Falling by L.C. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not a stalker, I swear I’m not a stalker.

Reid has a secret. After her parents died in a car crash, she gained the ability to jump into people’s bodies. With some, it’s for fun. With others, it’s this strange pull towards them that she can’t resist. And the hardest to resist is Keller.

Even though she feels the pull from Keller, she is still drawn to him. For the first time, she is the envy of the boarding school she goes to because Keller is hers. Until she falls into him and he finds out her secret the hard way.

Falling follows Reid as she comes to terms with how she feels about Keller and how he comes to terms with her ability. While I wish there was more on what caused the falling to happen, and why Reid inherited the ability, the story was engaging and quick-paced, leading the reader right along with Reid for the ride. I would also be interested to see what happens afterwards, since Keller and Reid are planning to attend the same college. Will her ability persist, or was she simply waiting to “fall” for Keller?

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Waiting On Hope by T.M. Souders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lexie left her home in rural Ohio to come to Pittsburgh to find a better life. Afraid that her life was playing itself out before her eyes, she needed to get away and find herself. Now, ten years later, events unfold that send her running back to that small Ohio farm she once called home.

Forced to rekindle relationships she had once left behind, Lexie is met with a combination of joy, trepidation and anger. The broken shell that was Lexie must find a way to cope with her rape, her pregnancy and feelings for her former fiance, Elliot, whom she had left all those years ago yet never stopped loving.

The story is told using four different yet strong perspectives. The reader is brought along as Lexie struggles to regain control over her life while keeping her rape a secret from some characters for much of the story. As Elliot comes back into her life, she thrives a little more each day, though still struggles with her feelings. They both realize that they never stopped loving each other, and Lexie makes peace with her old self and her new self, creating a happy Lexie content on being with Elliot and raising their daughter, Hope.

A touching, heart-wrenching story about love lost, emotional torture and recovery, Waiting On Hope overcomes adversity and shows the true resilience of the human spirit.

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A Little Push by Jennifer Steen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nothing is going right for Jess today. The mother of three is simply trying to get her oldest to school when her van doesn’t start. Upon calling her husband to come take him to school, Jess learns that he’s been let go from his job 2 days short of getting benefits and severance pay. To top if off, because of this news Jess is now unable to make her trip back home to see her dying father.

Just when everything seems impossible, the silver lining shines out in one of the smallest characters in the book – Micah, her oldest son. He reminds her that her family is there to support her through all these bumps in the road and that they would be ok.

Short and sweet, A Little Push reminds the reader of what is important – family. These ‘tiny, little blessings’ that are with us every day, even when we don’t slow down enough to see them. Steen’s characters are easy to relate to and full of life and feeling, rolled into a tight story that, while short, is captivating.

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Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum by Stephen Prosapio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

They’re not telling you everything.

Zach dreams of investigating Rosewood Asylum, the haunted facility in Chicago. As host for Sci-D TV’s Xavier Paranormal Investigators, Zach and his team go into haunted areas to learn the science behind the haunting and to exorcise any ghosts on the premises. But as Zach gets his wish of investigating Rosewood, his team’s unity is tested by adding the Demon Hunter team into the mix – the “catch” for getting access to Rosewood.

The large cast used in this book covers every range of person imaginable, blending together to increase the tension between the characters. Along with Zach, the reader finds out details of the haunting, the lies, the deceit, and the paranormal, all while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of Rosewood.

While there were some predictable moments, they didn’t distract me from the story – I was compelled to find out the true reason of the haunting and what the characters were going to do about it, causing me to devour this book. It is a fast read with easy language and enough intrigue to keep you interested. Zach is a deep character, full of conflict and insight, though I do hope that further installments delve a little deeper into the characters, since they have been so well set-up here.

Mystery, ghosts, possession, personal conflicts and behind-the-scenes TV production, Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum is a fast-paced trip into the paranormal realm that will leave you asking: Who’s next?

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