Second Sight Dating

by Marianne Stephens

Psychic Serena Xavier owns Second Sight Dating, a matchmaking business. Although successful in matching others, her "second sight" failed miserably in finding herself a trustworthy man.

Detective Dan Carrington becomes one of her clients as part of an undercover investigation. His job is to find out if her business is legitimate or a cover for a sex-for-hire scheme, possibly with mob connections.

All vibrations from Dan lead Serena to believe he's being honest with her. Upon catching him snooping through her files, she has to consider the possibility that he's a gigolo looking to secure clients through her business. Despite doubts about each other's honesty, a growing attraction leads to a night of passion. Serena wonders who he really is, as Dan ponders her true business motives.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Fiction, Contemporary, Ebooks, Paranormal Romance

190 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

I've always been intrigued by the emotions and power of love. "Happily Ever After" endings of songs and movies inspired the romantic in me. In 1994, I sat down, wrote a book, and sent it out. I faced a rude awakening at my very first book rejection.

Apparently, my story lacked an important element needed in romance books...dialogue! I had much to learn. That same year, I joined Romance Writers of America and a local chapter, Mid America Romance Authors in order to learn about writing romances and the ins and outs of the industry.

I took a few years off from solely writing romance books and entered the realm of nonfiction writing. In 2000, I published a ghostwritten autobiographical e-book based on the life of a speaker from a women's shelter. I'd continued writing romance stories during this time and incorporated new techniques and skills I had learned in my books.

In October 2006, I received my first romance book contract from Cerridwen Press, an imprint of Ellora's Cave, and continue to sell sensual mainstream (paranormal and contemporary) romance books. Humor is fun to incorporate in my stories, although some of them contain a more serious tone.

I ghostwrote another nonfiction book; memoirs of a woman who lived in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War of 1992-1995.

I also write erotic romance books under the pen name, April Ash.

I'm a member of Romance Writers of America, Mid-America Romance Authors, Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal, and The Authors Guild.

I live in Kansas, not far from Kansas City. Here I'm surrounded by family and friends, all who've been supportive of my writing and endeavor to publish. I hope you enjoy reading my books under either or both pen names! Please email me with your comments!

Reviews

[Candi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

Very entertaining. The writing is good. The flow is good . A matchmaker doing well in her business using her sight and a police officer posing as an insurance agent looking for a match just to fond out if her business is legit fall in love. Unfortunately, they suspect each other....,

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a cute quick read

When Serena decides to start her own business using her second sight little did she know how her life would change. Can she find happiness? This can be read in one day.

[Bernadette Hutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skip it

I skipped more of this than i read. Second sight, misunderstandings and an undercover policeman. Corny as but i suppose someone will like it.

[Bette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romantic comedy. Paranormal, fantasy and a cute situational comedy of errors.

[Carrie Billig]

0

[Lady Raven RAVE! · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad-ish read ( choosing my words wisely) but I was split in the middle with this book. I thought the concept was wonderful, Serena has a dating service called Second Sight Dating in which she uses her intuition/psychic connection to match couples ,she sees the guys as numbers and the women as letters that's how she matches and connects them. Dan is undercover scoping out Serena's dating service. For me personally, I liked both characters Serena seems lovable and Dan seems sexy but I think it took too long for both characters to start connecting other than the chemistry, it seem to start out well for me but the talk of numbers and letters and how Serena connects people got a bit frustrating for me. Even though I liked both characters I think certain parts went in and out for me. When I read a book I want that book to draw me in immediately, hold my interest make me feel like I'm apart of the story or on the sidelines watching. I don't want to start reading then find a couple of pages interesting then it loses my interest for the next couple then gains it back. With that being said this is my opinion, get it try it for yourself and see if you feel differently as we all have different taste.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a Kindle freebie, so I should probably give it another star for being free (but I didn't). Second Sight Dating was just okay, nothing incredibly original and I really am not that fond of stories which center around misunderstandings or misassumptions and both the Hero and Heroine have erroneous ideas about the other.

