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Whispers
"Your daughter is special" Special, that was an interesting word for it. More like broken and scared she was losing her mind. Or maybe she'd already lost it. Thoughts, images, ideas that had no business in the mind of a child raced through her brain, taking over her consciousness until all she could do was shut down and let them run. There was no room for her. Maybe there wasn't really a "her" underneath all the noise. The only thing that tethered her to her body, to the here and now, was the pain. Careful always to hide the marks, Natalie relied on her knife to feel alive. Sent to a college she couldn't remember applying to on a scholarship she didn't try for, Natalie clung to the hope that she could hide her madness from the family it was destroying. Alone at last she would finally have some modicum of peace, right? Luka took the assignment reluctantly. In his senior year, she was the last "special" student he would have to work with before heading off to intern and hopefully land the job, start the life his family had planned for him. The same one they wanted for his sister before she took her own life. Two broken souls with a rare ability in common, Luka and Natalie form a friendship that promises to heal them both until fate intervenes. Faced with a lie so great it threatens all Natalie has come to believe, she must make a lie down and accept it or fight for those she loves.
296 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2014
4 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
H.K. Savage
9 books139 followersHK lives in the frozen hinterlands of the far North. The long, cold months provide ample opportunity to hunker down with her computer and create adventures far more enticing than scraping ice and getting frostbite.
Between books HK reads voraciously. Anything with a good plot and compelling characters are her broad parameters. One is as likely to catch her with a copy of Don Quixote as with the latest Kristen Ashley.
When not writing or wowing the corporate world by day, HK practices martial arts, plays with her dogs and matches wits with her teen. Next winter she intends to brush up on her Spanish and escape the cold for somewhere more tropical.
Paranormal is her favorite genre and science fiction because both address the possibilities we have not yet realized and the darker things we have. Her favorite premise: “what if?”
Between books HK reads voraciously. Anything with a good plot and compelling characters are her broad parameters. One is as likely to catch her with a copy of Don Quixote as with the latest Kristen Ashley.
When not writing or wowing the corporate world by day, HK practices martial arts, plays with her dogs and matches wits with her teen. Next winter she intends to brush up on her Spanish and escape the cold for somewhere more tropical.
Paranormal is her favorite genre and science fiction because both address the possibilities we have not yet realized and the darker things we have. Her favorite premise: “what if?”
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 20, 2014
Hired by his sister Jules, former defense attorney to drug lord, Vinnie Ibanez, to work his magic, the odd yet endearing private detective, Dan Landis is on the job.
The story begins with a bang, literally. Dan’s home is blown to bits and the gang is out to get anyone and everyone he cares about.
The clock is ticking and they all scramble to pull off the plan of all plans. Some choose to run for it, some choose to stay put and watch their backs. If the plan doesn’t work, most or all of them will be six feet under, crispy critters, or wearing new cement boots.
I just love Dan. Even in the toughest situations, like finding a bomb in his home, dodging bullets, or high speed chases, he still has to time to throw in the odd movie quote or crack wise.
He stomps around dressed all in black, except for his trademark day-glo socks. His old partner, Maggie, the one that was gunned down, is now not only talking in his head, she’s a full blown apparition, and Dan’s having a hard time remembering not to include her in his conversations. No one else can see or hear her, and they already think he’s nuts. No need to make it worse.
The almost romance between Dan and his partner, Abbey, the Abbinator, is still steaming along. I keep hoping they will make it legit. Their desire for each other is strong, and their sexual innuendos are sizzling. They need to get a room already!
And something new. Dan is now packing real bullets. No more blanks. Look out everybody.
The cast of characters is long, their voices loud, their roles fun and dangerous. There’s lots of snark, snappy back and forth, chuckles, and a whole lot of whoop A#S!
A dynamite new chapter in this series.
I received this book for my honest review.
The story begins with a bang, literally. Dan’s home is blown to bits and the gang is out to get anyone and everyone he cares about.
The clock is ticking and they all scramble to pull off the plan of all plans. Some choose to run for it, some choose to stay put and watch their backs. If the plan doesn’t work, most or all of them will be six feet under, crispy critters, or wearing new cement boots.
I just love Dan. Even in the toughest situations, like finding a bomb in his home, dodging bullets, or high speed chases, he still has to time to throw in the odd movie quote or crack wise.
He stomps around dressed all in black, except for his trademark day-glo socks. His old partner, Maggie, the one that was gunned down, is now not only talking in his head, she’s a full blown apparition, and Dan’s having a hard time remembering not to include her in his conversations. No one else can see or hear her, and they already think he’s nuts. No need to make it worse.
