. I felt that it pushed too hard towards casting suspicion in a certain direction, which made it too easy for me to ascertain where the suspicion should lie.

I received an advance copy for review.

War on Christmas by Edward Lorn

a holiday-themed horror freebie



When Santa arrives at a hastily decorated house he gets a naughty surprise in this holiday themed short horror story that has him teaming up with Krampus
I am a big fan of Christmas themed horror and was really excited to pick up this book that Edward Lorn has so kindly gifted us with this season. I rarely bother with downloading free kindle books anymore since I have such a huge backlog of freebies that I never got around to but this is not one to download and forget. Do yourself a favor and snatch it up while it's free at Amazon
5 out of 5 stars from me