Category Archives: Paranormal

Review: Dark Halo by Shannon Dittemore

Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Dark Halo
Shannon Dittemore
Thomas Nelson
Published August 27, 2013

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Brielle has been blessed with a special gift: she can see the Celestial, both the angels and their warring worship and the fear that gushes like black tar from those caught in the grip of her enemies. She’s not the only gifted one. Her boyfriend Jake can heal others with his hands.

But Jake has been taken, kidnapped by demons, and her attempt to save him throws Brielle into the hands of the Prince of Demons. He asks her to make a terrible choice. She’s been given a heavenly halo, one that bestowed her gift upon her. The Prince offers her a dark halo, one that will block the pain of her heavenly sight. It’s a choice Brielle thinks will be simple, but when nightmares and tragedies plague her, doesn’t she deserve just a little relief?

Dark Halo is the third and final book in the Angel Eyes series. It can be read without the first two books, but will be more enjoyable if one is familiar with the stories from the first two novels. Jake, Brielle and the others reveal deeply moving stories, participating in a spiritual battle and hunting down clues to solve mysteries concerning the disappearance of Brielle’s mom, a human-trafficking organization, and the death of Brielle’s friend. It’s not all drama and tragedy, though. Dittemore lightens the mood with the perky hilarity of Kaylee, Brielle’s young friend. This makes for great tempo in the storytelling. Readers who enjoy fantasy or paranormal stories will love this series which is a little bit like Peretti’s This Present Darkness meets X-Men.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Light – Jake and Brielle share a few lip-locked moments and discuss plans for marriage.

Spiritual Content
Angels and demons wage war over earth and its inhabitants, based on scripture from the Bible. Brielle, Jake and other characters wrestle with doubt and other obstacles to faith.

Violence
While most of the warfare going on in the story is in the form of worship, there are a few battle sequences. Angels use wings of razor-sharp feathers to cut down their enemies. Jake and Marco are both treated pretty roughly by their captors. There are some brief references to injuries sustained in a deadly car accident.

Drug Content
Brielle’s father struggles with alcoholism, and there are some brief references to him drinking too much.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Review: Alpha Gene by Angel M. Huerta

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Alpha Gene
Angel M. Huerta
White Goblin
Published June 29, 2013

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After being unjustly accused of murdering his friend and partner, Dr. Lucas McKenna relocates to a small town in Maine to live a quiet life pursuing his passion: genetics. When he is mistaken for an obstetrics physician and delivers a child who mysteriously flickers in and out of his visibility, the doctor believes he may have stumbled onto the next great evolutionary leap in humanity. He follows the girl’s progression and soon discovers several more children who seem to possess extraordinary gifts. While the doctor’s actions may seem creepy, he assures the reader he is only pursuing the science and intends no harm to the kids.

Years later, when Peter, a new, strangely gifted teenaged boy arrives in town with his family, he meets up with the other teens with special abilities. As he emerges as the leader of the group, he begins to try to convince the others to challenge local bullies and stand up for themselves. His efforts go awry, and the bullies are quick to take advantage, but Peter is not giving up so easily. He will need all his tenacity, too, when a bigger, darker threat emerges and threatens the life of the only person who truly understands the abilities the kids possess. It will take the whole team of kids working together to save the doctor before it’s too late.

The story begins with an interesting, birds-eye perspective from the elderly genetics doctor, the man who later discovers the emergence of new abilities in humans. As he tells his tale, he often pauses to relate other stories, from his marriage to his late wife to his coffee pot, to how Peter’s family dog came to live with them. While at times charming, sometimes this chops into the forward motion of the story, creating a little bit of confusion. When Peter’s point-of-view is introduced, the narrative evens out a little more. Prickly at first, Peter soon grows into the leader of the group of misfit teens and begins to inspire them to be more than they currently are. Readers who enjoyed Unleashed by Jennifer L. Hartz may also enjoy this story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Moderate.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Some brief physical confrontations. No graphic details or violence.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Of Poseidon
Anna Banks
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 22, 2012

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After surviving a devastating shark attack, the last person Emma wants to see haunting the halls of her high school is the mysterious boy she met on her beach vacation. But try as she might, Emma can’t seem to escape Galen, nor can she find an explanation for the powerful connection she feels when she’s around him.

