Review: Obsession by JoAnne Keltner

OBSESSION

by JoAnne Keltner

YA Paranormal

188 pages

Abby had the perfect life: shopping sprees at the mall, a pool in her backyard, a dream bedroom, a BFF… That is, until her family moved to the backwoods of Wisconsin.

Abby plans to prove this backwoods dump is no place for a thirteen-year-old. So when her parents hire a carpenter and his son, Greg, she hangs out with the older boy to make her parents worry. But Greg turns out to be a total creep, and although Abby tells him she doesn’t like him, he continues to make her life miserable, watching her, trying to get close to her, threatening her.

What’s creepier is the mysterious brown-haired girl that keeps appearing and disappearing without saying a word. When Abby finds the girl's diary in the outbuilding, she learns that they share a common enemy, Greg.

Will they share the same fate too?

MY TIDBITS

Spine-tingling and eerie from beginning to end, this is a quick read to satisfy YA paranormal fans who love a slight amount of horror too.

Abby isn't thrilled about the family move to 'the sticks'. She'd rather be with her best friend, shopping at the mall than watching her parents attempt to turn a half-built house into a dream. But soon her social life becomes the least of her worries.

At around 180 pages, this is a quick read, but it's one that packs a punch. Abby is a thirteen-year-old girl with a bit of an attitude, but then her older sister isn't a super kind soul either. This book caught me a little off guard, at first. It is a YA novel--which, as the plot goes along, fits perfectly--but Abby herself comes across a little young and hit me more as a good fit for an upper middle grade story. There are a few things the author touches on which fit the tweeny age group, and I'm not sure they really added anything to the plot or Abby's character. Luckily, this 'age' issue is irrelevant as trouble nears and the real problem looms over Abby's head like a dark omen.

There are twists and turns but most of them aren't unexpected. Still, that's not necessary to keep the tension high. It's clear what the evil is, but the author keeps the reader on the edge of the seat until the very end. It's easy to fear for Abby and wonder if she'll somehow manage to escape the fate laid out for her. She's level-headed--although her parents aren't--and her actions make sense for the most part. This makes the story even spookier as she tries to escape from a danger she senses is there, but keeps ramming into walls, which have been built by her own stupidity. So bonus points to Abby on that!

Summed up, this is a quick, thrilling read which is sure to delight younger YA fans and keep their knuckles white as they grip these pages until that very last page.




And here she is. . .

JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to Antarctica. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn’t writing or freelance editing, she’s obsessively streaming popular TV shows.

Social Media Links:

Website: Joannekeltner.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ObsessionYAGhostStoryMystery/

Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner

Sale: Obsession by JoAnne Keltner

The Kindle Countdown for Obsession continues with 3 days of sale price $1.99.

Grab the book for the sale price on June 21, 22, or 23 before it goes back to regular price!

Some obsessions know no boundary…not even death.

Abby had the perfect life: shopping sprees at the mall, a pool in her backyard, a dream bedroom, a BFF… That is, until her family moved to the backwoods of Wisconsin.

Abby plans to prove this backwoods dump is no place for a thirteen-year-old. So when her parents hire a carpenter and his son, Greg, she hangs out with the older boy to make her parents worry. But Greg turns out to be a total creep, and although Abby tells him she doesn’t like him, he continues to make her life miserable, watching her, trying to get close to her, threatening her.

What’s creepier is the mysterious brown-haired girl that keeps appearing and disappearing without saying a word. When Abby finds the girl's diary in the outbuilding, she learns that they share a common enemy, Greg.

Will they share the same fate too?

Grab Your Copy for $1.99:
http://amzn.to/2sgbMKq

EXCERPT

I decided to stay inside today, hide from Greg, and unpack my clothes and stuff. Nothing’s turned out like I planned. Greg’s a total creep, my sister won’t do squat for me, and Mom is so engrossed in her painting she doesn’t have time for anything else. I unpack some games—Pictionary, Scrabble—but I can’t put them in the closet because the ladder is in the way. I find a two-thousand piece puzzle of a landscape. I’ve had enough of landscapes just being here, but I’m bored to tears.