The almost romance between Dan and his partner, Abbey, the Abbinator, is still steaming along. I keep hoping they will make it legit. Their desire for each other is strong, and their sexual innuendos are sizzling. They need to get a room already!
And something new. Dan is now packing real bullets. No more blanks. Look out everybody.
The cast of characters is long, their voices loud, their roles fun and dangerous. There’s lots of snark, snappy back and forth, chuckles, and a whole lot of whoop A#S!
A dynamite new chapter in this series.
I received this book for my honest review.
November 26, 2014
When I opened this book and read the first page, I had a whole different mindset for this novel as we are presented with a doctor's office and the doctor telling Natalie's parents that she is special. When I read this, I was thinking - alright , what's wrong with Natalie ? Has she been diagnosed with something or is she depressed as we later learned that she had been cutting herself ? The next chapter has readers see that Natalie is off to College and then we discover where not only the title of the book comes from, but also what her special "ability" is. Natalie can hear people's thoughts, upon enrolling Natalie meets Dr. Ivy who helps her learn to process the thoughts and exert control so that the feeling doesn't overwhelm her and send her spiralling back to crazy-land. It is here where Natalie meets Luka who we learn that he and his sister Emma have/had the same ability and Luka starts to teach Natalie how to control it. Things start to passion up as we see Luka and Natalie fall into relationship status, but there are people out there who aren't very happy with this sudden update in relationship status and tragedy occurs. Can Natalie have the tables spun and try and save Luka or was this relationship doomed from the start ?
This was a good read and perfect for those who love the edgy New Adult stories with a hint of Supernatural and Magical Abilites
This was a good read and perfect for those who love the edgy New Adult stories with a hint of Supernatural and Magical Abilites
February 21, 2017
Troubled young girl meets troubled young guy. Typical story, before you add in the paranormal abilities, odd side characters, dramatic lies, and danger. Within the first few chapters, I figured it would be a four star book. Half way through, it went down to three, and stayed there.
My most consistent complaint and reason for removing a star, is the writing. You can most certainly tell that the author is intelligent, however when that is put into her book, at least in this case, she tended to be too wordy, and over-explain simple things. I went cross-eyed a few times while reading, getting lost in over explaining and excessive complicated medical and technical words and phrases. What it came across as, to me, was that the author was trying to show she knew a lot about things she'd researched, but went a little overboard. It didn't flow very well, for that reason, and pulled me out of the story far too often.
While I do have my irritations with this book, it was still interesting. Once I chose to simply go with it, and not actually care if the character made sense, it was entertaining. There was a lot of emotion and drama, for those who like that sort of story, and while I'm not a big drama fan, it wasn't enough to make me cringe.
This isn't a very original story, and does have it's issues, but in my opinion, it is a solid 3 stars. For fans who like the cliche paranormal romance and characters with personal struggles, this would be an entertaining story, and I would consider recommending it.
*I was given this book, from the author, to read in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2015
What I liked: I loved the way how we slowly saw everything revealed, how everything was connected even in places we had no idea the main plot would connect in. Natalie was a character who I questioned quite a bit in the beginning as I discovered what made her "special." It took a while for Nat to understand what was actually happening with her, but I was able to understand what was happening to her fairly early on. It was easy to understand Luka's ability when we meet him, although he is not a particularly friendly character. Looking back at the beginning of the book after finishing it, there is quite a lot of character development for several of the characters, though not always positive character development. One character does have plenty of negative character development before the end of the book. Plus, while Avery, Nat's roommate, isn't a pleasant person in the beginning she has a lot of development by the end, I just wish we could have seen more of the development in friendship between the two girls.
What I didn't like: There was a really slow start to this book, it took a long while to get anywhere and for a while I wasn't exactly sure what the point was for this book other than what I had to go off of with the summary. Yeah, it read good with some semi-interesting things in the beginning, but it isn't until close to the tennis racquet incident that I found myself more invested in finishing the book.
Overall Review: I loved the character development for Natalie, she's a very different person at the end of the book compared to the beginning. She changes in a dynamic way and shows more of who she is as the book moves on, and I really enjoyed that. Her ability, while nothing new, is used differently and the big secret in the book was something that I was not expecting at all either. There were several points where I thought it was going to end one way only to suddenly veer into a different direction and change the way I thought the book would end. Things such as that made me wonder about what was really going on and what was going to happen by the end. There was less suspense than I was expecting from this book but it was enjoyable.
Recommend?: Yeah, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would like to read this book.
