ARC Review: Hacienda Moon (The Path Seekers) by KaSonndra Leigh

Title: Hacienda Moon
Author: KaSonndra Leigh
Series: The Path Seekers
Publisher: TriGate Group
Date of Publication: July 28, 2012
Formats:  ebook 280 pages
Source: received a copy from author for my honest opinion
Barnes and Noble / Amazon

Good Reads Summary:
Love, obsession, and betrayal, the most powerful human emotions, are spun together in this gothic novel. Tandie Harrison is a police medium who has just suffered a divorce after losing both her psychic visions and her daughter in a car accident. When she leaves New York City to start a new life near her hometown, she moves into the alluring plantation house, Chelby Rose, and falls for its charismatic caretaker, Eric Fontalvo. Their burgeoning affair ignites a centuries old curse, ensnaring them in a web of danger, deceit, and intrigue. Soon Tandie learns that in placid Bolivia, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected.

Hacienda Moon is a seductive tale of one woman’s journey to confront the demons of her past and find the courage to face her future. It is a mesmerizing novel that explores the deepest depths of human nature, and the characters will hold and haunt you long after you have read the final chapter.

My Feelings:

Most importantly, I need to scream at the top of my lungs, " Wow!!!  I fell completely in love with this book from the very first page!!"
The very first page already had me on the same emotional coaster that our heroine was on, the writing is so good that I literally had to put my Kindle down to grab a tissue and get my tears under control.  I kept repeating to myself over and over, "Why??!!?"  But the book had me hooked like a fish in the pond.

I loved the fact it was set in the south, especially a creepy quiet town that has its fair share of ghost stories that even adults still fear.  And yes there are some very interesting small towns out there in rural America that will have you afraid of the dark from the histories.
 It is strange for me; I am scared to hear the stories but I can't help but listen, kinda like when you cover your eyes but peek through your fingers at a gory movie.  That's me basically!
But Hacienda Moon was a haunting take on love that travels through the generations and curses that still affect people today.  It was eerie, romantic, scary, funny, and really breathtaking.  I was floored by this novel.
The plot was well planned out and every detail of the story plays an important part in our character, Tandie's life.  I can't stand when a story will go off on a tangent and it have no basis on the actual story.  Hacienda Moon doesn't do this at all.  Every encounter, even if it seemed small, ties in so expertly that it leaves you saying to yourself wow I never thought about it like that.
Tandie is definitely an interesting character.  She is a medium who worked with the police for many years until something terrible happens and she loses her "sight".  She tries to put her life back together by moving away to an old house with its own troubled past.
Besides Tandie, we have a lot of supporting characters that are so mysterious I had a hard time figuring out who to trust and who to keep my eyes on.
And of course Saul Chelby was one of my guilty favorites.  That is all I am going to say about the lovely Saul.  (I loved the names in the stories, they are so awesome!)
Annnnd Enter Eric.  What a southern gentlemen!! Scratch that: a sexy southern gentlemen who has his own secret past that makes everything a little more touchy and hot.
  As I read through the novel, I felt more and more like Chelby Rose Manor was more of a character than the setting.  It is so full of life and mystery.  The illustration  on the front cover is a beautiful recreation of the house our author, KaSonndra Leigh, crafts in the pages of her novel.
Hacienda Moon is one of those wonderfully written books that can't be contained in just one genre, but instead delves into many like mystery, a paranormal thriller, romance, and a little bit of some historical fiction in it for good measure.

I am absolutely in love with this new series and I had to give Hacienda Moon 5 hearts!

I have found a new author that I will keep my eyes on and a new series destined to be one of my favorites!

Audio Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Series: Anna #1
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Date of Publication: August 30, 2011
Formats: paperback, digital, audiobook
Source: free audio download from Sync


Goodreads Summary:
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

My Thoughts:

Ever since I seen the cover of this book I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  Well, I never actually got my hands on it; but I did allow my ears to enjoy it.  This was part of the event going on at Sync's Summer Reads 2012, where they offer 2 free downloads of two books that are similar.  One is a popular YA of today and the second is a classic that has a similar plot or characters.  

Now Anna Dressed in Blood was my first ever audiobook I have ever had and it did take some time to get used to the idea that I couldn't read it for myself.  I know that is strange but I just felt at times that I would have enjoyed it more if I could have just had the book in my hand.  (So I do plan on buying the actual book to read again later.)
Well let's look at the obvious: isn't that the most alluring cover you have ever laid eyes on?  I love how everything is in black and grays except Anna's hem of her dress and the leaves? flying around her.  And the creepy fog surrounding Anna as her black hair blows in the wind?  I absolutely love it!!  

There are a few points that make Anna Dressed in Blood an original concept in this YA paranormal world.  First, Blake created this book with a male POV instead of the usual strong female heroine.  I can't remember when I have read a book that is actually told from the guy's standpoint instead of a girl's.  Cas is crude, rough around the edges, and yet very insightful.  He has this misplaced guilt surrounding his father's death, and does everything he can to "make his father proud" as far as his ghost killing skills go.
Then Blake even takes it a step further and creates the amazingly interesting and terrifying character of Anna. Oh Anna!  How to describe Anna is the hardest thing to do for me.
She is the strongest and most frightening ghost Cas has ever come up against, and yet she is the most special in all the ways that Cas can't explain.  Sure she is a true killing machine and there is a part of me that feels a little bit guilty for siding with her when she killed a lot of people but.....I just can't help it.  
So there. 

The other lesser characters, Cas' mom, Carmel, Thomas and his grandfather are also unique in their own ways but didn't really make me jump up and shout for them.  I mean honestly, there were times I was hoping Carmel would just bite the bullet.  I know that's bad.  Sorry.  
This is a super strong plot with some very explicit horror-esque like scenes, but hey this is a ghost story in its truest form.  It is a little scary but not frightening and it does become a love story.  Again, it is interesting to read the emotional reactions from Cas' eyes instead of Anna's.  But it isn't this lovey dovey romance story at all.  In fact it was just the right amount of caring and love with the fighting and gore that made Anna Dressed in Blood such a wonderful novel.  
I have to admit when I first started listening to this story I just couldn't get into the narrator's perception. At the beginning, I felt like he wasn't putting the emotion into the story; it seemed flat and boring.  But I couldn't give up on it(something inside my soul was telling me to hold on and give it more of a chance)and as I stuck with it I begin to close my eyes and get lost in the narration.  
When I finished the story, I was so excited to write this review especially from having mixed emotions in the beginning to complete adoration for Anna and Cas. 
The writing isn't an literary classic but it is fun, humorous, and exciting.  If you want a really good ghost story with a bite to it and a very sweet endearing love then you should definitely read Anna Dressed in Blood!!

Would you like to own your very own copy of Anna Dressed in Blood?


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / BAM

Favorite Quote:

“She's my purpose and we're going to save each other. We're going to save everyone. And then I'm going to convince her that she's supposed to stay here. With me.” 

-Kendare Blake, Anna Dressed in Blood