I take it to the dining room and spill the pieces onto the table. I like this room. Maybe because it’s the only finished one in the house. Maybe because it makes me feel like I’m living somewhere other than in the sticks.

I work for a while, matching shapes and patterns, most of all wondering what Katie is doing. It’s not fair that she has a life and I don’t. That I am stuck here without friends and with a creepy boy who hates my guts.

I open a window and stare down the long gravel road. If I didn’t have my period, I would run today. I would show Greg that I’m tough and not to be messed with.

I imagine my gym shoes pounding the gravel road, a trail of dust behind me.

Movement near the outbuilding catches my eye. Standing by the door is a girl about my age with long brown hair, wearing a tank top and a pair of jean shorts. Where did she come from?

She looks in my direction and then pushes open the door and steps inside.

Who is she? The carpenter’s daughter? The daughter of the people who used to live here coming back for her stuff?

I keep my eye on the door waiting for her to come out. I really need a friend right now, especially a girl my age. Maybe we can hang out at the beach together.

I decide to go out to meet her.

At the outbuilding, I slowly push open the door. A stale musty smell hits my nose. The building is practically overrun with furniture and boxes stacked to the ceiling.

I look down the narrow walkways in-between all the junk, but I don’t see a soul. “Hello?” I say, my eyes searching between the crevices of furniture and boxes.

Where did she go? I must have missed her coming out.

“Abby!” Mom says.

I jump. Mom is standing in the doorway. “How did this door get unlocked?”

“There was a girl. She opened the door and walked inside.”

“Where is she? Who is she?”

“I don’t know. She disappeared.”

Mom looks at me like I’m fibbing. “This door was locked,” she says. “I hope no one else has a key. I don’t want anything to happen to the Holts’ things.”

“What if they never come back? What are you going to do with this stuff?”

“I guess I’ll keep it stored for about a year. Then maybe we’ll have a garage sale.”

If we had a garage.

Mom re-locks the door with the padlock and then walks over to the house. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looks up at the roof. “Mr. Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman,” she calls.

Wearing a pair of overalls and no shirt, he peers down at her. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Did you by chance unlock the outbuilding door for any reason?” Mom asks.

“No, ma’am.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t have a key. Maybe your husband unlocked it before he left.”

Mom nods. “Yeah, maybe.” Mom returns to the house, and I look around the area for the brown-haired girl, but there’s not a trace of her. When the nail gun pauses, I ask Mr. Zimmerman if he noticed a girl in the yard. He shakes his head and stares at me like I’m crazy. Greg glares at me.

I go back to my puzzle, but I can’t concentrate. It’s hot in here. I open another window and look at the outbuilding. Social deprivation. That’s what it is. I need to get out of here before I completely lose it. And somewhere other than Kukla’s bait shop. I also need to move on my plan to get Mom and Dad to move us back home.

I decide to ask Mom tomorrow, plead with her if I have to, to take me to the beach.

And here she is. . .





JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to Antarctica. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn’t writing or freelance editing, she’s obsessively streaming popular TV shows.

Social Media Links:

Website: Joannekeltner.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ObsessionYAGhostStoryMystery/

Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner

Summer Promotion: Obsession by JoAnne Keltner

For Two Days Only - Grab Obsession by JoAnne Keltner for only $0.99!!

Some obsessions know no boundary…not even death.

About the Book:

Abby had the perfect life: shopping sprees at the mall, a pool in her backyard, a dream bedroom, a BFF… That is, until her family moved to the backwoods of Wisconsin.

Abby plans to prove this backwoods dump is no place for a thirteen-year-old. So when her parents hire a carpenter and his son, Greg, she hangs out with the older boy to make her parents worry. But Greg turns out to be a total creep, and although Abby tells him she doesn’t like him, he continues to make her life miserable, watching her, trying to get close to her, threatening her.

What’s creepier is the mysterious brown-haired girl that keeps appearing and disappearing without saying a word. When Abby finds the girl's diary in the outbuilding, she learns that they share a common enemy, Greg.

Will they share the same fate too?

Grab Your Copy for $0.99:

http://amzn.to/2sgbMKq

Meet the Author:

JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to Antarctica. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn’t writing or freelance editing, she’s obsessively streaming popular TV shows.

