Mourning Sun

Highland Home #1

by Shari Richardson

I should have known when he walked into my life that things would never be the same. Hadn't I dreamed of him and the things he'd done before I was born? If only he weren't so fascinating, so beautiful, so much more than any other guy. Maybe then I could walk away.

Mairin Cote is a magnet for weird. Her dreams come true, she can see auras and her mother is in love with an angel. Now the monsters are finding her too. Vampires, demigods and werepanthers have flocked to this small town girl who must find a way to keep her family safe, love the man of her dreams, and navigate the shark-infested waters of Highland Home High School.

Genres: Vampires, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult, Paranormal, Ebooks, Urban Fantasy

109 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 21, 2011

About the author

Shari Richardson holds a master's degree in English Education and has spent much of her life teaching students the joy of reading and writing. Her love of writing began when she was in elementary school and has carried through her entire adult life. Shari lives in Pennsylvania with her two Chihuahuas.

Reviews

[Shawna LeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this book. I have to tell you all, I just stumbled across this book on goodreads one night. It looked pretty okay and then I saw it on nook shop for only 99 cents. I thought what the heck, it is cheap and could be pretty good.

Was it ever.

This book immediately opens up with Mairin's (which is an amazing name by the way) dream of this young Woman who is by the death bed of her lover. He is dying and she just can not bear it. This man then proceeds to die and break her heart....only to open his eyes a few moments later and drain the blood from her. Only once his bloodlust is quenched does he finally come to and realize what he has done to the only woman he has ever loved. He then promises to think of her everyday from there on out.

First off was that not an amazing way to hook your reader from page one?! I think so readers! That opening scene is what had me immediately hooked. After the dream you get to really know the dreamer..Mairin. From the start you a aware of her dreams. They are actually premonitions of what will happen, which would be crazy to actually have by the way. And once she steps into her first day of school and sees this beauty she has dreamed of and already felt a connection to was crazy!!! From the get go you are aware of this feeling between Mairin and Mathias(another amazing name!!) and want to know how it will pan out.

I really liked the fact that the reader got to know who Mathias really is from the first page. You are aware he is a vampire, but since it is in Mairin's dream you are not 100% sure that he is truly that. And you feel the pain Mairin feels when she finds out that he is truly a vampire....because no matter how many vampire books you may read I always find myself thinking "Would I really risk my life for this love I have with a FREAKING vampire?!" Because Mairin has always really truly known that he has been a vampire...she just never wanted to admit it after seeing Mathias because of this bond she has felt with him....Okay now I am babbling.

People....give this book a chance. It has vampires, dreaming premonitions, and much MUCH more. You will fall in love with it from page one just as I did. [:

[CeCe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 Stars

I am not sure what it was since I liked the characters, but I think it was just too much with the vampire, the angel, the werepanther, and the demigod. I can't put my finger on it. It just did not come together for me.

Mairin dreams of Mathias dying and then draining the blood the woman he loves. Mairin starts her first day of school and meets, Mathais, the guy she has been dreaming of. Mathais is a vampire.

A lot happens, but I am not sure if it was the writing style or something else that made me want to skim. This book had all the components I love, but it was not put together in order to be the epic read for me.

Mathais loved his previous love which would have bothered me since I hate when the hero pines for another, but that was done well. I truly believed in Mathais's love for Mairin.

Anyway, this is definitely one of those it did not work for me, but it may work for you.

[Genea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was right up my alley, I just love the have my fill of the swoon sometimes. I'm not ashamed to say I'm a sucker for the "I saw you and I just couldn't live without you", kind of romance. I liked that Mathias was all about Mairin. She's had it tough when it comes to her social life. It was hard for me to see how she put everyone else first, even to the detriment of her daily suffering. I really wanted her to stand up to queen bee Stephanie so much(kids can be so mean), but I understood her reasons for not doing that, as hard as it was for me. When Mathias comes into her life I hoped she would look out for herself finally and take a chance.

Mairin has a lot of willpower that most heroines/heroes eventually stray from in their respective stories. Shari Richardson didn't once made her stray from her personality or stance. For example, the girl can keep a secret. Mairin has prophetic dreams of the present and future and she had some kind of connection with Mathias that she dreamt of him and his violent and disturbing past every night. She never confessed this to a soul except for just a smidgen of it to her best friend Cecilia, who knows of Mairin's abilities, which grew throughout the story. And oh yeah, she had more secrets.

