Season of Strangers

Paranormal Series II #3

by Kat Martin

Dedicated, driven real estate agent Julie Ferris is enjoying a day at the beach with her sister Laura when a strange, almost undetectable charge fills the air. Then, under the hot Malibu sun, time stops altogether.

Neither sister can explain their "lost day" - nor the blinding headaches and horrific nightmares that follow - but Julie chalks it up to the stress she's been under since her boss's son took over Donovan Real Estate.

Patrick Donovan would be a real catch if not for his notorious playboy lifestyle and matching attitude. But when a cocaine-fueled heart attack nearly kills him, Patrick makes an astonishingly fast - and peculiar - recovery. Julie barely recognizes the newly sober Patrick as the same man she once struggled to resist. Maybe it's the strange beach experience fueling her paranoia, but she can't help sensing something just isn't ... right.

As Julie's feelings for Patrick intensify, she's about to discover how that day at the beach links her newfound happiness with her wildest suspicions ...

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

Kathleen Kelly Martin (aka Kathy Lawrence, Kasey Mars)

Kathleen Kelly was born on 14 July 1947 in the Central Valley of California, USA. She obtained a degree in Anthropology and also studied History at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She was a real estate broker, when she met her future husband, Larry Jay Martin. A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author! Then, after doing some editing for him, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing. She moved on to become a full time writer.

Published since 1988, she signed her books with her married name, Kat Martin, but she also used two pseudonyms: Kathy Lawrence for a book in collaboration with her husband Larry Jay Martin, and Kasey Mars for her first contemporary romances. The New York Times bestselling writer, among her many awards, has won the prestigious RT Book Review Magazine Career Achievement Award. To date, Kat has over eleven million copies of her books in print. She has been published in seventeen foreign countries, including England, South Africa, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Bulgaria, China, and Korea.

Currently residing with her husband, a Western-writer and photographer, in Missoula, Montana, USA. But when they are not writing, they also enjoy skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe.

"I've always loved books. I was an avid reader, with any number of my own stories rolling around in my head. Writing them down seemed a logical step."

"I love anything old," Kat says. "I love to travel and especially like to visit the places where my books are set. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book rather creepy...the plotline is basically about an alien who takes over the body of a dying man in order to study a human abductee closely in order to learn why people like her are able to resist some of the alien's mental probing. However, he becomes increasingly drawn to his earth host and falls in love with the female subject. The whole concept of the woman sleeping with reanimated corpse of her former boss really is disgusting on several levels. Also, I found the author's use of language during the sex scenes rather perturbing as well, so much so that I skipped these parts...she kept referring to both the male and female organs as "his sex" and "her sex", which seems repressed; as if the author is uncomfortable with the use of words like penis and vagina. Creepy, poorly written book!

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread for me. It was sort of a sci fi romance. At least the hero was an alien who came to Earth to study us. Of course he falls in love with one of his test subjects. So there was that element. There wasn't much other sci fi ness but it was rather a story of two opposites meeting. So maybe more of a futuristic rather than sci fi. It was well written as always by Kat Martin. I enjoyed the heroine who was down to earth and a disbeliever in alien abduction even when it was happening to her. Of course the subjects were implanted with false memories. Her sister on the other hand had a weaker mind and so remembered more of what happened. Just go with it, it makes more sense in the book. The hero also was nice as a scientist who fell in love with his subject and also with Earth. A fun read if you are willing to suspend some disbelief.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me on the edge of my seat great book

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

i picked this up because i liked the pretty straw hat on the cover, with the red scarf thingie being all floaty in the breeze. i thought it'd be a light-hearted and perhaps sexy little story

but no

what i found here is an alien-abduction romance. i'm not even kidding.

worse than even that is that i was hooked on it. god. what has happened to me!?!?

if an alien read this, that alien would be totally pissed off at the ending.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not think I would like this book after reading some of the reviews. While the premise is weird (an alien in a human's body having a romance with a regular woman while trying to find out why she is resistant to their brain probes) it actually works. The story plays out in a moderately predictable fashion (you knew the two of them would get together) with a surprise at the end. An interesting book even for those of us who do not believe in UFO's!

[Jodi Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up as I was craving a good suspense novel. I have to admit I never saw a key aspect of the plot coming. At first I felt a little unsure if I liked this aspect, but then it grew on me. All in all, this was a very good read and it did come with some very good twists. I would give it a 4.5 overall.

[Marge Sawyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn’t really my kind of book, it I started it and had to finish. Falling in love with an alien isn’t my idea of a good read.

