Tatya's Return

Samsara Trilogy #1

by Teagan Kearney

Set in the mid-western town of Orleton, this paranormal romantic thriller charts an explosive struggle between power and love.


Tatya is a healer who possesses powerful, but undeveloped, talents. Unknown to Tatya, Vanse, a master vampire, and the local supernatural head honcho, has loved her from afar for a long time. But everything changes when Angelus, a powerful vampire, comes looking for Tatya seeking to use her powers for his own ends.
As Tatya's powers develop, events spiral out of control and her life begins to change in unforeseen ways .


'Tatya’s Return' is Book One in the Samsara Trilogy.

ebook

First published October 25, 2014

Reviews

[Sherry Westendorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. It had enough excitement, suspense, and surprises in it. The characters interacted well with each other. I really enjoyed reading it. Not my usual read and I like going outside it sometimes to try other reads. 'I received an Advanced Reader copy of this book and I'm choosing to leave a review'.

[Book Wyvern · Rating 1 out of 5]

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This was a DNF for me. I got almost halfway and I just couldn’t go on. I didn’t care about any of it, not the past nor the present. There was also no sense of urgency.

The pace was good, it kept the story moving but there just wasn’t any feeling of excitement, again, I just couldn’t bring myself to care.

Now here, in my journal is where I actually scratched out five lines because I had read another book and I started writing the review of that one for those five lines before I noticed and scratched it out. I left it like that, I didn’t even try to write over it, that’s how much I don’t remember.

The cover is alright, the writing just didn’t make me feel any connections or emotions.

Thank you for reading my review.

-Sam

[Holly Bargo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story with some glitches

First, we will get the complaints out of the way. The descriptions of landscape and location are not consistent. The use of British spelling and terms for a book that takes place in the USA further disorients the reader (lift instead of elevator, jumper instead of sweater). Then there's the sprinkling of missing or misspelled words throughout. Description tends toward weighty, purple prose.

That said, it's a good story. The Native American element is fresh and well integrated. Tanya has a chip on her shoulder the size of Texas, but the reader can empathize even while wanting to smack her and yell at her to grow up. Yes, rogue vampires killed her parents, but Vance wasn't one of them, so quit taking your anger out on him. Vance is too patient, too nice ... but he also suffers a heavy burden of guilt that Tatya only gradually remembers. The book swallows occasionally melodrama and would benefit from a liberal dose of humor to lighten it. And for a heroine who constantly insists that she can take care of herself, she shows little ability to do so and minimal ability to show graciousness or gratitude when Vance saves her. But that only makes her one very flawed (and cranky) human. I'm more than a little cranky myself.

Overall, I liked the book, but I can't say that I would be interested in reading the sequel. Nicely done.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very well written and the author took great care in giving the reader all the information they needed to make sense of this very long and creative story. All the main characters in this book have supernatural powers except the police and other emergency officials. Vampires, Native-spirits and healers, daemons, and other creatures keep this story moving forward and the suspense high.
At chapter 6 the reader is taken back in time to understand the history of the main characters and how their history still very much impacts their present in the story. A little confusing at times, but it all makes sense in the end.
"Tatya plodded around to the back garden as the setting sun limned the house in blood-red rays of fire. She entered the first of three greenhouses, breathing in the healing smells of lavender, sage, and chamomile hanging in bunches from the drying racks Sean had created."
"She knew where she needed to go, and without a second thought, journeyed to her sanctuary on the astral plane."
"She'd developed a genuine fondness for the gruff sharp-tongued detective."
I chose to read this book and all opinions are my own and completely unbiased.

[Shanlynn Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off rather slow for me, but it does pick up quickly. I did like the story, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say this book could really use some editing. Quite a few errors, which makes it less fun to read, but the story itself is sound. I thought Tatya's response to Vanse was more harsh than necessary, and at times I really just felt she was ungrateful which led me to dislike her. So, while I did like the story for the most part, I didn't connect very well with the main character, and I feel she could use some more development. Overall a good job by Ms. Kearney, and I'd recommend to readers who like vampire stories with a touch of mysticism.

[Linda Hamonou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this story. It was one of the first book I read where the heroine doesn't fall head over heals for the first vampire she meets at first sight and that was a good change.
I like how the relationship between the characters developed and how Tatya becomes more and more aware of herself as the time passes.
I also love the flashback and there purpose toward the same goal.

This was a really good book I would recommend it to anyone who likes vampire stories but are tired of the romance side of them.

[shaundarel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I was anxious to get started when I read the description. As I began, the words and characters came to life and off the page for me. It was hard to put down once I got started and made me want more and more. The connection between Tatya and Vance is mind blowing and beautiful mixed with danger and discovery. I cannot wait to read more in this series. It is very refreshing to see there are still wonderful writers left in this world. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

[Charles Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tatya is a gifted healer, so gifted in fact that a demon is out to ensnare her to gain control of her powers. An enigmatic vampire offers assistance, but since that vampire has recently turned her best friend, she’s conflicted about accepting the offer.
Power Rising by Teagan Kearney is an interesting novel, part urban fantasy, part paranormal thriller. It moves along at a fast clip, almost (but not quite) too fast for comfort. A fascinating cast of characters and a different take on the whole vampire/demon myth.
I received a free copy of this book.

[Stephen Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read with plenty going on. A battle against the nasty which nearly costs our heroin her life. Nice undertow of romantic pull which never gets out in the open makes for an interesting sequel . I thought it was entertaining and enjoyable and quite a different view on the usual vampire story line where love and lust rule . Worth its 4* rating in my eyes

[Teresa Dilts · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty good

I thought it was pretty good . The writing is good. Story line is good. I was wrapped up in the story. I'll be getting the 2nd book when I can

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets better as it goes along. When I first started reading it, I had difficulty getting into the story because the syntax was very awkward. I had to reread many sentences for them to start to make sense. It was almost enough to make me stop reading, but I did find the plot interesting so I powered through.

Like I said, the book gets better. I rather liked the way the story goes back and forth between present time and Tatya’s previous life experiences. The interactions between Tatya and Vanse are believable, and it's nice to read a story where the heroine doesn't immediately fall for hero. Vanse is your typical hero, by the way, tortured and longing for his love.

There were a few plots holes that I wish had been covered, which I can’t really go into without giving away some spoilers so I stop reading this review if you don’t want to know.

1. How does Vanse know straight from being turned what Angelus’ plans are for Tatya? Did he know she was going to be reincarnated when he kills her?
2. Why does Tatya continuously get reincarnated? How?
3. How does Angelus know who Tatya is and that she's so potentially powerful?

By the end of the book, it had shaped up really well. It was as if the author had hit her stride about 3 chapters in and it kept getting better from there. I definitely plan on reading the second book in this series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the author.