Double Book Review: Twisted Miracles (The Shadowminds #1) by A.J. Larrieu

Twisted Miracles (The Shadowminds #1)
by A.J. Larrieu

Print Length: 210 pages
Publisher: Carina Press (April 7, 2014)Cass Weatherfield’s powers come with a deadly price.

Cass knows it was her telekinetic gift that killed a college classmate five years back, even if no one else believes her. She’s lived in hiding from her fellow shadowminds ever since, plagued by guilt and suppressing her abilities with sedatives. Until the night her past walks back into her life in the form of sexy Shane Tanner, the ex-boyfriend who trained her…and the one she left without saying goodbye.

When Shane tells her that his twin sister, Mina—Cass’s childhood friend—is missing, Cass vows to help, which means returning to New Orleans to use her dangerous skills in the search. But finding Mina only leads to darker questions. As Cass and Shane race to learn who is targeting shadowminds, they find themselves drawn to each other, body and soul. Just as their powerful intimacy reignites, events take a terrifying turn, and Cass realizes that to save the people she loves, she must embrace the powers that ruined her life

Buy Links: 

Amazon-B&N-Kobo-iBooks-Google Play-Carina Press

DeniseZ's review

Twisted Miracles opens with Cass who is alone after moving to San Francisco to escape her telekinetic abilities and attempting to suppress them with sedatives. She is unable to come to terms with the guilt over causing the death of a classmate and wants nothing to do with her gift or the Shadowminds community that raised her, fearing she will cause harm to them or others. However, no matter how hard she tries to run from herself or her gifts there is no escape. There is someone out there who is targeting the community, her best childhood friend is missing, and others are dying; pulling her back into the very life she has tried to escape.

This is a great urban fantasy with a new twist that sucks you in from the very first page. There are different abilities and levels of abilities, guardians, a struggle for good versus evil, and has all the suspense, action, and mystery this greedy reader could desire. The story is well written with wonderfully colorful characters that tug at your heart leaving you wanting more and more. There is also an underlying romance that heats up the pages with some great sensual smexy action. 

Twisted Miracles is a journey of self-realization for Cass, as well as a tale of love and loss, the search for where she belongs, and just who she wants to travel that journey with. The ending was very satisfying and does not leave the reader hanging, but rather eager for the next installment in the series to see what these characters will be up to with their next adventure. I would definitely recommend this for adult urban fantasy fans interested in a taste of something different with great characters and an exciting ride. I received this book from NetGalley.

Sharon's review

How subjective are reviews? Well, I couldn't get into this story. It ended up being a DNF for me. I didn't connect with the characters which meant no excitement for the events unfolding. All the reviews on amazon are 4 and 5 stars...so maybe it's me.

About the Author:

Website-Twitter-Facebook-Goodreads

A.J. Larrieu grew up in small-town Louisiana, where she spent her summers working in her family's bakery, exploring the swamps around her home and reading science fiction and fantasy novels under the covers. She attended Louisiana State University, where she majored in biochemistry and wrote bad poetry on the side. Despite pursuing a Ph.D. in biology, and by the time she graduated, she had an addiction to writing sexy urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Her debut novel, Twisted Miracles, kicks off her dark, romantic urban fantasy series, The Shadowminds, which follows a group of humans with psychic powers through New Orleans' supernatural underworld. A.J. is currently a working biophysicist in San Francisco, where she lives with her family and too many books.

Info Links: 

Goodreads

Book Page on Author Website (includes excerpt)

Arts & Crafts with Authors: A. J. Larrieu (Twisted Miracles Book Tour) + giveaway

Louisiana’s cypress forests may seem exotic to many people, but to me, they’re familiar. I was born and raised in Louisiana, and I grew up running the rivers and fishing in swampy cut-throughs. When I decided to write a novel set in my home state, I knew those settings needed a place in my book. They’re so beautiful, and there’s a hint of mystery to them as well—what better spot for a dark paranormal story?

If you’re not from the area, you might not know that Louisiana’s cypress forests have a complicated story of their own. Cypress wood, especially the lumber that comes from the oldest trees, has a beautiful gold or red color and is naturally resistant to rot. These qualities led to a logging frenzy around the turn of the 19th century that all but destroyed the coastal cypress forests. Old-growth trees still exist, but they are rare—most of the gorgeous, iconic cypress forests we see today are populated by new trees.

All of this means that old-growth cypress lumber is rare. Most of it comes not from new logging, but from reclamation. When an old building gets torn down, people salvage the boards for use in new construction.