[Katie Burkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I found the side plots to be a bit of a mess. I was definitely more interested in hearing about Val’s relationship with his crew, about his life on Toril, how he perceived Earthlings in addition to us being overly emotional and passionate. The shady business deal with the mobsters from Chicago? It literally made zero sense why the author ended the book with that particular plot line, other than to highlight the goodness and love of Alexander Donovan, even after finding out that his son wasn’t actually in his own body (he was also weirdly calm with it, didn’t push for answers, which I thought was bizarre). I hated Laura’s relationship with her therapist, that whole thing was icky and creepy.
I’m kind of disappointed that Val chose to return to his human form, because he’s conflating sex with love, and he’s old and wise enough to use more logic than that. Anyways, it got an extra star because it was an interesting premise, but unfortunately fell flat.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my favorite of Kat Martin's but I do enjoy it as something completely different. Martin delves into the "what if" of alien abductions in this book. Julie is trying to support her sister, who believes she has been abducted and used for experiments, but she doesn't really believe any of it. She's also dealing with sudden migraines, and with sudden feelings for her boss that she never thought possible. Patrick, her boss, seems to have changed his playboy ways but Julie is afraid to trust him. Julie shows her strength in dealing with all these stressors while also keeping up with her demanding job as a realtor. Has Patrick really changed for good? Can she help her sister get the help and answers she needs? Martin does a good job of juggling all these various aspects of the story and tying them all together.

[L8blmr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry, Ms. Martin. I tried to take this book seriously; I read over 150 pages before I gave up. I have been a fan for many years. I loved your historical fiction and moved with you to contemporary novels. But I just can't back this venture into the "paranormal" if this book is an example of your norm in that genre. I just found this story so, so ... laughable, even down to the hackneyed description of the aliens. Everything went seriously awry for me when the lead alien male took over the body of the lead human male. Again, I apologize for this harsh rating, but I believe I would far rather re-read some of my favorites that you've written and steer clear of your PN books.

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me a gustado el libro, es una novela de romance diferente, con personajes bien perfilados y el trasfondo estudiado por la autora.
Con el correr de las páginas uno se da cuenta de que va la historia y engancha.

Es rápido de leer con una pluma sencilla por parte de la autora, la química de los protagonistas es buena y creíble.

Lo único que me molestó fue que sentí un poco presuroso el final y que no quedo bien explicado cuál era la diferencia de Julia con respecto a las demás personas con las que experimentaron.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the heroine's boss is taken over by an alien. She thinks she is with Patrick when she is really with Val the alien. It has been over 10 years since this was published so I think now I am more aware about consent. She didn't really consent to be with the alien. Also, her sister's storyline bugged me. The sister's former psychiatrist becomes the sister's lover but never believes her about her abduction.

[Susan W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I actually start reading a book, not generally by the back cover but by the front and then by the first bit of the book...does it hook me in etc. This one did. There is no clue what I was going to be getting into on the front cover, hell its a beach scene and typically this author is mystery romance. Well....once you get going, then there will come that time when you shake your head, and think wtf. But it is ok, it worked! I actually enjoyed the aliens LOL

[Moshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Season of strangers” is about alien abduction, inhabitation and it’s so sci fi that I cringed because it is creepy falling in love with someone who has died but it’s now being inhabited by an alien but somehow they are now meshed into one? And how wrong is it to start a relationship with your psychiatrist? 🤷🏻‍♀️ On one hand, this is too far fetched for me and it’s not a favourite; on the other hand, the love story played out like a kdrama, so it’s a 50-50 for me.

[Christine Jalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good.

I wasn’t sure I’d like this book but I love every book I’ve read by this author. This isn’t my genre but I ended up loving it. Patrick and Julie were great together and I ended up crying so hard for them but thankfully they do get a happy ever after. I recommend this book.

[Christina Yorke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good! My first book of this genre....apparently good men ARE out there....WAY out there. Little disappointed Brian didn't turn out to be a visitor from a previous mission. Second brick wall outside diner scene made me tear up and I suspect Julie has a bun in the oven. Good read!

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it. It was weird, talking of spooky people who weren't really there. And spooks that would transport you to their spaceship and do weird things to you and stick things up in your vagina and the next day you would bleed but not know why. And then get terrible migraines

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it to page 74. ☹ I have read other books by Kat Martin that I enjoyed, but not this one.

[monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tan lejos tan cerca

La historia no está mal ,me sorprendió el tema lo encontré bastante interesante y lo disfrute mucho.un poco fuera de lo común pero bueno.

[Donna Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent summer read.

[Mardy Charlebois]

Weird

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story, full of suspense, different story line. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Stephanie Moyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t a bad book, but not really my style. It’s on the Syfi side and that’s not what I like. Didn’t realize it till I started it. The story line is good, but was hard for me to enjoy.

[MH]

Not what I was expecting. Made me think of "Invasion Of the Body Snatchers " Not my cup of tea.

