Tag Archives: paranormal romance

Review of “Always Just Beyond” by Inger Margaret Foster

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There’s no better time for a ghost story than October and this sweet paranormal cozy mystery/romance is perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story with its unique plot and engaging characters. I read it in a single sitting because I couldn’t put it down.

Jo and Philip Briton fall in love with this old house on the waterfront in Connecticut because it just feels like home. They walk out to the water to check the wonderful view and both see an apparition, a beautiful young woman gazing out across the sea. Then she vanishes.

They buy the house anyway and a friendly but somewhat odd neighbor gives them clues relative to its history, including who the ghostly woman was. An old steamer truck in the attic contains more information about the house’s history as well as a small book written a century before that includes more of the story.

The twists and turns are great as the story unfolds, one of which gave me goosebumps. Surprises right up to the very end, which then makes so much sense. I loved the characters, all unique and well-developed. By the end of the story I had one question unanswered that would be a spoiler to include. Perhaps it could be covered by a possible sequel, which would be great.

I’m sure at some point I will reread this touching story, knowing all its little secrets. I loved it and highly recommend it as a wonderful break into another dimension that is closer than we think. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author. I connected with the story even more since some of my ancestors lived in that very part of the country. It was interesting to learn more of the history of the area as well as the mention of familiar places.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon here.

Immortal: The Chosen

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TheChosen

This fast-moving story gets this series off to a well-written, suspense-filled start. While I’m not that much of a vampire fan, I was nonetheless taken in by the strong characters and interesting plot that gives the vampire/werewolf/witch culture an interesting new twist. Great fiction begins with convincing characters with whom the reader can connect, and the author did a great job of populating her tale accordingly. This was achieved by getting inside each one’s head by switching the point of view for each chapter.

While such a technique can be confusing, this was done effectively and allowed the reader to get to know the thoughts and feelings of each important member of this intriguing story. This method was much more intimate than an omniscient view point, which often weakens the reader-character connection. This method worked very nicely and reminded me of piecing together a mystery by reading the journals of each character.

My only criticism, which is really quite minor but enough for me to give it four stars, is that toward the end there were quite a few names thrown around of late-breaking characters whose place in the story was a bit fuzzy. I suspect they will be more important in the next episode and this was simply an introduction. However, I tend to stick to the convention of minimizing reader confusion by not naming characters who do not relate directly to the plot (except in the case of red herrings, of course). This resulted in having to deal with a lot of faceless people with foggy identities as the story climaxed, a slight distraction that really didn’t add anything other than slowing things down as each new person was logged in, so to speak. Nonetheless, it did show the gathering of forces that would play an important part in the sequel, even though this could have been done without names.

While the ending was a cliffhanger, it was handled in such a way that it didn’t leave me gasping or frustrated, but could see the next volume coming together. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, liked the characters, and will definitely be reading the sequel.