Susan Kearney

BEYOND MAGIC is a paranormal romance anthology featuring the authors Susan Kearney, Elaine Cunningham and Kassandra Sims, with stories ranging from an astral projection across the stars to psychics and witches.

Kearney's The Shimmering, the astral projection story, is fast moving and packed with sexual heat. I thought that the female lead was a little bit undecided in how to approach being sent across the stars to a new body—or more accurately her response to the man of her dreams (literally), but overall I found the story interesting. It didn't end how I thought it would, the story itself felt like it was setting up for a different kind of reveal than it did, but it was a satisfying ending with only one flaw. The 'murder' that Daveck punishes himself over is flimsy, and he admits that if things had gone as they should it wouldn't have happened. His logic is flawed; if he really was this brute of a man, why would his people look to him for leadership and protection?

Cunningham's Beyond Dreams, featuring a reluctant medium and former psychic spy, reads like an action-romance. Spies, psychics, and homicide make this an interesting little mystery to sort out. I liked both leads; despite a bitterness in their past relationship, the both of them met as mature adults who didn't let the past ruin the investigation they both were involved with. And they were both big enough to realize the fault wasn't entirely one or the other's. I only felt the ending left a lot of loose ends and I can only hope there is a sequel in the offing at some point in the future.

Sims' Hill and Sky is an entirely different story from the other two. The story itself is divided into two parts; part one describes the world, the inhabitants and basic precepts. Part two moves into the meat of the story, the tracking and investigating of whomever is killing the Fey creatures in Nashville. I enjoyed this story immensely, not just because it flowed in a such a way as to remind us that it's set in the South, but because scattered throughout, each character tells a story or several serve as allegories for themselves or others. The stories are as unique and different as the characters are from each other. The romance in the story is both fast and immediate, but slow and subtle enough to make the tension feel drawn out.

Overall the stories included seem to have little connection beyond the paranormal element. The stories also seem to be different facets and stages of a romance. The Shimmering is that immediate attraction you feel at first sight, Beyond Dreams is lovers reunited and Hill and Sky is about love that isn't simple or fast, but complex and slow. All in all a wonderful anthology to cozy up to and enjoy.… (more)

In the seventh book of the Heroes Inc. series, FBI agent Amanda Lane is investigating a cruel, smarmy man since she believes he’s responsible for the death of her sister and other crimes she can’t prove. The man, Hathaway, owns a popular fashion-modeling agency and women can’t control themselves around him. Quite literally. He has a strange, unnatural ability to make any woman he wants fall into lust and beg him to sleep with her.
Bolt Tanner, an undercover Shey Group agent, is looking for a missing perfume bottle that’s rumored to enhance the paranormal powers of its owner. Luckily for both him and Amanda, she is partially immune to Hathaway’s evil charms, but that only draw’s the bad guy’s attention. As they work together, love blooms. But can Amanda trust her feelings while under Hathaway’s influence?
This is a very unusual romance novel. The sexual tension between Amanda and Bolt was off the charts. Though Amanda struggled to repel Hathaway, the scenes between them were hot too. Amanda is a very strong character and I loved her determination to not give up. Bolt is so understanding and truly a decent person, even when another man is turning on the woman he loves.
Though I liked the story, the pacing dragged a little and there was a lot of repetition. There were a lot of sex scenes, too, but given the nature of the plot, the number is understandable.
The ending didn’t make sense to me. I don’t want to give too much away, but Amanda shoots Hathaway and the cops didn’t arrest her. (She wasn’t carrying her badge.) Then the cops find proof that he killed her sister. In the real world, she would’ve been in handcuffs since she had motive to kill him.
Anyway, I enjoyed the plot about the paranormal bottle, the H/h’s search for it, and for the couple’s great chemistry.
3 Stars… (more)