He's an undercover cop, who thinks the heroines 'psychic' dating service is the front for an 'escort' service and he behaves unprofessionally with his suspect. And the heroine, whose psychic matchmaking powers failed miserably when she decided to use them on herself once before, thinks that he's a gigolo looking to steal her client list - since he obviously isn't the insecure guy who has so much trouble talking to women that he need her to come along on his dates. The disasterous double dates has the potential to be amusing, but were just to over the top to actually pull it off.

[Kami Dodson-Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story. I can not believe I downloaded it for free. Quick summary with no spoilers: Serena owns a dating service based on her ability to match couples with much success. She has a sight that shows her who to match with whom. A male client did something shady & now there is a detective involved posing as a client, with whom she sees herself as a match. Both untrusting of the other for reasons explained in the story are hesitant to give into the attraction. Then all hell breaks loose. Serena doubts her abilities & tries to hang on to reality. She gains the help of her brother a cop in another city to try to understand why her ability is telling her one thing & feelings telling her another. I will look for more stories from this author. I enjoyed it. I do not really read romances but this had some mystery to it.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, romantic and a little bit funny. Lot's of jumping to conclusions and misinformed judgements. Using her second sight Serena senses matches for her match making company. This sense seems to backfire on her however, so she gives up on the dating world - at least for herself. Jaded cop Dan turns away from romance and concentrates on his career. Naturally the two are thrown together, each suspecting the other of criminal activities since neither is being open and honest. Through ridiculous dates, and obvious mismatches Serena and Dan begin to fall in love, and need to sort through all the lies and misconceptions to discover their true selves and true feelings.

Quick and entertaining read.

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story. I liked it, as it was a little different in it's approach. Serena Xavier has a "gift" that she uses to match people. In this case something goes awry and she gets some "mixed messages" when Dan Reese comes to her office with a "gift certificate". Serena doesn't know what to make of Dan and she is futher confused when she takes his hand and 3 numbers pop into her head instead of just one.... Dan is only pretending to need help to date as part of an assignment. Read the story to see how his "pretending" can really throw things off-kilter. This story has some pretty funny situations in it as well as "adult" content. Happy Reading!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute book. Serena is able to sense when a good love match is made. One day a hunk walks into her Second Sight Dating shop and all she sees is SEX! Literally! He is an undercover cop trying to find out if her shop is really a cover for an escort service! As she matches him up with other women, she double dates with him to keep an eye in him because she thinks he is a gigolo trying to steal her customers. It was cute how they set up the dates and the last date was pretty cool, but everything seemed to work itself out too quickly and easily. I kind if expected a little more. Definitely not too bad though.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what exactly went wrong. This story started off cute, but failed to live up to its promise. In my opinion, the author tried to throw in too much in the last half of the story. She could have left out some of the dates, some of the secondary characters, or some of the silly subplots and come out with a much better story. I think there was too much telling, instead of letting us see the events through the eyes of the characters. Anyway, I'd say pick up something else as there are much better stories to read.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really light,easy, enjoyable read. It probably took me about 4 hours, total - and half of that was well past midnight when I should have been asleep. I really only wanted to read a chapter or two, but 75% of the book later, I had to make myself put it down so I could get some sleep. I liked both lead characters, although the fact that they were both acting on false presumptions about each other did drive me a little batty.

I liked the premise behind Serena's "talent" and the "dates" she set up ended up being pretty funny, particularly the final one at the dinner theatre.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute romance comedy. serena runs a dating servce using her extra talent knowing who makes a good match. the police think thier is somthing wrong with service so send a detective undercover. dan is a police detctive and has to lie. they are attracted to each other but dont trust each other. serena calls her brother because she caught dan looking at files micheal. pretends he is clint instead of cop from different city. lot of confusion and weird dates ensue. it was a nice easy read. one sex scene that didnt need all details.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a freebie Kindle download, so you won't hear me complaining too much, but it did lack a bit of focus here and there. The usual listed price for this is £7.50, which in my humble opinion too pricey.

Nothing fundamentally wrong with the whole body of work, but it failed to grab my attention.

