Title: The Calling
Author: Ashley Lynn Willis
Description: Mandy Hardy lost more than a breast to cancer; she lost her fiancé when he dumped her a week before her mastectomy. Her ego bruised and her self-esteem battered, Mandy’s sure she’ll never fall in love again.
Justin Seward is a headstrong Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer with a heart of gold and the supernatural ability to command the seas. He had to hide his feelings while Mandy was engaged to his best friend. Now that she’s free, he’s vowed to make her his.
Together, they may hold the key to each other’s salvation. But when Justin’s past catches up with him, and Mandy’s ex-fiancé wants vengeance, they realize they might not live long enough for happily ever after. The Calling is a 360 page contemporary romance with a paranormal twist.
My thoughts: Where to begin? I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't fully what I expected, then again sometimes it's good to be surprised. Mandy, the heroine, of the stories, goes though breast cancer, a mastectomy, and her fiancé, Ty, leaving her while this is all going on. Justin, was Mandy’s ex's and Ty's best friend, but always had a thing for Mandy. When Mandy and Ty broke up, she separated herself from Justin as well. Then fate intervenes, bringing Justin and Mandy back together. Justin is a coast guard rescue swimmer, but he is more than that, he has a power! The power to control the ocean though he doesn't let anyone in on that secret. One daring rescue of a father and boy and a visit to check in on the boy afterward, leads to him and Mandy reconnecting as Mandy is the boy’s nurse. Mandy, one bitten twice shy, is scared to let anyone in or close, especially if the cancer may return. After a few outings with Justin, Mandy can't help but wish for more. Justin, puts it all out there. How he wants her to be his, though he holds back the most important part. Ty try's to get Mandy back once he sees things are serious between Mandy and Justin, but she won't have it. Eventually Justin tells Mandy his secret and they face a few incidents that they need to overcome. We learn how Justin got the powers to control water, but I won't share that in this review as I thought that was a pretty interesting and cool part of the book. He does get hurt real bad and has recovery time, so this is not your typical paranormal flare. This was more contemporary than paranormal, but it still had light paranormal. Ashley Lynn Willis did a great job for making Mandy seem so real and a leading lady I personally love. Though toward the end I wanted to grab Mandy and shake some sense into her, I was happy at the conclusion. Justin is so sweet, sexy and protective with all the other great characteristics you want in a guy, including the extra special-ness of controlling the ocean and to top it off he is a coast guard. The passion between the leading characters heats up the pages. The love for each other is felt. I enjoyed the side characters such as her best friends. However, one of them I would have tossed to the side after some vital information is learned. Don’t get me started on Ty, you will definitely love to hate him. When an author can bring out these kind of emotions from a reader, then they have done a good job in my book. After all, I couldn’t put “The Calling” down. Over all, for Willis’ first book, I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.
4 out of 5 stars
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2 comments:
Hi Lindsey! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my debut novel. I loved your insight into the book and that you wanted to shake some sense into Mandy. LOL. You weren't the only one. :) Even as the author, I had a few "come to Jesus" conversations with my leading lady. ;)
Happy reading in the New Year!
Ashley
Great review!
I also wanted to let you know that I've nominated you for a versatile blogger award: http://bibliophilesthoughtsonbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/versatile-blogger-nomination-nominees.html
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