When Galen finally explains his reasons for following Emma across the country, she can’t – or doesn’t want to – believe him. But neither can she deny the inexplicable gift she possesses, a gift Galen says holds the key to saving his people from war. If Emma accepts Galen’s story, it will change everything and put everything she wanted and almost had squarely out of reach.

Despite the heaviness of the opening scenes, this is a fun, often humorous story about forbidden love with a bit of a new spin on mermaid – or Syrena – myths. Emma, a pure soul with a tragic past, and Galen, a duty-bound prince of a hidden realm, make perfect star-crossed lovers. Of Poseidon has recently been nominated for the 2013 YALSA Top Ten award.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild.

Sexual Content
Emma worries that her mother will assume she and Galen are having sex, though they aren’t sharing more than secrets and a few super-charged kisses.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
A bull shark attacks a young girl as she swims at the beach. Details are a bit gruesome. Two girls with super-strength tackle each other in a beach house, destroying furniture, but causing only minor damage to each other.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Raven Boys
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic, Inc
Published September 8, 2012

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Premonitions and warnings about the future have always been a part of Blue Sargent’s life in her small home shared by several psychic women. It’s why she stays away from boys: the first boy she kisses will die, according to the predictions of the clairvoyant group.

Staying away from them has never been difficult for Blue. Especially staying away from the over-privileged boys of the Aglionby school. That is, until an unexpected vision on St. Mark’s Eve and a forgotten journal pull Blue into a dangerous and mesmerizing quest led by one of Aglionby’s finest students.

Though she is at first repelled by Gansey’s flippant attitude about money, something deeper flashes beneath the carelessness and bravado, and Blue can’t help but be captivated by that Gansey.

If only she can find a way to keep him from dying.

Filled with memorable characters and fresh wit, The Raven Boys is a wild ride from start to finish. Readers familiar with Stiefvater’s Shiver will find this a much more highly developed work. When I read Shiver, the repetitive use of the phrase, “for a long moment,” bothered me. I hadn’t read anything by Maggie Stiefvater between reading Shiver and The Raven Boys, so I was sort of braced for those words to appear everywhere. (Which now seems pretty ridiculous, when I think about it.) Despite this, it’s difficult to imagine readers beginning this series and not eagerly anticipating the second book, Dream Thieves, which came out in September 2013.

I’ve read this novel more than once, which in itself is a testament to how great the writing is. I don’t get to reread books much anymore, because my list of new books to read is always so long!

I always feel torn about falling in love with this series because of the prominent presence of the psychic characters. Usually it’s a subject that I’d probably avoid in literature, largely due to disinterest, but also for spiritual reasons.

Despite that, I can’t help really getting lost in the beautiful Virginia landscape Stiefvater creates. I love the way the boys relate to each other. Their deep friendship and the complicated history that simultaneously drives them apart and binds them together is absolutely captivating. The fact that Blue has this huge, ominous prediction hanging over her head really kept the tension high throughout the whole story. It’s not the only instance of foreshadowing, either. I love that each character has not only a complex history that creates powerful drive but also some kind of dangerous ability or prediction that haunts their steps. It’s the kind of stuff that keeps you turning pages long after bed time.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Sparse but severe profanity.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Blue’s mother and her friends use psychic ability to make their living and to predict what will happen in Blue’s life and the lives of her friends. Much of the story centers around belief in these abilities and in magic, spirits and rituals. Blue and her friends befriend a ghost and help him maintain a presence. Blue is gifted with the ability to strengthen psychic energy.

Violence
Two brothers engage in a brief fist-fight. One boy suffers physical abuse at the hands of his father, and another boy defends him. The scene is brief. A man is trampled to death, but no details are given of the event. A woman plans to murder a man as part of a ritual. Characters fight over possession of a gun in two different scenes.

Drug Content
One of the boys has a tendency to drink alcohol and get into trouble. It’s not featured much (one night he gets drunk because he’s having trouble sleeping), but not condemned as a behavior, either.

