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!

Review for No Exit

I read the most amazing book this weekend!! Literally, I had such a hard time putting it down and I felt the need to share it with all of you. It is called No Exit.  Julie Harris, a very talented Australian author has wrote another book I thought was wonderful as well called A Tear of Blood.  But she also has many other books under her belt that I intend to read eventually.

No Exit is the latest cross-genre book that Ms. Harris has given us.  And it is a very great gift indeed!
Basically, it is about an Australian woman named Rebecca Miller who is a psychic; but much more than that too.  To me, psychic just seems to plain to explain Rebecca.  Rebecca is a bright shining light in the darkness for many.  She can read people in all ways; their minds, their futures, their pasts, and even their auras and emotions.If that wasn't enough she is also blessed(or cursed?) with healing and she also sees and talks to spirits. She has been  living with this every since she was a little girl.  She has been shunned by society and only has one real friend, until now.
A few years ago, Rebecca had an appointment with Elizabeth Glover, who happens to be the wife of the future United States of America's president.  At the time Rebecca told Elizabeth that her husband would be the President but he would die coming off the jet.
Elizabeth, afraid of losing her husband, gives the recorded reading to the ones in charge and hence the story begins with Rebecca getting coerced into the custody of two Nighthawks.  The commander, Kelly Nolan, is in charge of the outfit and in turn feels responsible for Rebecca Miller.  In more ways than one; she is very familiar to him since he has been drawing and painting her for 15 years.
This is such a moving emotional story with very believable characters that you cannot help falling in love with.  I found myself wiping tears away at the sad parts and laughing out loud with the quirky sayings Rebecca has.
There were many connections to be found in this book.  Rebecca feels shunned by the world by everything that she can do; even though I am nowhere magical, I was shunned by other children when I was younger and I can share her feeling on this.  I remember having many imaginary friends but for Rebecca these were not imaginary friends, they were real.
Another way I connected is with Kelly Nolan.  He is a Native American,specifically Cherokee. I too, have Cherokee in my heritage, but mine is a very small part, but something I am very proud of.  It was uplifting to have a story with so many different characters from all over the world, working together for a common goal.
All Rebecca wants is to be normal, when in reality she doesn't realize she is a blessing to this world.
This story will have you guessing to the very end because of the carefully woven plot. No Exit is impossible to put down, and impossible not to love.
These characters will stay with you for some time and you will find yourself looking for your own personal Rebecca Miller.  I know I am.

If you would like to purchase this for  Kindle  please click here:

It is also available for Nook here