Powers

Powers #1

by Elaine Waldron

In an effort to escape the pain of the sudden loss of her husband of six months, twenty-two-year-old Amber Dalziel leaves her home, family and friends in Texas and moves to the Pacific Northwest, where she has purchased a cabin near Mount Rainier and hopes to lose herself in her painting. She soon meets Paul Stevenson, the handsome proprietor of the local gas and grocery and his younger sister, Judy. The very first night Amber is in her new home she hears screams off in the woods that frighten her so terribly that she doesn't sleep until sunrise. Soon after she falls asleep, there is a knock on her front door. Law Enforcement Ranger Grady Brown has come to pay her a visit. He wants to know if she has heard anything unusual during the night. Amber and Paul quickly develop a friendship that shows promise of becoming something more. However, Amber soon learns that she's not the only new resident in the area, for just a quarter of a mile in the woods behind her cabin lives the handsome and mysterious Dorian Lodovico, who completely unnerves her with a mere look when he comes in the store when she's there. At first, she's intimidated by his powerful presence, but one day she decides to take a walk towards his cabin, and just as she decides she must have taken the wrong path and turns to go back, she suddenly hears the yowl of an animal and turns to find herself face to face with a cougar. Knowing she is facing imminent death, she screams, but before the big cat reaches her, something slams into it in mid-air, knocking it to the ground and snaps the big cat's neck, killing it instantly. When she regains her senses, she realizes that that something is Dorian Lodovico. He has saved her life! Though Paul is trying hard to gain Amber's affection, as he is falling in love with her, she realizes that she has feelings for both men, and Dorian isn't going to make it easy. Paul courts her, brings her flowers, and takes her to dinner and dancing, while Dorian just shows up on her doorstep to borrow coffee or during a storm when the power goes off and helps her find candles, anything but a traditional relationship, but he sweeps her off her feet, literally, when he kisses her so passionately that it leaves her weak and trembling. What Ambers doesn't know, is Dorian is a vampire and wants to turn her. He caused the storm to keep Paul away.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Vampires

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2010

About the author

Elaine Waldron is the author of "Powers" her first vampire series, along with other vampire, paranormal and murder-mystery thrillers. She began her career as a novelist with Publish America. Aside from her novels, she has had numerous short stories published in various magazines and anthologies, such as Amazing Journeys and Trail of Indiscretion, winning best story based on cover art for issue #4. She was a newspaper journalist earlier on in her career, but shortly after leaving the newspaper, she began selling her short stories.

An outdoor enthusiast, she enjoys the woods, nature in general, and loves to hear birds sing. She works with a cup of coffee or a cold Coke at her side; delights in children, and has four of her own.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not actually know how I managed to get Powers on my eReader, but I did. And I do not actually know what made me select it of the 2000 available books on my eReader to start reading, but I did.

And I kept reading. And I kept reading and I kept reading. And I finished it. Because it was good. Well, the mystery/action/thriller part was good. The sex-confused-as-love part made me roll my eyes and I skipped over that as much as possible; let’s just be friends.

[Marie Doucette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story but...

There were inconsistencies a few times throughout the story that just didn't make sense. The electricity was out, but she was able to use the washer and dryer. They can shimmer anywhere, but Dorian couldn't get to her after he sensed she was in trouble. It's the little things like that, drives me a little crazy. Overall, this was a good story that I enjoyed a lot.

[My Name Is Legion, For We Are Many · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good.

I wasn't expecting much from the dated cover and generic description, but this book wasn't bad by any means. While the story seemed a little rushed, it didn't take away from the read. The characters were relatable, and their experiences read genuine. While the vampire love story isn't a new concept, the delivery and build up in this author's work was pretty different. I enjoyed delving into the characters lives and look forward to the next installment
Only complaint was with the grammatical and spelling errors throughout the book, which became more prominent towards the end. Wish there was a way to tag them for the author's review.

[Traci Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unimpressive and poorly written

I gave this one star only because I had to in order to leave a review. This is a sloppy, overused, "love" story between a human and vampire. Mostly the "love" stems from sex. Due to the poor and immature writing, I can only assume this was written and edited by teenagers whose first language was not English. I didn't research the author or editor, but if you can stand the pain, read the proof of my review for yourself.

[Pepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good read. Takes off a little slow, but then builds. Has an awesome ending.

[Melissa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Vampire Read! Pick this one up.

[Kristal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay...the writing was good, but the story just lacked something for me. I'm not rushing out to buy the rest of the series.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the whole raven manifestation...pretty neat take on the vampire phenomenon.