Book Summary:
There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: She can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken.
Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.
Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?
Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.
My Review:
The prologue chapter very quickly sets up the horror and mystery surrounding a family campout at Yellowstone. But before going further, we have to backtrack in time to the mundane life of seventeen-year-old Reagan in a sleepy Colorado town.
Chapter one takes us back two weeks prior to the events in the prologue - and it felt like those moments when people do nothing but name drop. There were so many references to known books, magazines, television shows, movies, and product brands that I thought I was in the middle of advertisement overload. One page alone referenced eight different books and television shows. But I grit my teeth and read on.
I'm glad I did.
After chapter one we return to the events immediately following the prologue. Reagan is in the hospital recovering from what appears to be a grizzly bear attack on their campsite. Her younger brother, Sam, is missing and presumed dead, his body carried off into the woods by the attacking predator.
Upon return to Colorado, life continues to turn upside down. Her friends don't comprehend what Reagan is going through and regularly spy on her and report to her mother. Reagan suffers from constant headaches accompanied by horrifying dreams of the night she was attacked and Sam killed. In her dreams, she sees not a grizzly attacking their camp but a huge wolf with amber eyes - and it talks to her.
Worse, at times she hears her dead brother's voice in her head - but she's still awake. Reagan knows she isn't crazy but can't explain it nor why she trusts Sam's directives. But then everyone else starts trying to give her direction and control her every step.
That's when Reagan's mother goes on the defensive - and yes, I mean defensive. Her mother doesn't appreciate the influence her Wiccan grandmother begins to have over Reagan's life. Nor the new, strange, and somewhat dangerous pseudo-boyfriend who injects himself into Reagan's life - so she forces Reagan to accompany her to see a psychiatrist. But her mom doesn't stop there in her efforts to remove Grandmother Nana's influence. I found both Reagan's mother's actions and at times her "friends" actions despicable.
Chasing Memories kept me reading. There's teenaged angst scattered throughout, but I was able to get past those moments and stay engaged in the overall story. Yes, this is a paranormal YA, but the paranormal aspect rather takes second billing to the building of the storyline, of the relationships in Reagan's life, and then what is happening to her. There were a few times where her thoughts and actions flip-flopped very rapidly and weren't cohesive, but for the most part this was a minor annoyance.
The story ends on a cliffhanger, so be warned. For those who like a heavier paranormal focus, I'm guessing the paranormal component will take front and center stage in the following novel based upon how the first ended - but this is pure speculation on my part.
I'd recommend Chasing Memories to teens and twenty-somethings and to those who enjoy a light paranormal mystery. And hey, I always enjoy a good, multi-layered female protagonist like Reagan. Happy reading!
Author Bio:
Tia Silverthorne Bach is an avid reader, sometimes runner, involved wife and mother, and rabid grammar hound in addition to being a multi-genre writer. Her three daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She's the award-winning co-author of Depression Cookies, a coming of age story written with her mother. Tia's office is wherever her laptop takes her and any place that's conducive to allowing a wild imagination like hers to flourish. Check out her website at http://depressioncookies.com/ and blog at http://depressioncookies.blogspot.com/
Prices/Formats: $3.99 ebook, $12.99 paperback
Pages: 296
Publisher: self-published
Release: May 22, 2013
Kindle buy link ($3.99):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7TFM5E?tag=tributebooks-20
Amazon paperback buy link ($12.99):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1484820541?tag=tributebooks-20
Barnes and Noble paperback buy link ($12.99):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-memories-tia-silverthorne-bach/1115417703?ean=9781484820544
Follow the Tribute Books blog tour at:
 |
| http://chasingmemoriesblogtour.blogspot.com/ |
D A, reading your review makes me want to root for Reagan even more. You can't help pulling for characters where it seems like everyone is out to get them. I'm glad you enjoyed her as a protagonist. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole. Oh how I wanted to slap some sense into everyone around Reagan! I love it when a book and it's characters bring out my emotions in a good way. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the great review and for hosting me today. I'm glad you liked Reagan, and I promise that her mother's actions will make more sense in book 2--and yes, a lot more paranormal (although I really like relationship stories, too, so there will still be a lot of that).
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for supporting indies!
I thought so about the paranormal component, but I'm like you in that I enjoy seeing the relationships in play and how they can change a person. Always happy to support an indie! Thanks for the opportunity to read your work, Tia.
Delete