First Contact (Haunts for Sale, Book 1)
by Kat Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for Readers Favorite.
One day Sloane had it all, a job she loved, a great best friend and she was going to marry the man of her dreams, then, in the blink of an eye everything shattered. A car crash took her fiancé Michael from her and she didn't think she could go on. Now, as a paranormal real estate agent, she has been searching haunted houses for a year looking to make contact with Michael. She's in a small town in the middle of nowhere, the last place she would expect to find him, but find him she does, and not only him but a house full of ghosts. These ghosts are in pain, the last moments of their lives where horrific and they are forced to relive them over and over again in this house. Sloane is determined to set them free, only problem is she has no idea how to do that. First Contact is a well written and developed story of a young adult woman who has a sensitivity to the spirit world and can sense their presence. At the same time it is a mystery story of a serial killer who has escaped notice for years and Sloane's desire to bring him to justice. Author Kat Green has written a book that will keep you glued to the story until the last page.
First Contact is the first book in a new series by author Kat Green called Haunts for Sale. Sloane is a paranormal real estate agent, which means she is sensitive to the spirit world and can sense the presence of spirits in a house and whether they are kind or maleficent. Because you know there is a whole market for people wanting to buy haunted houses these days. Most of her work are with gentle spirits just hanging out where they have always been, but not this job. Sloane walks into something she has no clue about. This is a page turner, but there are some topics with the whole serial killer that might offend some readers, so I would recommend it only to adult readers, just to be on the safe side.
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Absolution: The Ted Roth Story
by Edmund Hulton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Have you ever wondered what made someone a killer? Why they did what they did and how they decided that killing was the best or only way to deal with the problem? Absolution: The Ted Roth Story is the story of one man's life, told by him from his youngest days up through the end. Teddy explains what happened to him that drove him to kill his best friend at the tender age of 10, and blame it on another boy. It takes you through each and every killing that Teddy commits and gives you an insight into what he was thinking and feeling when it happened, and his reasoning for it. Author Edmund Hulton gives a wonderful first person, biographical kind of fiction story that opens a world of a killers mind up to the read, and you find that it is eerily similar to your own.
Although Absolution: The Ted Roth Story is a work of fiction, you can almost feel the realness of the story. The reader is easily able to identify with Teddy and the others in the book, so much so that at times you might think he's a monster and other times, you want to defend what he did as an act of justice. Author Edmund Hulton has taken on the human fantasy with the mind of a killer and yet given him a real life, a purpose and a motive to live and told his story in such a way that you start to question who is the good guy and who is really the bad guy in the story. Definitely a read for mature readers only because of some of the events that occur that lead up to some of the killings, they are not described in graphic detail, but the topic is hard to deal with for some readers. That in and of itself makes the reader question the justice of what Teddy does in certain cases.
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An Empty Swing
by N.J. Hanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite
Luis is the target of the school bully Butch, and Serena is the gothic chic everyone avoids. When Luis spends some time in the old playground to avoid Butch he encounters Alice, a ghost, which completely freaks him out. He runs into Serena in the library in the section he needs to learn about ghosts and she ends up telling him what he needs to know, only to freak out on him. An Empty Swing is this amazing story that gives us teenage characters, coming into their own, the paranormal aspect of the ghosts. Then we have the mystery and crime element of why the ghosts are here and how they died. Author N. J. Hanson does a wonderful job of blending so many different layers of story together into one cohesive story.
An Empty Swing is such a complex story. For most of the ghosts, which happen to be innocent young kids that just happened to be in the wrong place and the wrong time, their existence as a ghost is no big deal, but to one kid, it turns him into a vengeful spirit. Luis has a backstory and history that plays into Serena's backstory and history, in ways that they never knew. There is some spiritualism, some crime and mystery, some detective work, some coming of age and teenage romance and some happily ever after. Author N. J. Hanson gives us characters to love, ones to hate, and ones we aren't sure about. Although this is marketed as a young adult book, it can easily be read by adults. There is one retelling of one victims account, but exact events are not described only alluded to, so I would advise parents to be available for teens should they want to discuss it after reading.
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Cain's Coven (Begotten Bloods, #1)
by Kristin King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Claryn hates crowds, and is not in the mood for this bachelorette party, but there is no way Kelley is letting her get out of it. It gets even worse when Kelley invites Justice, the guy from the burger joint to join them, and then makes him Claryn's date for the wedding. The thing is, he seems to understand Claryn's fears and issues with men and even more he is willing to work around them, of course Justice has his own secrets.
Cain's Coven is the story of brothers Justice and Chess as the fight and survive in the world. Claryn is drawn into their world, although Justice tries hard to keep her at a distance, he just can't. Outside of them, in the world at large lurks an evil that threatens young woman in the area, even Claryn. Author Kristin King molds dynamic characters in Chess, Justice and Claryn that you come to like and feel for easily and quickly in the story.
Cain's Coven is not your typical vampire novel, in fact there is not much of it that is typical. There are even times when you forget that there are vampires because that is really not the main focus, it is more the whole nature of the relationships and what is going on in the world in general. You've got an online computer game people are playing with the promise of immortality if they win, which has created some disgruntled few who won and found out there wasn't immortality at the end. They are not bent on slaying vampires. Then Author Kristin King decides to throw in a serial killer lurking in the community to mix things up a bit. There is no lack of action or down time in the story, it really keeps you turning the pages and engrossed in the story all the way through. This is a great read for all ages, teens, young adults and up. There is no sex, mild violence - and I do mean mild especially for a vampire story, this is very mild. I feel comfortable letting my middle schooler reading this one. Enjoy!
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