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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Messenger by Jan Burke

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pages: 320

From the Cover: Beneath the Caribbean Sea, a salvage diver hears an eerie voice calling to him from the wreckage of a nineteenth-century ship. In return for promised riches, the diver becomes the servant of Adrian deVille, Lord Varre, the creature who has called to him. It's a bargain the diver will come to regret. Varre enlists him in a hunt for a man named Tyler Hawthorne.

Ten years later, in a canyon in the foothills above Los Angeles, Amanda Clarke has become curious about her new neighbor, Tyler Hawthorne. He's not home much, but others tell her that her new neighbor is about her age -- twenty-four. He's also wealthy, handsome, and single.

Amanda soon suspects that another description can be added to the list of Tyler's attributes: con artist. When Tyler shows up at the hospice room of her friend Ron and tells the dying man he'll live, Amanda angrily resents Tyler for giving Ron false hope.

Until Ron begins to recover.....

Captain Tyler Hawthorne lies dying in the mud under his horse in the battle against Napoleon at Waterloo. He's dying, he can distantly feel his injuries when an unknown stranger asks him if he wants to live to fight another day. Tyler doesn't know how he answered the stranger, but YES, he wants to live. There will be costs, the stranger tells Tyler, costs that cannot be paid with money. Do you still want to live? YES, Tyler thinks, I want to live.

Placing a ring upon Tyler's finger, the stranger, Lord Varre who gives Tyler an uneasy feeling of something close to evil, leaves Tyler with instructions on retrieving funds from his agent to help him with his new existence. Shade, Lord Varre's large black dog, chooses to remain with Tyler. Shade is a cemetery dog....

Almost immediately, Tyler feels stronger, feels his grievous wounds begin to heal, and starts hearing the voices of others round him. But those around him are the dead or dying. What is happening to Tyler? As Tyler begins to recover, he feels himself drawn to those who are near death. The dying are asking Tyler to deliver messages to family members. As the last wishes of the dying, Tyler cannot refuse to complete these tasks. Tyler's new existence in life is that of the messenger.

Present day: Amanda has seen Tyler lurking around the hospice. Comforting patients, but what she cannot tolerate is him giving hope to Ron. Ron has been dying of leukemia all these long years. And, Tyler has surely swindled Ron's grandfather, Derek, into selling him Derek's family home. It was kind of Tyler to tell Ron that it was still his home, not that Ron will ever get to enjoy it.

As Tyler walks Shade around the cemetery near his home, he receives a call from the hospice, his services are needed again. After he helps the husband of a dying patient, he checks in on Ron to find Amanda sitting with Ron. She is furious with Tyler for giving false hope. How could this handsome stranger harm Ron is this way. Tyler assures her he is not giving false hope, but he cannot explain, who could tell someone else that the dying have told him it is not Ron's time to die?

On another front, Lord Varre is trying to regenerate from his own grievous wounds incurred centuries ago after one of his ancestors tried to kill him, but Varre is too hard to kill. He is not a normal human with a fragile existence, like Tyler, he is almost immortal. Now, he needs to revive and retrieve that he has given Tyler, his immortality. Many will have to suffer Lord Varre's wrath for the unspeakable act committed against him. Lord Varre will see to it that those who have wronged him received the ultimate punishment...revenge against those who are his own descendants as well.....but he has killed before.....

The Messenger by Jan Burke is another new author for me. It was an enticing story that dealt with ghosts, magic, and immortality. Cemetery dogs to help messengers bring relief for the suffering of those left behind by the dying. It has action/adventure for the adventurous. It has mystery and mayhem for the mystery lovers. It is a contemporary paranormal romance for lovers of romance, with the banter between Tyler and Amanda, and the attraction that is inevitable after Tyler's lonely long existence. Tyler questions his right to have Amanda, cursed as he is with eternal life. She's afraid of dogs, and Shade has and will remain with Tyler for the rest of his unnatural existence. But she is so beautiful and challenging with her quick mind and the ability to accept what others would find unacceptable, making her the forbidden fruit that his body desires. How can he curse her with his love, only to watch her die as he continues to live. Can he watch another loved one perish, look on as she dies leaving him to continue his existence? All these questions and more are answered in The Messenger. This book was a relatively quick read of pure fantasy. If fantasy is your cup of tea, The Messenger will be an appealing book. I enjoyed it immensely wanting the story to continue. For more information about Jan Burke's book, please visit her website.

Since there wasn't a book trailer for The Messenger, I'm adding the trailer for one of my favorite TV shows........The Ghost Whisperer.......Same basic concepts, different sex.