Social Media Links:

· Website: Joannekeltner.com

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ObsessionYAGhostStoryMystery/

· Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner

Review: Goth Girl, Virgin Queen by JoAnne Keltner with Giveaway

Welcome to the 2-week blog tour for Goth Girl, Virgin Queen by JoAnne Keltner.

Follow the tour and connect with bloggers, read reviews of the book, and meet the author.

Goth Girl, Virgin Queen

by JoAnne Keltner

Young Adult Paranormal

 298 pages

 December 3, 2015

 Solstice Publishing

(http://solsticepublishing.com/)

Tour Schedule:

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-tour-schedule-goth-girl-virgin.html

Calling Jackie Turov psychic makes her cringe. But Jackie’s no normal seventeen-year-old. She picks up emotions from people and objects like a freak. The emotions make her sick, and the guilt she feels for lying to her church when she was twelve causes her to deny her psychic abilities.

So Jackie goes goth to make others stay away from her and forget her past. But her past is soon resurrected when her jealous friend Trish invites a demon, a persecutor of healers, to steal away Jason’s love for Jackie. The demon causes Jackie to be bullied for the lie she told and puts her best friend, Jason, in danger.

Jackie must learn how to use her gift to protect Jason and herself and to heal the negative energies of those around her. To do so means she must overcome her guilt and accept who she is before the demon claims her soul.

Goodreads Giveaway!!!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/202039-goth-girl-virgin-queen

MY TIDBITS

The beginning of this story grabbed me right away. Jackie's in church with her mom and grandma, and receives a 'vision' of the Virgin Mary. The priceless reactions of all involved set the perfect background for the rest of the book.

Jackie is a very enjoyable character. She's pretty down to earth, especially when one considers her powers. There's a lot of nice character development as she learns to deal not only with those around her, but also how to embrace herself.

The paranormal side to all of this is well done and easy to dive into, giving the entire story an interesting twist. The treachery of a best friend adds a bitter-sweet feel, which made me feel for Jackie. The tension stays high through much of the story, although there are times where the plot slacks a little and grows a bit slow for my taste.

But I recommend this to all YA Paranormal fans who are looking for a slightly different twist.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT

The medicine cabinet mirror—dotted with rust and turning gray—made the powder foundation on Jackie’s face look ashen and her jet-black hair, blurry. She looked like a shadow of a girl. She smeared black lipstick on her lips and shook out her shoulder-length hair. Her straight-cut bangs veiled her mascara-lined eyes, and the layered ends of her hair stuck out in defiant wisps.

Some of the kids at school—the ones she didn’t hang out with—called her Goth Girl. Some, whose memories wouldn’t die, called her VQ for Virgin Queen.

Jackie preferred Goth Girl, to be one of the living dead, to be numb to the emotions that plagued her. But this was what she wanted, not what she got.

Goth Girl or Virgin Queen, she was a freak, absorbing the emotions around her like a sponge. Sometimes the emotions made her sick. Sometimes they made her see things.

Because of this, she kept to a tight-knit group of goth friends—Jason, Zeta, and Trish—and avoided social activities. She attended high school only because Mom wouldn’t let her homeschool. Mom was afraid she’d hang with Babu all day, making piroshki and doing needlepoint instead of studying. Jackie, afraid of what life offered a freak like her beyond high school, had to admit that hanging with Babu all day was tempting.

Typically, Fridays were movie nights for Jason and her, but tonight would be different. Tonight, she’d subject herself to a hodgepodge of emotions from crowds and rides and the very ground she’d walk on to protect Jason. For this, she would need physical and spiritual strength, which she sought from Babu these days.

Babu’s door was cracked, and Jackie slowly pushed the door open. “Babu?”

The room smelled of beeswax and down. A candle burned on the shrine on the dresser. The flickering flame animated the icon of the Virgin of Vladimir and cast shadows across the picture of Babu, Grandma, Mom, and Jackie. Although Babu didn’t speak English, and Jackie didn’t understand much Russian, Jackie knew Babu kept that picture on her shrine to pray for Grandma, who passed away several years ago; for Mom, who divorced Dad; and for the girl who saw the Virgin when she was twelve—for the girl she had become as a teen.

