Deadly Pretenses New Adult Paranormal Romance
Independently Published
August 7, 2020
279
Genesis Long and Sebastian Campbell are childhood sweethearts that meet their untimely end in a tragic car accident that occurs on the night of their Senior Prom. But one year later, their spirits continue to haunt their beloved town of Savannah, desperate to be reunited in the afterlife. But is a happy ending all they seek, or does their unfinished business have much deeper, darker roots?
Colette Vaughn is the new girl in town, a Chicago transfer who moves into Genesis’ old house and is thrust into this ghostly universe. Haunted by the undead lovers, she is desperate to unbury the secrets surrounding their deaths, all while trying to prevent herself from falling for Abel Campbell, Sebastian’s mysterious and handsome younger brother.
As the truths are revealed, Colette also discovers an unknown ability that threatens to disrupt both the living…and the dead.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Genesis Long and her boyfriend, Sebastian Campbell, were both killed returning home from senior prom when their car crashed. From the age of seven, the two were in each other’s lives. When they were old enough, their relationship turned into a romantic one. Just when their future lay ahead of them, it came to a tragic end.
It has been a year since Genesis and Sebastian’s death; now a new family is moving into her old home. Colette Vaughn’s father has a job transfer from Chicago to Savannah, Georgia, a move everyone but Collette was happy about. She has a younger brother and sister, too young to have their lives altered. Colette was in her senior year of high school and now has to adjust to a new home, a new city, and a new school.
Unfortunately, Colette has no idea how drastically her life will change until she passes a cemetery on the way to their new home. Standing outside the gates is a young girl wearing a ripped blue gown and is very, very dead. There is no doubt she is dead because she was physically torn apart. That should be enough to scare any seventeen year old, but the ghost begins to visit her at home begging her for help.
At her new school Colette is introduced to Kinsley Miller who has been instructed to show her the ropes. Kinsley is “that” girl, the one that everyone listens to, the one that always gets what she wants. She has decided that Colette will be her new best friend. Before long, Colette discovers who has been haunting her: Kinsley’s best friends Genesis and Sebastian. Sebastian wants something from Colette and everything about him is evil. Was their car accident just an accident or was it murder?
Abel Campbell, Sebastian’s brother, becomes attached to Colette. He insists their meeting was no accident and there is a fire burning between them. Abel has secrets which he refuses to reveal. No matter how many times Colette questions him about his brother, and why she is seeing his and Genesis’ ghosts, he insists he can’t tell her yet. Eventually, the secrets get bigger and bigger and Sebastian seems to want something from Colette. What he wants is not going to be good.
I have to admit that there were times when I just wanted answers and some of those answers came at the end, but of course so many more to learn. In addition to that, the book ended in a way that I absolutely hate “to be continued”. However, I did very much enjoy the story, the characters, and the mystery behind Genesis and Sebastion’s death and what part Abel plays in everything. I hate cliffhangers because it is anyone’s guess when the next installment will come out. I hope where this series is concerned it is sooner rather than later.