Blurb:
Needing a change, Emily has moved, found a new job, changed hair color, lost weight, and dropped her first name. In short, she has flipped her entire life, except for one pesky thing--she can’t seem to stop reading minds.
Excerpt:
I was maybe halfway home when a dark Tahoe behind me caught up and slowed, its powerful engine growling. I used retying my shoe laces, as an excuse glance back surreptitiously. The SUV had stopped, too. My heart rate kicked up a notch as I stood up. I began walking again and a little faster.
“Jai Storey!”
I turned and saw that the window on the front passenger side had been lowered. Had someone from work seen me walking home? The SUV eased forward until it was even with me. The dome light flooded the interior. Detective Rossi in an unmarked patrol vehicle.
“Where’re you headed?”
“Home.” I pointed in the general direction of my apartment building.
“It’s about to rain. Get in.”
Resenting his tone, I kept walking.
Detective Rossi put the Tahoe into motion and kept pace with me. Although there wasn’t a soul around to see, my face flushed with embarrassment. Realizing this was a battle I couldn’t win--he had the badge, not me--I abruptly stepped over the grass to the curb and tried the front passenger door.
“Back’s unlocked.”
“Not happening.” I waited. He unlocked. I got in.
“Where do you live?”
“Kirkland Apartments. Why are you stalking me?”
“That’s a serious allegation, Ms. Storey.” He put the Tahoe in motion.
“And what else would you call it?”
“Coincidence. I work this part of town.”
Baffled by this whole encounter, I didn’t speak again until we got close to my apartment building.
“Anywhere along here is fine.”
He braked. “Doing anything Sunday night?”
“Working. Evening shift.”
“Where?”
I told him.
“What time do you get off?”
“Why? Are you planning to stalk me again?”
“Maybe.”
Buy Link: https://tinyurl.com/yy4gkzxm
My Review:
I loved this story! This latest installment in the Psy Squad series from Linda Palmer is a definite winner.
After a bad experience at her job with the World Security League that left her feeling betrayed, psychic Emily Jai Storey decides it’s time to flip her life. New job, new city, new life. And a whole new her. She loses weight, dyes her hair, even begins using her middle name. But her main flip is a change in attitude. Emily Storey may have been something of a doormat, but Jai Storey will not be.
And most of all Jai Storey will not be psychic, because her psychic abilities have often brought her unhappiness. Unfortunately, that proves harder than she expected.
When Jai meets Detective Sebastian “Bastian” Rossi, neither of them is prepared for the strong and immediate feelings they have for each other. But a serial killer is on the loose. Bastian and Jai must work together, along with her psychic friends, to end the killer’s reign of terror. But can they catch him before he kills again? And will Jai realize that Emily and her psychic abilities are a part of her that no amount of flipping can erase?
I loved that the story was told in first person in Jai’s voice, which is a combination of snark and vulnerability. Though we never get inside Bastian’s thoughts, we always know exactly what he’s thinking and exactly how he feels about Jai/Emily.
With Jai’s age of twenty-one, I would classify this novella as a new adult romance. Jai/Emily is definitely trying to find herself and where she fits in the world. The author did a great job of showing her growth and her acceptance of who she is. No flip necessary.
I would definitely recommend this book, and it’s made me excited to read the other five books in the Psy Squad series.
Author Bio:
Linda Palmer loves, loves, loves to write and began the moment she learned her ABCs. She wrote poetry in grade school, short stories in college, and her first full-length novel after she married and joined a writers’ group. Though she never quit her day jobs, she began submitting her romances to publishers. Silhouette Books released Heart of the Matter, a romance novel, in l989 and the next twenty over a ten-year period (writing as Linda Varner). In 1999 she took a break to take care of her family and learned that she couldn't not write. So she began again, changing her genre to young adult/new adult paranormal romance. Linda now has full-length novels, novellas, and short stories available as e-reads and in print, and there are always more in the works. Linda was a Romance Writers of America finalist twice and won the 2011 and 2012 EPIC eBook awards in the Young Adult category.
A hopeless romantic from birth, she loves superheroes, YA books, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Shadowhunters, Game of Thrones, and CB Strike. Her favorite days are rainy days, when she can be found sitting on her front porch glider with a book. Linda married her junior high school sweetheart many years ago and lives in Arkansas, USA with her family.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.lindavpalmer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindavpalmerwriter
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read your novella in advance, Linda!
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