Dream Snatcher

Rating:
Summary: An excellent paranormal romance
Review: Courtesy of Love Romances

Anna Stanfield is a young woman with incredible psychic abilities. She has refused to use them for years, ever since an incident as a young child, which made her swear to never use her ability again. Her younger sister also has strong abilities, though not as powerful as Anna's. When her sister is stalked and put into a coma after an attack by a psychic vampire, Anna is left to pick up the pieces and solve the mystery.

Ian McGregory is an FBI agent who has been tracking the killer for many years. He has reason to believe the man who attacked Anna's sister is the same person who has attacked women in other cities over the years. His stake in this case is personal... he has ties to the villain he does not want exposed to the world, for it would reveal secrets best left alone.

Ian and Anna need each other. He needs her to use her abilities to see what she can find out about the psychic vampire and to draw him out of hiding. She needs Ian to solve the mystery of who attacked her sister and to stop him from killing more people.

Through the investigation, Anna and Ian become drawn to each other, unable to resist the allure of their mutual attraction. Ian starts to realize he cannot use Anna as a pawn to keep his secret safe and find the attacker. He finds himself wanting to confide in her; even at the risk his secret will push her away forever. Can they overcome the odds to solve the mystery and find love with one another?

This book by Shauna Michaels was a winner. It keeps the reader enthralled from the very first chapter and doesn't let up until the end. There are a few unique twists, which come as a surprise when the mystery is solved and the villain's destiny revealed. There is also a touch of sci-fi as well, in Ian's secret he doesn't want revealed.

Ian and Anna work well together, in and out of the bedroom, matching wits and each having strengths where the other is weak. The complement each other well, and their love is strong, leaving no doubt in the reader's mind that they will have their "Happy-ever-after."

This book was the reviewer's first one by the author, but it certainly won't be the last. If one is looking for adventure, mystery, and romance, with paranormal elements as well, this is the book to read. It is certain not to disappoint.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, May 2003. All rights reserved.

Rating:
Summary: Vampire Romance with a Difference
Review: Vampire Romance with a Difference - Anna denied her psychic abilities for years. Then her younger sister is found in a coma a victim of a psychic vampire. Anna now much use her powers to help catch her sisters killer. FBI Agent Ian MacGregory has a secret. He draws Anna into his investigation knowing her strong psychic powers will draw out the killer.. A killer who threatens to expose Ian and his people to the world something they can not have. Ian know he must do anything including sacrifice Anna but what he had not counted on was falling in Love.. Master story from the author Hold Onto the Night.. a keeper

Rating:
Summary: Vampire Romance with a Difference
Review: Vampire Romance with a Difference - Anna denied her psychic abilities for years. Then her younger sister is found in a coma a victim of a psychic vampire. Anna now much use her powers to help catch her sisters killer. FBI Agent Ian MacGregory has a secret. He draws Anna into his investigation knowing her strong psychic powers will draw out the killer.. A killer who threatens to expose Ian and his people to the world something they can not have. Ian know he must do anything including sacrifice Anna but what he had not counted on was falling in Love.. Master story from the author Hold Onto the Night.. a keeper

Rating:
Summary: Snatcher Grabs Five Stars as Paranormal Dream Romance
Review: While Shauna Michaels is an experienced traditional romance author, with dozens of books to her credit, the question remains, can she once again deliver on the promise of the paranormal romance novel? (Her earlier paranormal "Hold Onto The Night" is a five star tour de force.)

There are two important questions to ask about a paranormal romance:

(1) do the paranormal powers act to enhance the sensual romantic potential? and
(2) does the author successfully utilize these powers to enhance the lovemaking experience?

In "Dream Snatcher" the answers are absolutely YES and YES!

Shauna Michaels fully delivers on the paranormal promise.

The paranormal powers in this story are the ability of the alien Cintarians to read human minds, tap into the human life-essence, and even mind-meld with humans (to become one with the human ala the Star Trek Vulcan "mind-meld".)

In a truly spectacular sensual experience, the lovers become one in the act of joining and cease to be individuals. They become something other than themselves. They lose the lonely sense of "otherness" which alienates them from the universe. During this experience lovers not only lose themselves in another but also seem to become one with the universe. This is because there is no longer an "I" or individual "ego" to experience feelings.

This is a "heady" experience and much poetry has been written about it in an effort to re-capture or even explain the feeling. In Hemingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", the hero talks about the "earth moving" after his first ever such experience. The French call it a "petite mort" or a "little death" of the self.

In "Dream Snatcher", the alien hero, a Cintarian, can make sure the heroine has an "earth moving" loving experience every time because of his mind-melding powers. The heroine also has some psychic powers herself because it is thought she has some Cintarian blood as well. To this mix they add a deep abiding love. This is the ultimate use of the paranormal theme. It is also a story the reads very quickly, as the plot skillfully combines, suspense, intrigue and mystery. The lives of the heroine and heroine's sister, as well as the entire Cintarian race, are at stake. The stakes are high and the emotions run higher.

As a reader you have a choice. If you are going to read both books, I would suggest you read Dream Snatcher first, then the more primitive Amazonian tale "Hold onto the Night". If you are going to read only one book, you might want the very powerful "Hold onto the Night"; but that depends. As an adventurous woman, which would you enjoy more: a five star romantic experience with a very civilized James Bond (Dream Snatcher)or a five star wild lovemaking exchange with Conan the Barbarian (Hold onto the Night)? Of course, you can have both.