[Pam Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting the storyline of this book with the alien experiments on humans ( namely Julie & her sister Laura) & having alien Val take over Patrick’s body. Julie & Patrick/Val fall in love of course. It really was a great, entertaining book that I really enjoyed!! I’ve yet to be disappointed by a Kat Martin book!!

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't really what I thought it would be based on its blurb. I was expecting paranormal mystery, but this book is really paranormal romance, with a tepid mystery thrown in. I don't read much in the way of romance novels, so it was a disappointment that so much of the book is focused on that.

Basically, this book is the standard romance novel trope of "womanizing party boy changes for the love of a good woman." Only here, the womanizing party boy, Patrick, changes because an alien takes over his body. That aspect could have been really interesting, but was unfortunately underexplored in favor of standard romance novel sex scenes and an awful lot of tedious back-and-forth on the part of the protagonist about whether Patrick had really changed.

There's also a subplot about alien abduction involving the protagonist's sister, but that's all wrapped up in a pat, conveniently happy manner. The aliens, whose names and lack of emotion trigger images of Soviet-era scientists, just didn't understand the effect their experiments were having on humans until one of them lived among one of us, you see.

There's also a pretty clichéd subplot involving ruthless loan sharks, the only purpose of which seems to be to set up the ridiculously trite ending.

One other thing that really annoyed me in this book--the protagonist mentions reading a book, the title of which is another of this author's books. It was unnecessary, tacky and took me out of the story entirely.

Ultimately, this was a servicable romance novel. The big twist had the potential to be interesting, but wasn't explored in interesting ways.

[AndreaH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Driven realtor Julie spends day at beach with sister. They both notice weird noise, fall asleep. In the the next few days Julie gets headaches, but her sister becomes increasingly paranoid. Queue the cheesy spooky music already.
Julie's boss is an attractive male slut who drinks and drugs too much, and really wants in Julie's pants. Yeah, he's cute and she's crushing but she's smart enough to say no.
Then on the way to a biz lunch he literally falls to at her feet -get ready for the cliche plot device — it's a heart attack. Of course he's dead, but is soon revived, and when he returns to work is a new man.
Julie can't stop saying no as said stud muffin now has a kinder, gentler, drug- and drink-free soul. Meanwhile her sister is more paranoid, erratic and believes aliens captured and probed her. You already saw where this is going, didn't you?
Mr. Stud was involved in a shady real estate deal, and now, as the reborn version of him rebuilds the company and tries to set everything right the baddies are after him.
Julie comes to realize he is an alien, her sister's right, but she's in love.
Then alien guy has another heart attack; the power-that-be deem the Earth experiment over.
Can you guess what happens? Schmaltzy HEA, that's what.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by the reviews on this book, because I liked it so much. It was a bit different than anything else Kat Martin has wrote but I like different. I'm a diverse reader, and will read most anything. I happened to like aliens. At this point I had never read anything about aliens before, I think Kat Martin did a great job and not making it creepy. I liked the little bit of mystery. I liked Patrick's change of views, and the feelings he started to have for Julie. Through out the book as Julie is falling for Patrick she knows something is off since he went from being a drug addict to mister nice guy overnight. While Patrick is on a mission to probe people. I like the in between characters and the stories about other abductions, and Julie tries to figure out what has happened to her.


Possible Spoilers*******
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I loved the emotion that both Patrick and Julie had when it was time for Patrick to go. It was without warning. Patrick was taken out of the host body by is ship people, so it looked like he died again. You could feel Julie's heart break and the way Patrick begged to go back. So sweet.

[penelopewanders]

I had read and enjoyed a number of historicals by this author, so was curious to try a contemporary. I may have realized at some point that this was actually a paranormal, but hadn't noticed that this is the third in a paranormal series, as is mentioned in the afterword. Fantastic fiction lists this as standalone. I don't think the fact that it's in a series I haven't read detracted from my enjoyment, but this one didn't quite win me over. The theme of UFOs and UFO believers is very tricky at best, and I thought the setting - real estate sales - was rather limited in terms of allowing for character development. It would have been nice if the hero could at least have outwitted the bad guys in the end, but it was all a bit feeble. I've enjoyed this author enough in the past to give another contemporary by her another shot, but I'm not so sure about the paranormals.

[Keri Murcray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because the author had my same initials and I'm doing a reading challenge this year and this fit one of the challenges. Nothing on the cover said anything about this being a book about aliens and abduction...and then when it was mentioned in the story it was very matter of fact, like it was not weird or strange at all. Quite surprising. I admit that I still enjoyed much of the story, but thought it was strange and had no idea this was even a genre of books but apparently it is. I felt like it ended a little too abruptly and things were settled more easily than they should have been. And I have no idea what the title has to do with the story....it doesn't fit at all. I likely won't read more by this author, but I'm not upset for having read it.