Book Review
of Echo Falls sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours
Echo
Falls
By Jaime
McDougall
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Blurb:
Running from a nightmare stalking her every move, Phoebe Martin
arrives in Echo Falls hoping she has finally found a safe place to stop. But
trouble has a way of catching up and soon the signs are there. After a vicious attack in an alley, policeman Aidan O'Bryan is left with Phoebe as his only path to understanding why the Echo Falls werewolf pack - his pack - is being attacked. When another pack member is killed, Phoebe is forced to confront her past before she loses Aidan and everything she has come to love.
Love and duty become one as Aidan strives to prevent Phoebe from becoming the next victim. But with Phoebe just as determined to protect Aidan and her new home, secrets from her past threaten to tear them apart. Will love give Phoebe the strength to trust Aidan and face her fears, or will her past destroy her future?
Excerpt
(Chapter One):
Keep running, keep running, keep running.
Phoebe’s lungs burned as her mind screamed the mantra. Keep running, keep
running.
How many steps can there be?
She should know. She lived in this apartment building.
Tears ran down her cheeks and her lungs burned for air. Only the
random irrational thought broke through the panic keeping her feet moving down
the steps. Keep running. Keep running. The light of the emergency exit
came into view. Almost there…
The door to the stairwell slammed open with a hollow boom. She
tripped and clung to the railing to steady herself.
Keep running.
The shock of the cool night air sent a shiver of relief through her
body. She’d come out a side exit into an alley. If she could just get to the
front –
Suddenly she was thrown to the ground from behind. She hit the
concrete, what little breath she had knocked from her lungs. Blood began
flowing from where her head hit the ground, and small sparks of light floated
into her vision.
How did he catch up so fast?
Desperately she tried to gulp down as much air as she could,
willing her lungs to cooperate. Instinct kicked in as the attacker slashed at
her, and she curled into fetal position.
A dog. He’d turned into a dog. A
big dog with vicious claws and teeth he used to tear into her exposed back,
thigh and shoulder. She slowly regained her breath but could only use it to
scream her throat raw.
Her vision faded, taking the small sparks of light with it. Searing
pain ripped through her shoulder as a claw dug down against her bone. One last,
long scream tore from her lungs before she was left gasping and sobbing, her
fear slowly smoldering into rage.
Things can’t end like this.
She opened her eyes as the dog stood over her, trying to get to her
throat. A paw came into her line of vision and she saw her chance. She reached
out, grabbed it and squeezed with all the strength she had.
The dog yelped and tried to twist away, but she held on with all
the strength she had. She knew she’d only bought herself time. She couldn’t
move the dog off her and she couldn’t squeeze his paw all night. He tried
uselessly to bite her, his jaws having no strength so long as she squeezed his
paw. But she could already feel her strength waning.
Suddenly the weight of the dog flew off her, taking the paw out of
her grip. Without thinking, she used her one cooperating arm to drag herself
toward the front of the building.
She shivered, her arm giving out, and caught a glimpse of a second
dog. No. A wolf… Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she listened to the
dogs fighting, the battle just a few steps away. She tried her best to curl up
against the building wall and willed the growling and snapping to go away. They
sounded like they were tearing each other to pieces.
The universe granted her wish, the battle ending with the sound of
two bodies hitting each other and a sharp whine. She shivered and softly whined
as well, dreading the approach of the winner as one of the dogs yelped and ran
away.
A few moments later warm, human hand brushed the back of her head
and she screamed again. If it could be called a scream. Her throat burned and
rebelled at her abuse of it.
“Ssh. You’re safe now.”
She tried to scream again and move away, but her body wouldn’t obey
her commands. She groaned as the full force of the pain washed over her.
He murmured and she relaxed her desperate grip on staying
conscious. Sleep seemed so tempting, the black abyss singing a siren’s song to
her. Her rescuer – or captor – tried to soothe her, but something dark and
dangerous in his voice betrayed him. He was different. She tried to bat
away his hands but gave up after a few attempts, not sure if her good hand was
actually moving.
As she slipped into the darkness, she wondered if death had merely
granted her a short reprieve from the inevitable.
About
the Author:
Jaime McDougall is a citizen of the world, currently
loving life in beautiful country Victoria in Australia. She loves eating sushi,
kidnapping her husband and naming her pets in honour of science fiction
authors.
A love of fiction has always coursed through her
veins and she told stories as a child even before she knew how to write them.
Settling into one genre was never her style and she has plans for novels in
women’s fiction, urban fantasy and more – all with a touch of romance.
She has been published in Chicken Soup for the
Soul: High School: The Real Deal and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Campus
Chronicles. She has also enjoyed writing the So You Want ebook series for authors looking to establish their
names online.
You can connect with her at her website, http://www.inkyblots.com and on Facebook.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/#!/JMScribe
Book Review:
Phoebe
has been running from Liam since the day he found out her secret. It was the same day he killed her brother and
revealed himself to be a monster. When
she gets to Echo Falls she thinks she has finally found a place to stop and
make a life for herself, but she finds she isn’t as safe as she thought. However she has made friends, and they
promise to make her part of their family.
Unfortunately her presence costs one of them their life. Phoebe takes a stand, but is it too late?
There
were many small twists in story that had me guessing all along the way. I was constantly being surprised. The story is charming and moves at a quick
pace. I give this story 5 out of 5
clouds.
This
product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my
opinions or reviews.
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