Nice enough characters' and nice enough plot, and so all in all a 3 star rating for Amazon/Good Reads, and a 3.5 stars (because I can hand out half stars) on the blog.

I've added it to the One Off Folder on the Kindle, and am happy to admit that sometimes an author can be just wide of the mark.

[Jo Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book. A romance that was Destiny or was it. Serena used her "gift" to match-make very successfully until Dan came visiting. All her instincts told her he was trustworthy but his actions didn't match. Drawn to him more than any other man they each played a role - suspicions being drawn & conclusions being decided. A good Rom-com, would make a great film as it would give more visually to this story, embellish it just a little more. I like to feel drawn into a book, as though I am actually there witnessing the full picture, I love 3D & this was more 2D but still a good investment!

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed reading this and liked the characters and the plot. This was written well and was interesting. I wouldn't mind reading this again, but more for passing time. This wasn't a page-turner and didn't pull me completely in but there were some parts that did. The last date was a little confusing (couldn't keep up in my mind, info overload) but it all turned out alright and ending was like a little wrap-up. Overall it was ok-good.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed this free Kindle-book. The story was cute and the characters were pleasant. It is easy to read and Ms.Stephens style is enjoyable. The sex scenes are minimal so the book concentrates on the developing relationship between Serena and Dan. Definitely a good light read. ( took me a couple hours)

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, you have second sight so what do you do? You open a matchmaking service. (Could have thought of a few better careers.) Then, your "sight" gets all screwy when a hunky guy comes in. Is he what he seems or is he an undercover cop checking her out for fraud? Of course, she wonders about him but the cop idea never crops up. I did like the book but have read many that are far better.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know, it was free and cute. It did get a bit bogged down in the second half, and of course things tied up pretty neatly with Gino. I found two things utterly unbelievable, though: that Dan wanted to marry Serena immediately after things cleared up, and that Serena's parents actually gave their daughter SEX as her initials. I mean, really?

[ladymurmur · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painfully slow and mind numbing. The premise was promising, but did not follow through. Seemed like the same two scenes repeated over and over and over and over... Perhaps if it were condensed to a short story, it would have been readable. Felt like the same two Would have been done by the point where I stopped reading, at least.

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started out really well with a great plot - two policemen each suspecting the other of the same crime - almost operatic. It was spoiled, however, by a sudden descent into hard core pornography about half way through. I honestly do not understand why people who write this kind of filth couldn't at least have the decency to put a warning on the cover.

[Sadie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished 33% of this book.

The writing is fine. The premise is cute. The pacing kept me from getting into it. I found myself skimming for something to actually happen. I really had high hopes for this book and I'll try something else by the writer, but the constant rehash of what's going on was too much for me.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was free, so I can't complain too much. It was a very quick read and easy to figure out the ending. Speaking of, it seemed like the ending was just thrown together...it seemed to just end way too quickly.

[Issa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a freebie for Kindle and I could see why. It was an interesting premise (the synopsis here on goodreads covers that) but it was really repetitive and quite simple. I flew through it but didn't find it very satisfying.

[Lexy Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is 2.5 stars, but I have given an extra half a star because it was a free Kindle book. I think this could have been a great book - it has warm characters and an unusual storyline, but it didn't thrill me as much as it could have.

[La Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am currently reading this book as well. But the suspense is killing me.

Okay, now the book is getting juicy it's about time. At least Serena is finally making out with Dan. I thought I had to read two to three books at a time before I gave up on this one.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

the premise of the heroine being a matchmaker with extra abilities was good, but it got bogged down by the "big misunderstanding" between the H and h, to the point it was a bit of a struggle to finish it. good thing it was free!

[Nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange read - it couldn't make up it's mind if it was a romantic suspense, a paranormal or a contemporary romance with a hot scene thrown in for good measure. Consequently it suffered from lack of identity.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a quick-read; found this as a freebie. I gave it 3 stars because it was what I was looking for at the time. However, it was kind of obvious what was going to happen and then the book just ended. So yeah... 3 stars.