Part murder mystery, part ghost story, this tale had me interested from the beginning. Sloane is an independently minded woman with one exception: she’s still grieving and still attached to her dead fiance Michael. She’s taken a job investigating a house for paranormal activity and she is hoping that dead Michael will put in an appearance. I guess if you’re a paranormal investigator, you would have issues letting go of the dead above and beyond most people.

So while Sloane is pining away for Michael, there’s definitely some ghost action going on in this house and that leads her to start asking questions. Apparently this little Wisconsin town has several unsolved disappearances. These young ladies went missing and now Sloane believes she has found their ghosts.

Even as the murder mystery spins up, it quickly spins out. The cast of characters is small and it quickly becomes apparent who the culprit is. I would have liked a bit more time for the mystery to develop and play out. I didn’t get much suspense because the culprit was quickly revealed (and it wasn’t a big surprise either).

The rest of the tale is about Sloane trying to escape the bad guys and that’s about half the book. There’s added drama over Michael and her undying love for him. But then there’s a silly love triangle tossed in too. FBI Agent Jonah, Michael’s best friend, is the guy that taught Sloane most of what she knows about the paranormal. They usually do paranormal investigations together but Sloane is branching out a bit now with her business of investigating potentially haunted houses that are on the market (because buyers want to know if they have to live with spirits). And then the love drama is even a little more silly because Jonah’s FBI partner is a knock-out and Sloane is jealous of her. I really didn’t care for the romance drama because it took Sloane’s character down a notch. She went from this savvy paranormal investigator, independent business woman, etc. to being this childish, jealous idiot who makes fun of Jonah’s coworker. Sigh… ugh! Sloane, you’re better than that!

By the end, I was glad that the ghosts got some payback and that Sloane had worked out her romantic issues. The pacing started off good but then dragged a little with romantic entanglement stuff but then picked up again at the end. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Kate Tyler was OK. She has a good voice for Sloane and she did a decent job with emotions. Her other character voices were sometimes spot on and sometimes not. Her pacing was just a touch off as she hesitates here and there. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kat Green. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

The Seer’s Lover has been on my TBR for some time, but I did not get the chance to read it before now. My reasons for purchasing this title at the time was twofold. I chose to read this book based on the synopsis and the cover, which I found eerie. I had no experience with the with the author’s work, but because this was a story about the supernatural world, I expected to have a great time.


What is the book about?
Calise Rowe, a pharmacist, has the ability to sense unusual energy from persons she comes in contact with. She did not understand what it meant and her questions went unanswered. However, she would discover the true meaning behind her abilities, when she inadvertently exposed herself to a demon and was saved by a stranger. The stranger directs her to travel to Costa Rica where she would find the answers she desperately seeks.
Lucas Rojas is a seer, with the ability to see demons and angels who walk among humans. He comes from a long line of seers, dating as far back as to the time of the Messiah. He has kept his abilities secret because his kind has been hunted by demons whose intent was to obliterate their lineage.


What I enjoyed.
The story introduces readers to a world where demonic forces desire to control humans where angels protect humans from the wrath of these and seers whose job it is to destroy these evil forces. The beginning was intriguing which, made me eager to uncover the secrets that lay between the pages.

I found the fight scenes between Lucas and the demons exciting and exhilarating. I thought these scenes were well written. The author provided detailed descriptions as it relates to these scenes allowing me to visualise every action that took place at this point.

I enjoyed the way the author conveyed her feelings into the story. Her ability to keep me engaged was on par for the most part. I thought the word building was good. The pacing was good. This along with the writing helped me to get through the story.

The issues I had.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. None of them elicited any emotion within me. Have you ever been to an event where you encounter a group of people whom you have never met, but for some reason, their actions prevent you from wanting to get to know them and you can’t wait to leave? Well sad to say this is how I felt about the characters in this book. My least favourite character was Shane, Calise’s ex-boyfriend. I found him to be weak and pathetic. His relationship with Calise ended a long time, but he was still obsessing to the point where he became unstable.

The romance between Lucas and Calise lacked credibility. First, it was an insta-love connection and second at no time did I see where their feelings for each other were allowed to develop. They never got time to know each other, before declaring their love for each other. As a result, I was unable to connect with them as a couple.

The story felt a bit disjointed in some areas. The movement between scenes in some areas did not flow resulting in it appearing unreal. Then there were the many unanswered questions that I was left with at the end of the story. I am still trying to figure out what happened. I am wondering if the answers are in book two, but I am not sure if I am keen to venture there.