I liked Mathias immediately, he was sweet and completely drawn to Mairin. Even with what I knew about what he is, just like Mairin, there was no hope for me, I was taken in by this Vampire who hates the monster he has to be.

Mourning Sun was short and sweet, the story was unreal, even for a Vampire story. There were some surprises which made me anxious to see what new endeavors can be expected throughout the series. If your looking for something swoony, a taste of action(more to come, maybe)a little bit of angst, cheesy, but in the cutesy kind of way, and an example of unconditional love then you will love Mourning Sun. My only dislike was that it finished too quickly, but it was enough to lay the ground of whats to come.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!!! It was sooo good! I love Mairin! She a smart, loyal, tough and caring person! She is everything that Bella Swan was and wasn't. I love the relationship between her and Mathias. It was sweet and soo romantic. It makes me wish my future soulmate was a vampire. I know people are saying it is like Twilight and I do agree but what I love about this book is that even though it's only 144 pages long it made me feel and care about the story in such a way that took twilight 500 pages to make me feel. I am a huge fan of this series now and I can't wait to read the second book captured sun! I implore anyone who loved twilight or who loves YA paranormal rommance books in general to read this book!

[Cassie McCown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mourning Sun
By: Shari Richardson
ISBN: 9781460983263
Published March 24, 2011 by CreatSpace
Available Format: Paperback, ebook
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Mairin Cote is accustomed to weird. Her mother and her angelic partner run a metaphysical store, she has dreams full of premonition, and now she is seeing auras around everyone. Her world is still rocked when the gorgeous, charming Mathias walks into her life. Soon she realizes the world is full of all sorts of monsters, besides the ones she faces every day in the halls of her hometown high school.

I received an electronic copy of Mourning Sun for review. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Although quite short, the story was fantastic. It didn’t take long for me to be completely absorbed in Mairin’s life. It isn’t an entirely original concept, but the way Richardson writes it, with the little twists and turns, makes it fresh and exciting. I love the way she so cleverly worked certain real-life issues into the story, such as homosexuality and bullying. Even the decision Mairin must make regarding Mathias could be applied metaphorically to so many other situations in real life.

There were a few instances where I caught a little error here and there, or where I felt a little bit of editing could have cleaned something up a tiny bit. Overall, however, it was a very well written work. The plot was solid and everything flowed perfectly. The characters all had good chemistry even if the situations were rather awkward.

I appreciate the conciseness of the book, but I can see where the author could have really expanded and probably made it at least twice as long. I cannot really complain, however. It truly was a nice fluffy little read for me to devour on this dark, rainy day. I almost cried when it ended; I wanted to know so much more! I am enthusiastically looking forward to the next installment.

I definitely recommend Mourning Sun, and I want to thank Shari for being so generous and giving me the opportunity to review her book!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This is almost the best vampire book I've read! It's a tie between Vampire Kisses and this!

I've never really been into the vampire phase that Twilight created, but this book really got me wanting to read more!

I love Mathias! He sounded so sweet and nice and caring. I really love his character! I love that the author also showed his back story too! Right from the beginning, we knew exactly what he was.

I was a bit confused about Mairin though. The book started off really quick. The author didn't really tell us much about Mairin. It was like one minute Mairin's doing this and then oh hey guys, did you know Mairin has premonitions? And then she didn't explain how or why she got them. She just said Mairin got premonitions. That's it.

Also, the story suddenly went from one day to six months later. How did that happen? Really. It did say it had been six months since that thing happened. The author didn't even say what happened in between the months.

You guys know I'm like this, but in the back of my head I was thinking, Hey..wouldn't it be cool if Mairin was actually Kathryn's reincarnation? That would explain why they're so alike! But nothing in this first book says anything about that. Oh well.


Overall, I really loved this! The author is really great at writing! I actually enjoyed this vampire book. I never really like reading vampire books, but this author was so good that I could actually endure reading this type of book! 4.5 Stars!

