Title: Unquiet Souls
Author: Christine Pope
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Cover Designer: Christian Bentulan (Covers by Christian)
Editor: Katherine Tomlinson, Story Authority
Publisher: Dark Valentine Press
Publication Date: February 20th, 2019
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR
Their chemistry could make their show a monster hit — if the monsters don’t kill them first.
On the surface, psychologist Audrey Barrett is the perfect co-host for Michael Covenant’s new cable series, Project Demon Hunters. She’s smart, articulate, and photogenic as hell.
There’s just one problem. Michael has made it his mission to stay out of her orbit. Thanks to his producer’s stubborn insistence, however, there’s no avoiding her — which means Michael will have to bury his secrets even deeper.
After the tragedy that took her parents ten years earlier, Audrey has kept herself on the fringe of the paranormal world. But with her small therapy practice floundering, the money the show’s offering is too good to pass up.
From the moment they step inside a rundown mansion, things start flying: sparks between Audrey and Michael, not to mention furniture hurled by something determined to make sure their investigation fails. Worse, evil seems to have followed Audrey home — and she discovers why the man at her side on camera is the last man she can trust in real life.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2GPLCaw
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Pope_Unquiet_Souls?id=t56HDwAAQBAJ&hl=en
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for my participation in this blog tour. The opinions expressed are my own.**
I have to admit, I struggled with the writing style at first. The author had a tendency to interrupt conversations with waaaay too many asides, and it completely wrecked the flow for me. And the way the story started left me feeling like I'd missed a step going downstairs: the characters and setting were treated like the reader was supposed to know about them already, but this is Book 1, so....
Anyway, I liked the premise, and Audrey turned out to be an interesting main character. Her struggles and misgivings were relatable, and she's decently fleshed out. A lot of her interactions with Michael felt forced, however, and I never did quite like him. The lack of backstory he gives made it really hard to understand their connection, beyond physical attraction anyway.
The only thing that really kept me reding was the unique plot. We've all had some experiene with reality TV and how eye-rollingly melodtramatic it can be. Like Audrey, I was expecting that to be the case with Project Demon Hunters--and then it wasn't. The action scenes and confrontations with demons were intense and engaging, and there were some twists I definitely didn't expect. The ending was a little odd, and felt more like the beginning of the next story as opposed to the end of this one. The main plot arc of "Unquiet Souls" was well resolved, with just enough intrigue and unresolved tidbits to entice a reader into Book 2 without this weird ending. Maybe Ms. Popel is still working on hitting her stride?
Bottom line: I have mixed feelings on this one, and I'm not sure I'd highly recommend it but I will give it props for being unique! The author has potential, so I'll definitely keep an eye on her subsequent work!
