I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Touch of Smoke
by Karissa Laurel
Published by LLC, Red Adept Publishing on February 12, 2019
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Three years ago, Rikki Albemarle watched her best friend die at the hands of a supernatural evil. Certain she was slated to be the next victim, Rikki fled her small Smoky Mountain hometown, vowing to never come back. Plagued by nightmares and knowing she's the only one who believes Mina's death was no accident, Rikki returns with hopes of finding answers and holding the killer accountable.
Rikki is convinced the key to unlocking the secret of Mina's death lies with Owen Amir, the alluring young army vet who once claimed her heart. But the deeper Rikki digs into Owen's past, the more she's torn between the urgings of her heart and her memories of him on the night Mina died.
After falling further into the rabbit hole, Rikki lands at the feet of an ancient and powerful evil determined to finish what it started years before. To survive, she'll have to make a decision: believe Owen is the monster she always feared he might be or trust him enough to stay and fight for a second chance at love.
Do you believe in second chances?
Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel is all about second chances and what happens after losing faith. The main character is Erika Albemarle, who is a twentyish nurse working oncology coming home to face what she left behind three years or so ago.
Erika Albemarle
Erika Albemarle is the only character’s head that we get into. She is the one that takes us through from the beginning to the end. Rikki, as she likes to go by and not Erika, is the only daughter of the local sheriff who is her mom, and has lived her whole life in her small town before moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina three years before the start of the book. She is a force to be reckoned with and stubborn to boot. There is a lot of things that Rikki goes through in the book, and she is continually growing.
What I like about Rikki is that she is a fighter, and will get control of her life again even if it means coming back to the one place she never wanted to return. Another great thing about her is that she will make an effort to forgive, which shows lots of compassion. Rikki is a survivor. The one thing that I dislike about her is a spoiler, so I can’t tell.
Owen Amir
Owen Amir, while not voicing his thoughts the way Rikki does, is the cause of all her grief for the past three years. He hasn’t meant to do anything to harm Rikki, but in a way, he did when he made a choice in Iraq that he has regretted. Owen is complex and stubborn to boot that makes it hard to get him to open up. He does eventually, and it might work for him and Rikki.
What I like about Own is he tries to be a good man while letting Rikki have her space. He truly loves Rikki, and it shows a lot when he is around her or doing things that she would want him to do. I couldn’t find anything that I didn’t like about him except his stubbornness.
Four Stars
I am giving Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel four stars and recommending it to everyone that reads paranormal romance. This story is all about second chances along with paranormal taking a spin in Rikki’s life. These two deserved more than they got. The one thing that got me is that it was slow in the beginning. Then the way it moves from being in the present and jumping into the past for three to four chapters to go back to the present with one chapter made the flow seem out of sorts. I think if we got the past at the beginning of the book then did a part two with the present might have worked better.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Karissa Laurel
Karissa Laurel has tried her hand at many things — cooking/catering, law, art — but writing makes her the happiest.
When she’s feeling brave, she’s on the slopes or riding off-road motorcycles with her guys. When she’s less adventuresome, she’s on the couch with her nose buried in a book.
She lives in North Carolina with her kid, husband, occasional in-law, and a hairy husky named Bonnie.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
Thank you for the great, in depth review. I really appreciate your detailed thoughts and insight. It means a lot to me that you took the time.