Wraith by Gwenan Haines - Book Tour & Review + Giveaway
Wraith
by Gwenan Haines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: fantasy
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BLURB:
Sixteen years ago, Kira Chiklak’s mother promised her a miracle on Christmas morning.
Instead, she woke to the news her brother was gone forever. The Alaskan pilot’s dreams have
always told her the future but have never revealed the secrets of her past.
Now Kira’s dreams are warning her another child in Amarok is in danger of meeting the same fate
Now Kira’s dreams are warning her another child in Amarok is in danger of meeting the same fate
as her brother. As Kira races to save Annie Michaels’ life she comes to believe her past and Annie’s
future are inextricably linked.
The last thing Hunter Jackson expects to do during Spring Break is unravel a mystery.
The last thing Hunter Jackson expects to do during Spring Break is unravel a mystery.
When Kira asks for his assistance, he can’t refuse her request. But can he help her protect
Annie when his own heart is at risk?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Amarok, Alaska
There are two kinds of dreams. Dreams that come true and dreams that don’t.
When I say that to most people they think I’m talking about wishes. What I want out of life,
like going to college or getting married or having kids. They think I’m wondering about the future
or maybe reflecting on things that happened in the past. They don’t say it to my face but I know
they’re thinking
about my brother. I know they’re thinking of the dream of our family that died when he disappeared.
That’s not what I mean. Because when I dream at night, some of my dreams are just like everybody
else’s. The kind where you’re taking a final you didn’t study for or you have to recite the lines to a
play you didn’t know you were cast in. Or the senseless dreams everybody has where your mother
turns into a stranger but you know it’s really your mother and you’re at your
house and it’s definitely your house even though it looks completely different. Then you wake up
and try to sort it all out and sometimes you can but more often you can’t so you just forget about it.
I have dreams like that all the time. In fact, most of my dreams are dull as white rice. Or maybe just
plain weird. But none of those dreams ever come true.
Sometimes I have the other kind of dream though. When I was four I dreamt of my father floating
beneath the water surrounded by cool green light. It closed over him as he sank farther and farther
from the surface until at last he stopped struggling and disappeared inside the
darkness. I woke in the night, his bright eyes still before me, and cried out. My mother came running
and smoothed my hair back from my forehead. “It’s just a nightmare, Kira,” she whispered.
“Your father will return in the morning. Go back to sleep.”
I told her it was more than that, but she didn’t believe me. Not that I blame her.
She couldn’t imagine the Great Spirit would take her husband from her after he had already
called back her only son. When the fishermen found my father’s boat drifting on the ocean the
next day my mother refused to believe it. “He’ll be back,” she told them, even after two weeks
had passed with no sign of him. “Wait and see.”
After two months went by and the ice began to freeze up for the winter she finally held a funeral for him.
That was sixteen years ago and some nights she sits out on her porch with her eyes fixed on the
sea as if he’ll still sail back to her.
I never waited for my father. I knew my dream of him was the kind that comes true.
My brother is a different story. I’m the one waitingfor him to come back to us someday. I’m the one
who knows he’s not really dead, whatever my mother says. The dreams tell me so and I believe them.
Unlike most of the people I know, they haven’t lied to me yet.
Lately I hadn’t been dreaming about my brother, I’d been dreaming about Annie.
Annie was the four-year-old daughter of Liv and Gavin Michaels, the couple who ran the
Blue Moon Café in town. It was more of a restaurant than a café but the Michaels had relocated to
Alaska from New York City and I guess they missed the whole urban mood. Or maybe they were
trying to recreate it in Amarok. Yeah, good luck with that guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Review
Wraith is a novella set in the Shadow World series by Gwenan Haines. It tells the story of Kira Chiklak,
who lost her younger brother years ago. One moment he was outside in the snow, and the next...gone.
Kira, though, has never believed her brother was dead. You see, Kira has dreams that show her
the future.
In fact, she predicted her own father's death, even though no one believed her.
Now, years later, Kira's been having dreams again. Dreams of a little girl being snatched away.
She knows they're related to her brother's disappearance, but she's unsure how.
Enlisting the help of her friend Hunter, Kira embarks on a journey to not only unravel the mystery
behind her brother's disappearance, but also to keep the little girl in her dreams safe from the same
exact fate.
Wraith is a quick, exciting read. It draws you in and doesn't let go until the very end, and even then,
it leaves you hanging for more. It's that good.
I really enjoyed the supernatural-y/paranormal-y elements, along with the mystery that was woven
into the plot. It made the book all the more enjoyable to me.
I also liked the characters who were introduced in the book. Kira is, at her core, a normal girl who just
wants to take each day as it comes. Unfortunately, she has these prophetic dreams she can't ignore.
I liked her character, because even though she doesn't have to pay any heed to her dreams,
she does whatever it takes to take on the mystery and solve it before it's too late.
Overall, Wraith is a really good read that I quite enjoyed. I'm looking forward to more of the series,
and I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this author as one to watch.
I give Wraith 4.5 stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Review
Wraith is a novella set in the Shadow World series by Gwenan Haines. It tells the story of Kira Chiklak,
who lost her younger brother years ago. One moment he was outside in the snow, and the next...gone.
Kira, though, has never believed her brother was dead. You see, Kira has dreams that show her
the future.
In fact, she predicted her own father's death, even though no one believed her.
Now, years later, Kira's been having dreams again. Dreams of a little girl being snatched away.
She knows they're related to her brother's disappearance, but she's unsure how.
Enlisting the help of her friend Hunter, Kira embarks on a journey to not only unravel the mystery
behind her brother's disappearance, but also to keep the little girl in her dreams safe from the same
exact fate.
Wraith is a quick, exciting read. It draws you in and doesn't let go until the very end, and even then,
it leaves you hanging for more. It's that good.
I really enjoyed the supernatural-y/paranormal-y elements, along with the mystery that was woven
into the plot. It made the book all the more enjoyable to me.
I also liked the characters who were introduced in the book. Kira is, at her core, a normal girl who just
wants to take each day as it comes. Unfortunately, she has these prophetic dreams she can't ignore.
I liked her character, because even though she doesn't have to pay any heed to her dreams,
she does whatever it takes to take on the mystery and solve it before it's too late.
Overall, Wraith is a really good read that I quite enjoyed. I'm looking forward to more of the series,
and I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this author as one to watch.
I give Wraith 4.5 stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gwenan Haines lives in New England with her daughter and a Siberian husky born on Halloween.
She’s been hooked on suspense ever since her mom read her an old Nancy Drew mystery when
she was five years old. She also loves romance and fantasy. Her paranormal novella, WRAITH,
and novel, SHIFT, the first two installments in the SHADOW WORLD series, are under contract
with Wild Rose Press's fantasy line. When she’s not plotting her newest mystery, she teaches
community college and writes lots of poetry.
Blog
Amazon Author Page
Facebook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Gwenan Haines will be awarding $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn
winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
26 Comments
Congrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteI liked the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks - glad you liked it.
DeleteGreat review...thanks!
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ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon! I sure appreciate all the hard work you put into bringing us great giveaways. Thanks so very much!
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