I love watching The Ghost Whisperer.

16 comments:

Michelle Greathouse said...

Dottie,

What an interesting book. Thank you for the wonderful review. I will add this one to my 'TBR' list. :)

Happy Reading,

M

Unknown said...

Hi Michelle!

Pure fantasy reading...I loved it. But not everyone's cup of tea!

Thanks Michelle!

Dottie :)

Blodeuedd said...

Evening Dottie,

Sounds good :D and Great review.
I do love fantasy, but is this my kind of fantasy...hm, interesting

Unknown said...

Hi Blodeuedd!

This was a book recommend by my local librarian. It sat on my shelf for two weeks while I decided if I wanted to read it. I even picked it up to take it back when I decided to read the blurb one more time.

When I read two hundred years of life, I knew I would have to take a peek into the pages to see if it was for me. I discovered a tale that used immortality different than what I was used to. But I liked it. After much waffling, I read it and was entertained by the idea of the messengers carry comfort to the living left by the dying. Not vampires, but still good fun.

Dottie :)
(fantasy, but no castles-which I love, no dukes, no damsels to rescue, no dragons ...*sigh*...can't have everything)

VampFanGirl said...

Beautiful Review Dottie!

You seriously have a way with words girl. :)

This book sounds really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation!

(((hugs))) VFG

Unknown said...

Hi VFG!

Messenger was an interesting read, it wasn't what I thought it would be. It did take me awhile to decide to read it.

After I started it, I couldn't put it down.

Dottie :)

Alaine said...

Hi Dottie, great review! I love the Ghost Whisperer as well. I think we are a little behind her in Australia. Sam still doesn't know he's Sam and is about to leave and look for his 'girlfriend'. Oh, love it!

Houston A.W. Knight said...

Dottie!

I love that Tink has a hero in her life! Cute pic.

Hawk

Unknown said...

Hi Alaine!

I would say you're a little behind us here in America. That was closer to the beginning of our season here.

It crushed my heart when Sam died! I cry with Miranda...it was all so silly....embarrassing for my daughter who watches with me! LOL

Dottie :)

Unknown said...

Hi Hawk!

I couldn't figure out what my blog was missing... it was love, a hero! I only hope Peter Pan remembers he's a gentlemen and I don't open my blog to find he's taken advantage of Tink who is fickle by nature and may decide tomorrow that he's not worthy. LOL

Dottie :)

Houston A.W. Knight said...

LOL,

B-But I thought it was a woman's prerogative to change her mind? I'm on Tink's side ...if she deems him unworthy...then he'd better set up and do right by her and keep her happy! ;-)

xoxox
Hawk

Unknown said...

Hi Hawk!

My feelings exactly...I only want Tink to be happy!! (If it means having Pan around, I'm okay with that!) lolol

Dottie :)

Amy said...

Sounds cool! I love GW as well! I can see you have good taste(gone with the wind, ghost whisperer...)
:-D
How do you do such in depth review? My mind just goes blank:-0
-amy

Anonymous said...

Great review, Dottie!! This book sounds so intriguing. My mom loves anything that involves ghosts, and this sounds like something she'd enjoy. I'll defintely pass the name on to her.

I've watched the Ghost Whisperer on occasion--when the kids and hubby let me, lol--and really enjoyed it.

Also, if neither of us happen to be online this weekend...HAVE A VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Unknown said...

Hi Amy!

Now, I've read your reviews and they are very well done!! Always a well rounded review. I always enjoy reading them, YA is a huge favorite! And you listen to great music.

As to how I write my reviews...I just think about what the book meant to me, how did I feel about it, and how did it make me feel. Then I try to put it into words that express those feelings. It helps that I usually enjoy what I'm reading and I'm not afraid to stop reading a book that isn't right for me. The different genres that I choose keep me from getting bored.

Thanks for visiting Amy, you're such a sweetie!

Dottie :)

Unknown said...

Hi Barbara!!

Happy Mother's Day to you too!!

I think your mom will like The Messenger. I left a lot out about ghosts that visit and what can happen to a messenger who is seduced by the ghosts. And the cemetery dogs were fabulous. It has a happy ending that I loved.

GW is a favorite, but sadly it plays on Friday nights when my daughter's games are played. I watch whenever I can and catch the episodes I miss online or during summer reruns, I knew there was a purpose for those!

Thanks Barbara! You're just too sweet!!

(((hugs)))

Dottie :)

Dottie :)

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