Diogo Vilar Vilar itibaren El Loa
This little treat arrived in my mailbox not too long ago and it was a real surprise because I wasn’t expecting it but had seen the cover image floating around the blogs and must say it looks just as gorgeous in reality as it does online. Creepy and eerily beautiful at the same time. Written in partnership by Carrie Jones (writer of the very successful Need series) and Steven L. Wedel (who I admit; I don’t know much about but he’s a fantasy fiction author for adults rather than YA) both combined their talent pool for the story of two lives meeting in strange circumstance. The basis of the story is how when two people meet at the right time and in the right place they may be drawn together by bigger things then attraction. When their town is being besieged by an evil force out to kill and seek a way into the real world they find themselves at the core of the problems trying to survive. Kind of a buzz kill when you’re Alan: the new kid in town and you’re just hoping to fit in and play some football. Harder still for Alan is that he has the added factor of being half Native American and thus makes it harder for him to slip into the background quite so easily like he’d probably prefer. Aimee’s had her life haunted by her and her mother’s past and now things are getting strange and she’s feeling drawn to the new boy at school who’s the cousin of her BBF Courtney. Life is complicated for all three youths; Courtney’s dad is missing presumed dead and she’s on the edge of the darkness and depression, Alan can’t help but be drawn to Aimee, the dream girl with the red hair and Aimee has her mother’s death as a constant shadow over her life and she herself has strange ‘talents’ that she’s sometimes afraid of. So there’s a lot going on but it’s these three that need each other to survive the dark force at play. The people of the town are on edge and things need to be resolved before the darkness becomes too big to deal with. I was quite interested to read this book not just for the story and characters but also because I’m always intrigued by books written by two authors and how both writer’s style and methods balance and work together. I always wonder how it works when it comes to working together and even if you’d notice when one writer’s influence stands out against the rest of the book or if it flows so well that you don’t notice. That’s the real skill in a dual writing project and I have to say that this book succeeds at making it seamless as the story surges along and the characters develop without any awkward joins or gaps at all. The book all in all was good and I liked how the chapters switched back and forth between both the male and female point of views and you felt like you a got a really well rounded perspective on what was happening. My only issue was in the beginning I kept feeling like it was a bit of an easy jump from Aimee and Alan not knowing each other to being so connected and both having links to other worldly things sort of very strange luck. You wonder ‘what are the chances in the world that two people would meet at that right moment when evil lurks and together they have to work together to protect those they love?’ I’m probably just being a cynic because after the first few chapters I’d forgotten all of this and was gushing over the two and laughing at Aimee’s Gramps and becoming quite terrified of going into any rivers or large bodies of water ever. Not that I did that often anyway because errr Hello? Have you not seen Jaws?! I freaked out at the right moments, my pulse raced when things got intense and my heart jumped into my throat when even the smallest and yet sweetest thing happened. After Obsession is a nece story with scares, romance, mystery and humour that is perfect for summer reading or something decent to dip into over a long weekend at home. I don't know if I'd race to read another if it was part of a series but I did enjoy what I read but if I'm honest; I've felt more intense reactions to other books and this didn't quite reach the same level. Some of the times it felt like I was just being given facts to fit the story but on the whole it worked and the positives out weigh the negatives for sure.
I've loved all of Sexton's books, and I'm happy to add this one to the list. I had misgivings about buying it since it was billed as a paranormal - I've not had good experiences with m/m paranormals. In my impression, they've been poorly written vamp/were stories with little plot and generic sex scenes. But Sexton's writing was brilliant as always. The heroes - Aren and Deacon - are engaging characters with moving backstories and resulting emotional issues that affect their budding relationship. Their sexual encounters felt like natural progressions of the plot (as opposed to porn scenes loosely linked by a weak story line). The sex was hot, but emotions were involved as well. And the light d/s element didn't turn out as I expected - and the story was better for it. As for the paranormal element, it wasn't as ... Paranormal as I expected. Oestend basically mimics the American West 150 or so years ago. Most of the story takes place on a ranch - those who enjoy historical westerns will enjoy this. The supernatural element comes in the form of wraiths, which are essentially pissed off ghosts that'll freeze the life out of you if you are caught outside after dark. As if settling the West didn't have enough challenges! The paranormal element added an intriguing layer to the story without bogging it down in the world-building. This doesn't quite hit the high notes for me that Sexton's Coda series did, but then, few books do - she set the bar high. Perhaps if this becomes a series and I get more invested in the Oestend world, that'll change. It's still a great read and I expect it will be one I revisit. I can't give much higher praise than that.