Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Review: Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator by Janni Nell


Title: Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator 
Author: Janni Nell 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Number of Pages: 209







Remember the book funk I was in last week? I happened to mention on twitter that I was in one, and  Heather from Book Obsessed Girl  told me to drop everything in my tbr pile and get this book asap. I went on Amazon and saw the cover and title, and went "eh.., I'm not sure." She told me that I wouldn't regret it. Even though this book had a weird name, and a not so pretty cover I read the blurb, and was intrigued:


Allegra Fairweather here. Paranormal investigator. Got problems with specters? Shapeshifters? I'm the woman to call. Just don't call me a Ghostbuster. The last guy who did that ended up flat on his back with my boot at his throat.With my 99.5% success rate, solving the mystery of a bleeding rose that has sprung up on the shores of Loch Furness should have been an easy gig. But already I've heard the shriek of the local banshee, discovered two bodies (and then lost two bodies), and had a near-death encounter with a three-hundred-year-old ghost. And perhaps most dangerous of all, the hot pub owner who hired me now wants to show me exactly what's under his kilt.Luckily, I'm ably assisted by my very own guardian angel. I'm grateful for his help-but he's also drop-dead gorgeous. A bit distracting when I've got a mystery to solve, and the clock is ticking. (From goodreads) 


After I bought the book, I told myself I'd read the first chapter and see what happened. After being in a book funk for 5 or 6 books, I wasn't too optimistic that I'd love this book. However, something funny happened. I couldn't stop reading it. I read until my mouse hand went numb. (I need to get an e-reader!) If I had a more comfortable computer chair, I'm sure I could've read this in one setting. As it was I was up much too late reading this cute novella. Honestly, I can't pinpoint what it is about this novella that made me love it so much.  There isn't anything new to the genre in it, but who can resist a story that has a mysterious loch, a girl with a guardian angel and a gorgeous Scottish boss, and a handful of other fun creatures? (I'd name what they are, but I don't want to ruin the story!)


There were actually two mysteries to be solved-the appearance of the rose (which means there will be a lot of deaths) and the deaths of  a couple of townspeople. Were the deaths of the townspeople caused by the rose, something else paranormal or were there more sinister forces at work? As Allegra works to solve the mystery, she is aided by Douglas, the very hot guy who hired her, and Casper her very own Guardian Angel who only appears when she's in danger-which as it happens is quite a lot. These two guys were great fun to get to know, and I don't want to say more about the romance or the mystery for fear of giving everything away. The townspeople were all a lot of fun, and there were evil bad guys to root against, and fun mythical creatures to cheer for. This is a book that will leave you smiling at the end!

This is just a fun, cute read. It's a little predictable, but not much and I can't stress enough how much I loved this novella! This is one of those times where I feel like I didn't do the book justice with my review.  For a debut novel, it's very impressive and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Curran Crush Meter: Medium
Barrons Hero Hotness Meter: Medium
Rhiannon Kick Ass Heroine Meter: High
Ethan/Merit Sizzle Meter: Medium