Verdict
This book had potential, but it did not work for me. However, even though it didn’t work for me, don’t be discouraged from giving this book a try. If you enjoy paranormal stories about angels and demons and don’t mind insta-love connections, you will love this book

 

 

 

 

Zum Buch: http://www.dressler-verlag.de/buecher/jugendbuecher/details/titel/3-7915-0032-5/23422/33803/Autor/Nicola/Yoon/The_Sun_is_also_a_Star___Ein_einziger_Tag_f%FCr_die_Liebe.html

 

 

 

 

I checked out this book because I am a fine, upstanding parental figure and I wanted to make sure the contents were appropriate for my daughter before I let her read it. That is absolutely the reason I chose to read this book. Yep. Ah-huh. Definitely.

Flying Mutant Zombie Rats. Flying. Mutant. Zombie. Rats. Who in Cthulhu’s name can walk away from a book with a title like Flying Mutant Zombie Rats? No self-respecting horror-reading bookworm, that’s for sure! Flying rats? Nah. Zombie Rats? Possibly. Mutant Rats? Maybe. Flying Mutant Zombie Rats? Shut up and take my money.

So, er, now to talk about something more than the title of the book, yeah?

Flying Mutant Zombie Rats was a fun read. The main characters are a bunch of BMXing seventh grade boys starting their summer vacation. They’re good (albeit rowdy) kids, obsessed with their bikes, a solid group of friends, and they’re going to save the city with nothing more than their wits and bikes. Right? Well, almost. See, there’s not only Flying Mutant Zombie Rats, there’s something else as well. (You’ll have to read to find out.)

This is definitely a kids book, and unless you’re well in touch with your inner child, it’s not going to appeal to adults. It moves along quickly, there’s some icky stuff, some training sequences, some heroic attempts at self-sacrifice, and lots of action. And given the title of the book, hopefully you don’t go into it expecting realism in any area, because other than the biking scenes, there isn’t any.

Flying Mutant Zombie Rats is a great book to engage a reluctant reader who is interested in the gross and icky side of things. Especially so if they like BMX biking. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Natascha lebt seit sie acht Jahre alt ist als illegale Einwanderin mit ihrer Familie in Amerika. Weil ihr Vater alkoholisiert am Steuer erwischt wird, werden sie entdeckt und sollen nun abgeschoben werden. Genauer gesagt, heute Abend. Natascha will sich damit aber nicht abgeben, sie will ihre Zukunft nicht verlieren. So begibt sie sich zu einem Termin.
Am gleichen Tag hat Daniel ein Vorstellungsgespräch mit einem Yale-Absolventen. Er verlässt das Haus früher als sonst, um seiner Mutter zu entkommen und ist eigentlich gerade auf dem Weg zum Friseur. Viele Zufälle reihen sich aneinander und Daniel und Natascha begegnen sich. Oder war es doch Schicksal?

Daniel ist ein total Gefühlsduseliger Kerl, der Gedichte schreibt und Koreaner. Natascha kommt eigentlich aus Jamaika und für sie besteht die Welt nur aus Fakten. Bis eben Daniel auftaucht. Doch sie will sich nicht eingestehen, dass sie Gefühle hat und wehrt sich wehement dagegen.

An sich ist die Story wirklich gut. Gerade die Frage, ob die beiden ein Paar werden, Natascha abgeschoben wird und Daniel überhaupt noch zu seinem Termin geht, bleiben bis zum Schluss unbeantwortet. Der Schreibstil ist sehr gefühlsbetont, jede noch so kleine Gefühlsregung wird akribisch beschrieben. Insgesamt ergibt sich ein schönes Ganzes. Mir persönlich hat der Stil insgesamt nicht ganz so gut gefallen. Die Kapitel sind mit 1/2 - 4 Seiten extrem kurz und es gibt immer mal wieder "Zwischensequenzen" wo ein Stück aus dem Leben der Randcharaktere erzählt wird, oder irgendwelche Fremdwörter erklärt werden. Mir gefiel zwar der Rundumblick ganz gut, doch ich kann keine so kurzen Kapitel leiden. Die nehmen dem Buch den Fluss und lassen es abgehackt wirken. Auch die Erklärungen der Wörter mögen für manche zwar ganz hilfreich sein, aber wenn man irgendwann mal Big Bang Theory geschaut, oder den Physikunterricht in den Klassenstufen 11 bis 13 besucht hat, stören die eher.

Auch bei der Story sebst ist für mich nicht alles perfekt gewesen. Immer wieder fühlt man sich, als ob 2 Teenies ein Drama á la Nicholas Sparks nachspielen wollen und viel zu oft ertappt man sich bei dem Gedanken, dass die Beiden sich erst ein paar Stunden kennen und schon schtreiten wie ein altes Ehepaar. Oft wirkt es sehr aufgesetzt und damit leider unglaubwürdig, was den Zauber des Buchs gewaltig beeinträchtigt.

 

Insgesamt ist das Buch wirklich in Ordnung und als seichte Kost für zwschenurch perfekt geeignet. Wer aber sein Hirn beim Lesen nicht abschaltet, wird an diesem Buch eher weniger Freude haben.