What I didn't like: There was a really slow start to this book, it took a long while to get anywhere and for a while I wasn't exactly sure what the point was for this book other than what I had to go off of with the summary. Yeah, it read good with some semi-interesting things in the beginning, but it isn't until close to the tennis racquet incident that I found myself more invested in finishing the book.
Overall Review: I loved the character development for Natalie, she's a very different person at the end of the book compared to the beginning. She changes in a dynamic way and shows more of who she is as the book moves on, and I really enjoyed that. Her ability, while nothing new, is used differently and the big secret in the book was something that I was not expecting at all either. There were several points where I thought it was going to end one way only to suddenly veer into a different direction and change the way I thought the book would end. Things such as that made me wonder about what was really going on and what was going to happen by the end. There was less suspense than I was expecting from this book but it was enjoyable.
Recommend?: Yeah, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would like to read this book.
January 8, 2015
So the opinion I had when I started this book totally changed by the time I finished it, I thought it was going to be a straight forward NA/YA read but by the last word it proved to be something much much more.
Whispers is the story of Natalie a girl who has been branded as "Special", she is talked at and talked about, she is different, things appear in her head that have no business of being there.
She is a troubled girl and the only thing that keeps her tethered to her own thoughts is the knife she uses to harm herself.
Her family and doctors decide the best step to take is to use medication and slowly she starts to feel...well maybe better is not the best word but she starts to feel a tiny bit normal.
She receives a letter offering her a place at a college she does not remember applying to but hoping to lead a normal life and to have some quiet time away from her family she takes her place and begins to live again.
She has to take part in a study programme and during this course she meets Luka who will be her tutor, he is gorgeous, dark and brooding, and she is shocked to find out she can hear him inside her head.
Natalie is thrown by Luka and tries to avoid him but they are drawn together and she finds out that the "special" branding that she has had is wrong, she can hear people, she can hear their thoughts and Luka can hear them too.
Together they form a special bond, one that goes from friendship to love and when Luka starts working away as an intern Natalie misses him terribly but things are about to get worse with one phone call that destroys her world.
Now I toyed with the idea of telling you about what happens in the phone call but nope I don't want to spoil it for you what I will say it that this book is just superb, as I said I thought it was just a YA/NA read but on the discovery of Natalie and Luka's abilities it goes a bit paranormal which steps it up a gear then wham it really takes off after the phone call, everything you thought was one thing turns out to be......well you will just need to read for yourself.
It does start out a little slow but bear with it as it is worth it, it does cover self-harming and the taking of medication but it does so with great tact on a difficult subject.
This really deserves your time!
Awarded 4 out of 5
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Whispers is the story of Natalie a girl who has been branded as "Special", she is talked at and talked about, she is different, things appear in her head that have no business of being there.
She is a troubled girl and the only thing that keeps her tethered to her own thoughts is the knife she uses to harm herself.
Her family and doctors decide the best step to take is to use medication and slowly she starts to feel...well maybe better is not the best word but she starts to feel a tiny bit normal.
She receives a letter offering her a place at a college she does not remember applying to but hoping to lead a normal life and to have some quiet time away from her family she takes her place and begins to live again.
She has to take part in a study programme and during this course she meets Luka who will be her tutor, he is gorgeous, dark and brooding, and she is shocked to find out she can hear him inside her head.
Natalie is thrown by Luka and tries to avoid him but they are drawn together and she finds out that the "special" branding that she has had is wrong, she can hear people, she can hear their thoughts and Luka can hear them too.
Together they form a special bond, one that goes from friendship to love and when Luka starts working away as an intern Natalie misses him terribly but things are about to get worse with one phone call that destroys her world.
Now I toyed with the idea of telling you about what happens in the phone call but nope I don't want to spoil it for you what I will say it that this book is just superb, as I said I thought it was just a YA/NA read but on the discovery of Natalie and Luka's abilities it goes a bit paranormal which steps it up a gear then wham it really takes off after the phone call, everything you thought was one thing turns out to be......well you will just need to read for yourself.
It does start out a little slow but bear with it as it is worth it, it does cover self-harming and the taking of medication but it does so with great tact on a difficult subject.
This really deserves your time!