My grandfather was a woodworker, and he loved to visit the salvage yards in New Orleans, looking for beautiful pieces of wood or antique doorknobs. He passed away many years ago, but he left behind workshops full of curiosities. My father was recently looking through some of his collection, and he came across a few pieces of old-growth cypress. My dad is my biggest fan, and when I told him I wanted to make something special to celebrate my debut novel, he wanted to help. He decided to make the wood into bookmarks. Here’s how we did it:

STEP ONE: Find a piece of pretty wood and cut it into bookmark-sized strips. I’m not an expert on power tools, so I won’t be telling you how to operate anything with a big spinning blade! Step One is definitely find a competent expert to cut your block of wood. ;)

STEP TWO: Sand.
Sand, and then sand some more. We started out with 200 grit sandpaper and then slowly increased the grit until we had a glass-smooth surface. I did a final polish with 600 grit. Because the strips are so thin, it’s important to keep the sanding even. The best way to do this is to make a kind of bracket for the strips. We used a block of wood with matchsticks as place-holders. 

(caption: The matchsticks hold the bookmark in place during sanding.)

STEP THREE: Decorate!
Cypress is such an uncommonly beautiful wood, I didn’t want to do too much to obscure the color and the grain, so I opted for a simple fleur de lis at the top of each piece. I used a cake stencil and an India ink artist pen to trace the outline, then painted the design in a deep crimson color using ordinary wood paint and a very tiny brush.

STEP FOUR: Wait. 

I gave the paint and ink about a week to cure.

STEP FIVE: Protect.
Cypress is actually quite soft, and the unfinished wood can easily pick up oils from your skin. Over time, this will discolor it. I wanted to protect the wood, and also enhance its beautiful, red-gold color, so I applied a very thin coat of satin-finish polyurethane. 

(caption: A thin coat of clear polyurethane (right) enhances the natural red-gold color of the wood.)

STEP SIX: More waiting!
Polyurethane takes at least a week to fully dry. Until then, it will be slightly tacky (and prone to picking up dust from the air!), so keep it cool, dry, and covered. Oh, and if you’re foolish enough to start this process right before a two-week rainy period, as I did, it might take as long as month for the finish to cure. ;)

STEP SEVEN: More sanding!
A sander’s work is never done. Once the polyurethane coat was dry, I used crocus cloth to smooth it out. Most hardware stores carry this, but when I asked for it, the attendant gave me a funny look and asked what I planned on using it for. When I explained my father had recommended it, he laughed and said only someone my father’s age would even know this stuff existed. Apparently, it’s old-school. But it works. It made the bookmarks beautifully smooth without marring the painted fleur de lis.

STEP EIGHT: Read!
Now you have a bookmark—celebrate by reading a book! (The best kind of celebration.)

About the Author:

Website-Twitter-Facebook-Goodreads

A.J. Larrieu grew up in small-town Louisiana, where she spent her summers working in her family's bakery, exploring the swamps around her home and reading science fiction and fantasy novels under the covers. She attended Louisiana State University, where she majored in biochemistry and wrote bad poetry on the side. Despite pursuing a Ph.D. in biology, and by the time she graduated, she had an addiction to writing sexy urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Her debut novel, Twisted Miracles, kicks off her dark, romantic urban fantasy series, The Shadowminds, which follows a group of humans with psychic powers through New Orleans' supernatural underworld. A.J. is currently a working biophysicist in San Francisco, where she lives with her family and too many books.

Cass Weatherfield’s powers come with a deadly price.

Cass knows it was her telekinetic gift that killed a college classmate five years back, even if no one else believes her. She’s lived in hiding from her fellow shadowminds ever since, plagued by guilt and suppressing her abilities with sedatives. Until the night her past walks back into her life in the form of sexy Shane Tanner, the ex-boyfriend who trained her…and the one she left without saying goodbye.

When Shane tells her that his twin sister, Mina—Cass’s childhood friend—is missing, Cass vows to help, which means returning to New Orleans to use her dangerous skills in the search. But finding Mina only leads to darker questions. As Cass and Shane race to learn who is targeting shadowminds, they find themselves drawn to each other, body and soul. Just as their powerful intimacy reignites, events take a terrifying turn, and Cass realizes that to save the people she loves, she must embrace the powers that ruined her life.

Buy Links: 

Amazon-B&N-Kobo-iBooks-Google Play-Carina Press

Info Links: 

Goodreads

Book Page on Author Website (includes excerpt)