This review is also on my blog:
http://simple-books.blogspot.com

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mourning Sun is perfect for Twilight and vampire romance fans. It is written with the same feel of twilight and shares some of the common themes of the genre. I love to re-read and look for books whose characters connect with me. I think if you enjoyed Twilight and want to read something similar this book is for you. Mourning Sun takes place in Highland Home near the east coast. Mairin is the outcast at high school with a few close friends and the bottom of the high school food chain. Her Dad died in a car wreck that she dreamed of before it happened. She dreams of Mathias as a vampire before he moves to Highland Home. Mathias is drawn to Mairin and chooses to be with her crowd and her rather than the golden ones of the high school. Mairin sees auras and can see that Mathias is good and pure by his clear golden aura. Despite her disturbing dreams, she is drawn to Mathias and cannot deny her fascination with his choice to be near her. Her family and friends warn her that Mathias is dangerous and she denies her attraction and growing love for him. This is interesting to me because what would happen if the girl doesn't pick the vampire? Mourning Sun explores this question as Mairin wrestles with her feelings and everyones opinions. There are all types of supporting characters from Mairin's family and schoolmates that explore even more paranormal types. I don't want to spoil the ending but I recommend this for all fans of the genre who enjoy paranormal romance.

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extra well written Paranormal Romance. The story is a very intense read about Mairin, a high school student who has special talents. She can sometimes see the future through her nightmares and dreams. She has seen Mathias, a new student at school and she must deal with her feelings for him and the life he has led.
I was impressed with how well the story flowed and how it dealt with the issue of right and wrong.
I look forward to reading more from this author and the series.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!! i bought it on barnes and noble for my nook and instantly loved it! this is another take on twilight but SO much better!! Mathias is dreamy and haunted by his past then he finds Marin and they start a forbidden love! best book ever!

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book but a bit to similar to twilight and short overall its a good quick read

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story! I love S. Richardson's writing style! A MUST READ for vampire followers! :)
Keeps you wanting MORE!!!!!

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the weirdest (in a good way) books i have ever read

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually, I liked this.

[Beeeeee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still intrigued with Mathias though i find the book kind of boring tbh.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok it was a cute story - I was a little worried since they threw in so many different supernatural characters, but it worked out pretty well.

The book starts off with Mathias waking from his death. and his beloved Kathryn was at his side, praying for his recovery.
But when Mathias woke up, he didn't know what happened... why his beloved Kathryn lay dead in his arms....

That's where Mairin wakes up.. She has dreams. A lot of dreams. Sometimes they mean something, sometimes they don't.
So who would believe a dream of a vampire taking his lover's life to be something real?? Defiantly now Mairin .

First day of high school. The halls are crowded, everything is the same. That is until Mathias walks to up to Mairin and asks where he could find his classroom.
Marin recognizes him from her dream, but it's not like she could tell anyone, right?

As the day goes on, Mathias seems to be everywhere. And not only is he within Mairin 's eye sight, he's actually ignoring everyone else in order to pay attention to her!

The dreams don't disappear though. She is having more and more dreams about Mathias. Scary dreams, dreams of him drinking blood and killing people. But these were just dreams... right?

When Mathias asked Mairin to the high school football game, She told him she had to ask her mom. So they went to her mom's shop. When Twayna, her mom's partner, saw Mathias, she started to freak out. And all of a sudden Marin's worse fear comes true..
He's a vampire.

But there is something different about Mathias. He doesn't FEEL like a bad guy. And he keeps saying he would never hurt her.

But how can she believe that after all those dreams she's been having??

[Jess(ToTheMoonAndBackReviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book after Reading the latest addition to the series in a Blog Tour, because I wanted to get to know where the book started and the characters.


This book had the same feel as the last book "Nine Lives" did. The only difference was that this was more of an introductory then anything else and it gave me a feel of the main character's and their background where as the last book hasn't.


I enjoyed the different elements deployed in this book. There was a lot going on and I felt it was still rushed but it was still good. This book, despite being a fast read, (I read it right after Nine Lives and Finished it that night.) Is well worth it because I got to see how it all started out. I am not sure if I would have finished the series if I had started with the first book, It is good but as fast as it is, it took away from it for me.


Memorable Quotes:

1. "I will see you in the morning Mairin," Mathias said after the bell had rung. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out "Why?"

Mathias smiled at me and my heart skipped erratically in my chest." Because I am not strong enough to deny myself your company."


2. Mathias was the sun and through his light the shadows were chased away and I was left revealed.


3. He watched me as if I were his sun.


4. "I'm a planet, orbiting my sun," He whispered, forcing me to step closer to hear him. "I am only Mathias."


5."Because you are my sun. You are the light of my life and you are the voice that calls me from my dreams."

[Bella Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I didn't like: The way the hot vampire speaks.
That ex angel(what a bitch).And her little sister.(she is a bitch too).
That is took her six months to understand she loves him.

What I liked: Her dreams. Very good way to show the hot vampire's life without the vampire actually saying anything.