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Review: Visited by Janine Caldwell

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Visited
Janine Caldwell
CreateSpace
Published May 23, 2013

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Seventeen-year-old Joanna Murphy is all set to being a glorious senior year, one that will climax with the realization of her dream vacation: a backpacking trip through Europe with her mom. That is, until Mom and step-dad Stan drop the baby bombshell. Joanna rages at her mother’s starry-eyed ignorance, crushed that the trip is now canceled and her senior year will now be all about the new baby. Stan has already crowded the quiet home, and once the new baby arrives, how much time will Mom have left for Joanna?

Retreating to her special place, Joanna climbs out to the rooftop of the two-story desert home, wishing her life were different. When a falling star changes course and bolts directly toward her, Joanna loses her balance and tumbles down the rooftop. She wakes in the hospital, miraculously alive and unhurt, but her life doesn’t seem spared any damage. Mom greets her, but there’s no Stan, no pregnancy, and never was as far as Joanna can tell. What does this mean?

As Joanna flounders, trying desperately to understand why things are suddenly different than she remembers before the fall, a mysterious boy approaches her with an important clue: he rescued her after the fall and healed her body.

To sci-fi geek Joanna, this is the best news ever! It wasn’t a shooting star she saw, but instead an alien. How awesome is that? Her very own visitor from outer space. Her new friend, who calls himself James, warns Joanna that he has been sent to earth on an important mission, one which will be opposed by a dangerous enemy. Joanna promises to keep James’s mission and his true nature a secret, but she can scarcely contain her excitement.

As senior year begins, Joanna continues to find pieces of her life missing or out of place. No more volleyball? Ouch. And she has the boyfriend of her dreams?! Awesome! Only, why is that not as easy as it once seemed it would be?

A determined Joanna wrestles to understand and accept this new life, but the changes continue to spiral around her. Her mother plunges into depression borne out of her loneliness, and Joanna realizes maybe she’d been selfish to resent Stan’s presence in her life so much. But how can she return her life to the state it was before?

Finally, Joanna confesses her feelings to James and he reveals the truth of his mission to her. It is a truth Joanna never expected to encounter, and one which changes everything.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild and infrequent.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content (Spoiler Alert)
James has a mission to save Joanna. A sci-fi fan and subscriber to the hope that life exists on other planets, Joanna believes he is an alien who has come to visit earth. She discovers he has been sent not by aliens but by God to inform her of his existence and convince her of the benevolence of his plan for her life.

Violence
James and his enemy engage in some sort of battle which mostly happens off-scene. No graphic details.

Drug Content
Joanna discovers several empty wine bottles and a bottle of pills left behind by her mother. Mom appears intoxicated and in need of medical attention.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Unleashed by Jennifer Hartz

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Unleashed (Heroes of the Horde #1)
Jennifer Hartz
Desert Breeze
Published May 20, 2013

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After hearing a legend about a man who conquers demons and receives great power, six teens return to the site of the story and poke around. They flee following an accident, but over the next several hours, each begins to manifest a special ability.

Though the group is at first undecided on what to do with their new gifts, the team quickly realizes having these abilities makes them a target for a host of demons. They work together, using seeing gifts to sense demons and attack abilities to defeat them.

The fighting only gets harder as with each battle the demons seem to learn new ways to attack. Where are they coming from? The team must find out and must stop these demons before they are completely overrun.

Unleashed is a fun superhero team story in which each member takes turns narrating. While the opportunity to be inside each character’s head is great, some of the characters’ emotional landscapes leave few surprises. One fills readers in right away about his anger toward his dad and its sources. The peripheral characters are often one-dimensional as well. Despite this, young readers may find the intense battles against demonic hosts and romantic entanglements between the characters to be enjoyable and entertaining.

Jennifer Hartz has chosen to donate a portion of her royalties for this novel to The A21 Campaign, a group which fights human trafficking and the sex-slave industry. Visit the author’s web site for additional information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild. Contains some crude language but not profanity.

Sexual Content
One boy fondles a girl he’s dating. References to the fact that characters are having sex without descriptive details.

Spiritual Content
While there are some references to Christian theology on demons and one character uses scripture to fight them, much of the battle strategy is physical, and only one character is described as having a relationship with God. The others do not even seem to question the spiritual implications of demons’ existence or how that might affect personal beliefs.

Violence
Character use superpowers to physically battle demons. Demons defend themselves by biting. Few graphic details.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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