Iron Canuck Reviews & More: Review Tour: The Taken by Donette Smith with an excerpt, a giveaway, and my review

THE TAKEN

by Donnette Smith

GENRE: Fantasy/Paranormal/Romance

BLURB:

All Jenna Langley wanted was a chance to finally marry the man of her dreams. But when the spirit of a dead girl shows up at her wedding that only she can see, it becomes clear Jenna’s latest brush with death has caused the heightening of her psychic abilities to reach an unfamiliar and frightening level. Her new husband, Detective Cole Rainwater, vows to do whatever it takes to get to the root of Jenna’s disturbing sightings. But before he can investigate this mystery, his bride is taken right under his nose.

What started as a romantic honeymoon has turned into a fight for Jenna’s life. And the only path to freedom is through the help and guidance of a dead girl who was once the victim of the sex traffickers that have stolen away with Jenna.

Excerpt:

She half sat half fell against the hard ground. Her hands worked their way down her calf, massaging the muscles that cramped so severely she wanted to cry out.

No one would hear her if she did. It was so dark out here. It was getting nearly impossible to tell if she was still following the vehicle tracks. Every patch of ground and tree appeared the same as all the others. There were no landmarks, no breadcrumbs left behind—like in the fairy tales—to ensure she wasn’t running in circles.

It was no use. She didn’t have a clue where she was and wouldn’t know the way out if the answer flew through the darkness at the speed of light and smacked her in the face.

Am I going to die out here?

Tears racked her body, and she lowered her head, shaking it. She was foolish enough to believe she was free when she ran out of that house and put a distance between her and the people in it. But she wasn’t free at all, only locked in a different kind of prison. And the enormous forest swallowing her up wasn’t going to come to her aid.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Although not a native Texan, Donnette Smith has spent more than half her life living in the Lone Star State. She is an entrepreneur and former business owner of Tailor Maid Services LLC. After spending a few years working as a journalist for the Blue Ridge Tribune, she realized her love for writing romantic detective novels. Her stories cover a wide range of genres, from horror, time travel, mystery, fantasy, paranormal, and thriller. But one theme stays the same, there is always a detective solving a crime, and a gorgeous victim he would lay down his life to protect. Donnette’s biggest fascination is with forensic science and crime scene investigations. Her novels include, Cunja, a horror/mystery/suspense that debuted in 2012. Book 1 of The Spirit Walker Series, Killing Dreams, a fantasy/romance story with a paranormal element became available in September of 2021. Book 2 of The Spirit Walker Series, Buried Alive, was published on March 14, 2022. And her latest, book 3 of The Spirit Walkers Series, The Taken.

Links

www.donnettesmith.com

www.facebook.com/authordonnettesmith/

www.twitter.com/Donnettetxgirl

Buy link:

https://books2read.com/u/mdPKv5

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GIVEAWAY

The author will award a golden book box with magnetic closures. Inside will be book 1 of The Spirit Walkers Series, Killing Dreams, and book 2, Buried Alive. One of the books will be autographed. Also in the box will be a specialized bookmarker, the Spirit Walkers Series coffee mug, Chai tea, and a scented, therapeutic candle.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4681/

My Review - 4 of 5 stars -

I enjoyed this tale. I loved how Jenna wanted to overcome some of her fears, and with Cole's help, she did. She accepted the change in her abilities and accepted help from a ghost to survive her ordeal. Cole was sweet with Jenna, though they had their moments of disbelief and disagreement. Their love and attraction to each other was strong and intense. I look forward to more from this author.