Awarded 4 out of 5
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
December 29, 2014
I was provided with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a story that combined narrations about psychological challenges and emotional trauma with supernatural abilites. As the reader, one wonders why Natalie is deemed "special" by the doctors. While her self-harming tendencies and self-hatred make one incline towards thinking that she is terrifyingly depressed, her fear of herself, her depression bouts, her doubts about her own sanity, are all arising from a very fearsome and mighty ability that she has - the ability to hear people's thoughts. The author has chosen an apt and brilliant title, which gives almost nothing away, and yet, as the plot unfurls, makes it clear to the reader what the title conveys. While she is petrified of what she can do with her special abilities, she finds herself in situations she has no recollection of getting herself into. Luka enters her life as a beam of hope. Luka is fighting his own demons and visions of his sister's death every day, and he is taken aback that Natalie has the same abilities that made his sister give up on her life. He pitches in to help Natalie, and teaches her about thought control, self-preservation and much more. Neither Natalie nor Luka can help getting drawn towards each other, but destiny, as always, plays a trick. Do these overcome all obstacles and get together, is what the book takes us through.
I found the plot very powerful and the author has done full justice to the promise that it held. Tha narrative was brisk and engaging. I loved the picturesque and visual descriptions of the scenes and settings throughout, in line with how Natalie's mind translates the world for her. Although this book revolves around Natalie, I would have loved to read about how Luka evolved as the character that he is and how his sister's death made him vulnerable and formidable at the same time.
I definitely recommend this book to lovers of multi-genre young adult books - the book has bits of thriller, paranormal and romance elements.
My rating for this book: 4 stars
This was a story that combined narrations about psychological challenges and emotional trauma with supernatural abilites. As the reader, one wonders why Natalie is deemed "special" by the doctors. While her self-harming tendencies and self-hatred make one incline towards thinking that she is terrifyingly depressed, her fear of herself, her depression bouts, her doubts about her own sanity, are all arising from a very fearsome and mighty ability that she has - the ability to hear people's thoughts. The author has chosen an apt and brilliant title, which gives almost nothing away, and yet, as the plot unfurls, makes it clear to the reader what the title conveys. While she is petrified of what she can do with her special abilities, she finds herself in situations she has no recollection of getting herself into. Luka enters her life as a beam of hope. Luka is fighting his own demons and visions of his sister's death every day, and he is taken aback that Natalie has the same abilities that made his sister give up on her life. He pitches in to help Natalie, and teaches her about thought control, self-preservation and much more. Neither Natalie nor Luka can help getting drawn towards each other, but destiny, as always, plays a trick. Do these overcome all obstacles and get together, is what the book takes us through.
I found the plot very powerful and the author has done full justice to the promise that it held. Tha narrative was brisk and engaging. I loved the picturesque and visual descriptions of the scenes and settings throughout, in line with how Natalie's mind translates the world for her. Although this book revolves around Natalie, I would have loved to read about how Luka evolved as the character that he is and how his sister's death made him vulnerable and formidable at the same time.
I definitely recommend this book to lovers of multi-genre young adult books - the book has bits of thriller, paranormal and romance elements.
My rating for this book: 4 stars
January 25, 2015
Natalie hasn't had the easiest time in life. Treated like she is hanging onto sanity by a thread, Natalie goes through life in a medical haze. Then the time to attend college is here.
Luka hasn't had the easiest time in life either. While is parents were more understanding, he has had to endure a loss that he carries with him daily. A loss that he blames himself for, but couldn't be more wrong.
When these two are thrown together in a type of mentor program neither one is prepared for the feelings that develop. Feelings that will be put to the test more times than not.
An amazing book from start to finish. Whispers by H.K. Savage should definitely be on your list of must reads for 2015.
Luka hasn't had the easiest time in life either. While is parents were more understanding, he has had to endure a loss that he carries with him daily. A loss that he blames himself for, but couldn't be more wrong.
When these two are thrown together in a type of mentor program neither one is prepared for the feelings that develop. Feelings that will be put to the test more times than not.
An amazing book from start to finish. Whispers by H.K. Savage should definitely be on your list of must reads for 2015.
January 13, 2015
Jay Mims and Dan Landis never disappoint. With this book, you can expect: more pop culture references, more dumb jokes, more boom, more intrigue, more Abby and an ending to satisfy your sweet tooth. Starts with a boom and ends with...not gonna spoil it for you. But I really loved it.
It made me kinda happy and kinda sad. I mean, it gave me everything I needed, but this better not be the end of Dan Landis' adventures, dammit!It just feels rather...concludy.
It made me kinda happy and kinda sad. I mean, it gave me everything I needed, but this better not be the end of Dan Landis' adventures, dammit!It just feels rather...concludy.
August 14, 2015
I have been a fan of hk savages since the summer of 2012 and I have to say they just keep getting better. this is a fantastic book and it may just be my favorite od those she has written thus far!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews