Book Details:
Book Title: Loreena’s Gift by Colleen M. Story
Category: Adult fiction, 350 pages
Genre: Literary with Fantasy/Supernatural elements
Publisher: Dzanc Books
Release date: April 12, 2016
Available for review in: print and ebook (PDF)
Will send print books: USA
Tour dates: July 18 to Aug 5, 2016
Content Rating: PG -13 + M (There is some profanity and short sexual assault scene.)
 
A BLIND GIRL’S TERRIFYING “GIFT” ALLOWS HER TO REGAIN HER EYESIGHT–BUT ONLY AS SHE FERRIES THE RECENTLY DECEASED INTO THE AFTERLIFE.
Loreena Picket thinks she knows herself. A blind young woman who lives with her uncle, a reverend at a small-town church, she’s a dutiful niece and talented pianist for the congregation.
But they’re both hiding a terrible secret. Loreena can kill people with the touch of her hand.
While her uncle sees her as an angel of mercy, helping usher the terminally ill members of his flock into the afterlife, Loreena has her doubts.
Torn between doing her uncle’s bidding and the allure of the fleeting moments when her eyesight returns on the journey to the other side, Loreena cooperates with her uncle until her troubled older brother returns to town. When she reveals her power by saving him from a local drug dealer, she is drawn into a sinister and dangerous world that will test the true nature of her talent and force her to consider how far she is willing to go to survive.
An exciting debut that crosses fantasy and literary fiction,Loreena’s Gift is a thought-provoking meditation on life and death and what ultimately lies beyond this world.
Colleen M. Story writes imaginative fiction and is also a freelance writer, instructor, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her latest novel, “Loreena’s Gift,” was released with Dzanc Books April 12 2016. Her fantasy novel, “Rise of the Sidenah,” is a North American Book Awards winner, and New Apple Book Awards Official Selection (Young Adult). She is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) a motivational site for writers and other creatives.
Connect with the author:
Website  ~ Twitter
My review:
Somewhat of a classic good versus evil, the book has a great plot, the story flows at a good pace and the characters are well-developed.
A young girl who at 9 loses her mother and her eyesight in a tragic accident. If that were not enough, she suddenly discovers that she is ‘gifted’ with a curse – people die with a touch of her hand. Her uncle convinces her to use this for good – helping terminally ill people transition into the after life.
When her brother, who is estranged from their uncle, suddenly turns up, Loreena is compelled to help him and so is drawn into violence and evil circumstances. How she uses her ‘gift’ to survive, is what makes the story so absorbing.
I like the way the author handled the story to make it entirely believable despite the supernatural elements in it.
Loreena’s character evolves beautifully from a tentative young girl to a woman, who when confronted with difficult circumstances, proves her mettle. The other characters in the story are well portrayed too.
Although I’m not too keen on reading books in a PDF format, I couldn’t stop reading this one once I started.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review