Babu sat in bed, a country quilt spread over her legs, her thumb pressed against a knot of her prayer rope, her head bowed sleepily, and her lips wording prayers.

“I wanted to say goodbye,” Jackie whispered.

Babu crossed herself and then smiled at Jackie, her gold eyetooth shining from the light of the bed-stand lamp. She patted the empty space beside her. “Sadees.”

Jackie sat down beside Babu at the edge of the bed and took Babu’s hand in hers. Babu’s hand was warm and knotted with arthritis. Jackie rubbed her thumb over the bumps on Babu’s knuckles; her black fingernails were a sharp contrast to Babu’s flour-white skin.

She wasn’t afraid to touch Babu’s hands and absorb her emotions. Jackie got a good feeling from her. Babu filled Jackie’s inner vision with white light. She renewed her spirit. And this is what Jackie needed for the commitment she had made for tonight.

“Kooda eedyosh?” Babu asked.

“I’m going out,” Jackie said as if Babu understood her. This is how they communicated: Babu telling her stuff she couldn’t understand, Jackie telling Babu stuff she couldn’t understand. Somehow they carried on fine this way.

“Eedyosh sdroozyamee?”

“I’m going with Jason.”

Babu rubbed the top of Jackie’s hand and ran her thumb over black fingernails. “Fsyevo kharoshevuh,” she said in a comforting tone and gently squeezed Jackie’s hand. Then she cupped her hands around Jackie’s jaws and pulled her forehead to her lips. Jackie imagined Babu’s kiss imprinted on her forehead and carrying Babu’s blessings and love with her tonight.

Book Links

Amazon http://amzn.to/2dIWlaM

Solstice Publishing: http://solsticepublishing.com/goth-girl-virgin-queen

And here she is. . .

JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to the Antarctic. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn't writing or freelance editing, she's obsessively streaming popular TV shows.

Social Media Links:

Website: www.joannekeltner.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6896673.JoAnne_Keltner

Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner

Review: Goth Girl, Virgin Queen by JoAnne Keltner

Goth Girl, Virgin Queen

by JoAnne Keltner

Solstice Publishing

Young Adult Paranormal

298 pages

Calling Jackie Turov psychic makes her cringe. But Jackie’s no normal seventeen-year-old. She picks up emotions from people and objects like a freak. The emotions make her sick, and the guilt she feels for lying to her church when she was twelve causes her to deny her psychic abilities.

So Jackie goes goth to make others stay away from her and forget her past. But her past is soon resurrected when her jealous friend Trish invites a demon, a persecutor of healers, to steal away Jason’s love for Jackie. The demon causes Jackie to be bullied for the lie she told and puts her best friend, Jason, in danger.

Jackie must learn how to use her gift to protect Jason and herself and to heal the negative energies of those around her. To do so means she must overcome her guilt and accept who she is before the demon claims her soul.

MY TIDBITS

The beginning of this story grabbed me right away. Jackie's in church with her mom and grandma, and receives a 'vision' of the Virgin Mary. The priceless reactions of all involved set the perfect background for the rest of the book.

Jackie is a very enjoyable character. She's pretty down to earth, especially when one considers her powers. There's a lot of nice character development as she learns to deal not only with those around her, but also how to embrace herself.

The paranormal side to all of this is well done and easy to dive into, giving the entire story an interesting twist. The treachery of a best friend adds a bitter-sweet feel, which made me feel for Jackie. The tension stays high through much of the story, although there are times where the plot slacks a little and grows a bit slow for my taste.

But I recommend this to all YA Paranormal fans who are looking for a slightly different twist.

Solstice Publishing: http://solsticepublishing.com/goth-girl-virgin-queen

And here she is. . .

JoAnne Keltner!!!

JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to the Antarctic. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn't writing or freelance editing, she's obsessively streaming popular TV shows.



Find out more about her:

Website: www.joannekeltner.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6896673.JoAnne_Keltner

Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner

Giveaway!!!

The author is giving away 5 copies of GOTH GIRL, VIRGIN QUEEN

on Goodreads

here!

Follow the Tour!

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/blog-tour-schedule-goth-girl-virgin.html