Overall: The beginning reminds a lot of twilight. I have to warn you. But later on it changes completelly. First of all Bella(Mairin) is almost friendless and very unpopular at school. Secondly she leaves with her mother which she is a lesbian. Third she has psychic powers. She sees auras and has premonitions as well. Nothing like Bbella at all. Also the potential antagonist for her heart is a mere human from what I gathered.

Anyway if you can't tolorate twilight don't bother.

[Caroline Rolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt, to me, like someone who read Twilight and KINDA liked it, but thought they could do better. Shari DOES do it better, but there were so many instances where it felt like she pulled full sentences FROM Twilight. Honestly. Imagine Twilight with a strong Bella and a non-abusive Edward. Oh... and make Jacob more feline. It was a good read and I'll probably read the follow-ups because I'm anal like that.

P.S. I've read reviews that say "If you are a fan of Twilight...", I'd like to rephrase that. If you were NOT a Twilight fan because of the underlying issues (flat Bella, abusive Edward, whine whine whine, sparkle and a few angel descriptions) then this book is probably going to sit better with you.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good paranormal romance. There are only two things I would change about this book. First, I wish Mathias would speak more like someone from current times than someone from a Jane Austen book. His use of formal speak only makes him stand out from those around him. Secondly, since all vampire books will be compared to Twilight, I wish authors would try to not use any of the same lines from Twilight. I think I've heard the phrase "I don't have the strength to stay away from you", or some version of it a thousand times. Other than that, this book is a great story, which sets up for the rest of the series. I look forward to reading what will happen to Mathias and Mairin.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great paranormal book. It is an easy read because it keeps your interest. I really enjoyed the characters in the book and liked the story of Marrin and Mathias. I also enjoyed learing about the other characters in the book and their story as well. I think this book is great for YA or adults and they would equally enjoy this book. I am glad this book is a series because I am looking forward to seeing how this story and the characters play out. I also like that this book had other paranormal people in it other than just vampires. I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

[Gabby (What's Beyond Forks?) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review at: What's Beyond Forks?

The beginning of this story really grabbed me, and I immediately felt for Mathias. Mourning Sun was very well put together, and even though this is a fast paced story, you are introduced to the various supernaturals gradually. Mathias seems to have so much depth and heart to him, and he needs someone who understands that and really sees him. I hope Mairin grows into that person.

[Lisa Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received all 5 books in the series for winning a contest on a book blog.
I read all 5 books in one night as I couldn't put them down!
If you're a fan of vampires, shifters... heck, paranormal in itself, I
recommend this book (series).
The characters were well written. The story grabbed you from the start and kept you involved and entertained.
Yes, I would recommend reading them in order as it's hard to follow otherwise.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

Not bad at all. My only issue with it is that it's so short! But luckily this is just the beginning of what looks to be a very interesting series. I look forward to reading the next book.

I'd also like to point out that it is certainly one of the better self-published e-books I have read.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mourning Sun" is a fast read with well developed characters. A well written plot with lots of emotion, passion and heartache. A metaphysical story that will capture you from the first page. I can't wait to read the rest of the story. I must read for all metaphysical/paranormal(ish)/thriller readers.

This review is based on a complimentary copy which was provided for an honest review.

[Shari Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd Edition of Mourning Sun contains almost 30 pages not in the original edition. It is a fuller story with better prose. I promise that you should read the 2nd Edition even if you've read the first edition because you'll need those extra pages to get ready for the 2nd editions of the rest of the series.

[Shari Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd Edition of Mourning Sun contains almost 30 pages not in the original edition. It is a fuller story with better prose. I promise that you should read the 2nd Edition even if you've read the first edition because you'll need those extra pages to get ready for the 2nd editions of the rest of the series.

[Shari Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These characters and their lives have become central to my own--for good reason. I can only hope that you love them as much as I do. Look for Captured Sun (more of Mathias and Mairin's story) and Seven Days (Kerry and Xavier) to be released over the next year.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a young adult book about a 16 year old and vampires, angels, and weres. It wasn't really that interesting, but if I had the rest of the series, I'd actually continue reading. It is sort of lame though, and read like a summary, so really it's best I can't continue with it!

[Shari Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I'm biased as it is my book, but I believe you will love Mairin and Mathias as much as I do.

[Jennifer Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very twi-lighty but good, i liked Mariam and Mathias dont know if I'll read the 2nd but this was a quick easy read that I enjoyed