Shadowlight (Kyndred, Book #1) by Lynn Viehl. © 2009 Signet. ISBN 9780451412782. Paperback. Paranormal Romance. 336 pages. $7.99 US. [ Purchase ]

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From the Publisher: “With just one touch, Jessa Bellamy can see anyone’s darkest secrets, thanks to whoever tampered with her genes. What she doesn’t know is that a biotech company has discovered her talent and intends to kill her and harvest her priceless DNA.

Gaven Matthias is forced to abduct Jessa himself so he can protect her, but Jessa has a hard time believing the one man whose secrets she can’t read. As a monstrous assassin closes in and forces them to run, Jessa will have to find another way to discover if Matthias is her greatest ally-or her deadliest enemy.”

Jessa is a new type of human, one of many scattered and trying to find each other.  Jessa has an ability that makes her wanted and hunted.  Enter Matthias who is much more than he seems.  Is he a kidnapper or a savior?

I liked this story, it has science, mystery, love and the paranormal.  It will grab you, and keep you and hopeful make you ask for more.  I know it did for me!  What was different about this is that the story isn’t just about one thing in particular rather a group of events that are all tied in together.

Maya

Maya is a mechanical engineer and an avid reader with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is a typical Aquarian with a mean streak of reality but loves books of a paranormal and supernatural nature.

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Private Demon (Book #2) by Lynn Viehl. © 2005 Signet. ISBN 9780451217059. Paperback. Paranormal Romance. 304 pages. $7.99 US. [ Purchase ]

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From the publisher: “Night after night, Jema Shaw’s dreams have become a haven for Thierry Durand. But his nocturnal visits have placed her in danger and brought her between two ancient enemies: the Brethren and the Darkyn.”

Jema is a delicate sickly heiress, who works in a museum (and owns it), while Thierry had just been put together by Dr. Keller from If Angels Burn and is not completely sane yet from all the torture and betrayal he suffered.  This is Part two of the Darkyn series.

This book was a delight to read.  The romance between Theirry and Jema was slowly developed, and the suspense and action in the story was nicely done.  We got a continuation from the first story in the series which also helped us get to know the players from that story and how they impacted upon the hero and heroine of this story.

I think the author found her rhythm in this book, she finally settled on this series being a mixture of romance and paranormal with the romance playing a secondary yet influential part in the story.  There are many surprises in the story which always keep you on your toes.  The themes in the first book are developing in the second and the stories are a continuation of each other. Very dark, gritty, modern, but with elements of the past deftly woven into the framework, this story stakes its claim on the vampire paranormal romance, giving us a different kind of vampire lore.

Maya

Maya is a mechanical engineer and an avid reader with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is a typical Aquarian with a mean streak of reality but loves books of a paranormal and supernatural nature.

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Earth’s Echo: Sacred Encounters With Nature by Robert M. Hamma. © 2002 Sorin Books. ISBN 1-8937-3246-0. Paperback. Ecopsychology. 190 pages. $12.95 US. [ Purchase ]

Source: Amazon Purchase

Synopsis
Using brief excerpts from the work of nature writers as touchstones for meditation, the book leads the reader to reflect on the sacred reality of nature as found in different settings: the seashore, the river, the forest, the desert, and the mountain. It translates the traditional monastic practice of sacred reading, known as lectio divina, into an easily accessible four-step form.

Review
For a small book it packs in quite a lot. At first glance you think “oh oh, a book written by a guy with a Bachelors in Theology and a Masters in Divinity…Ergo Christian reading”. Think again!
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Maya

Maya is a mechanical engineer and an avid reader with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is a typical Aquarian with a mean streak of reality but loves books of a paranormal and supernatural nature.

More Posts - Website

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. © 2008 Quercus. ISBN 978-1847242983. Paperback. Historical Fiction. 528 pages. $14.95 US. [ Purchase ]

Source: Amazon Purchase

Synopsis
Nefertiti is one of the world’s great legendary beauties. Seen through her sister’s eyes, she is vividly brought to life in this heartbreaking story of celebrity, ambition, love and loss.

Review
I truly have mixed feelings about this book. The author in her note at the end of the book tells us that she is faithful to the history of the period, but from my own search into that time I know that it is not true. I also don’t like the way she portrayed Akhenaten and Nefertiti at all, nor do I think that that was the way they were, based on what little I know of them. Read more

Maya

Maya is a mechanical engineer and an avid reader with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is a typical Aquarian with a mean streak of reality but loves books of a paranormal and supernatural nature.

More Posts - Website