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wilko's review
4.0
This is the perfect introduction to Serenity, she has sass, keeps her cool under crazy circumstances and I would not like to meet her in a dark alley if I was the bad guy. After weeks of growing nightmares as well as headaches a surprise call asking her to go to France in order to receive an inheritance and life as she knows it which is already a little bit crazy is about to take on a much crazier turn, we get action, mystery, ghosts, henchmen as well as death and mysterious cults. There are so many great characters including Serenities bestie Zelana is a hoot and love how her bag has literally any you could need, then there is Alister a friend who wants more and has a long history with Serenity, I am still not sure on Cowley who she has just as met glides between being confident and a bit unsure when he is around Serenity and I know he is hiding more there are also a few others who work for Serenity who I cant wait to get to know more and is it wrong I really want Giuseppe to make another appearance?!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
belindaclemons_123's review
5.0
Serenity Blake Paranormal Relic Hunter by Natalie G. Owens is a mix of my all time favorite shows and movies Ghost Whisperer, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and Relic Hunter it even says it on the info page of the paperback book. That is what for me interested in the book and boy it didn't disappoint at all. I just flew through the story. I want more now and this is just a prequel i can't was it to read the original series.
bookwormbunny's review
4.0
Meet Serenity Blake. An average girl who has some paranormal abilities, kick-butt fighter, runs a small store called Hidden Treasures, an antique shop. Serenity is living what she believes to be a relatively average life until she gets a mysterious phone call from Italy. She's told that a distant relative of hers has passed and has left her box that she needs to come and pick up. Serenity has no idea what is really going on, but she decides to go ahead and go. She's warned to come quickly and to not extend her stay once she has acquired what it is that she is coming for. Little does she know that this trip is going to throw her into some serious mess that will lead her to something much much bigger.
Serenity Blake, Paranormal Relic Hunter: The Prequel by Natalie G. Owens is the first book that I have read by this author. When I first saw the cover for this book and read the blurb I was eager to read and see where this story would go. For me, the story starts off slow and awkward and it takes me a bit to get into it. Once the story gets going the storyline has some engaging moments in it. You get the sense that Serenity is a pretty "by the book" kinda girl. She follows the rules of law and works hard to do things right. She's a strong female who knows her way around defense and I like that about her. She's an interesting character overall, and I'm curious to learn more about her.
While I enjoyed this book, for the most part, this book is not without its flaws and issues in my opinion. In my opinion, I feel that this book would have flowed and worked better if it had been told in the first person instead of the third person. The story being told in the third person seems awkward and strange at times. There are moments when I feel that it struggles to move forward like this. Also, I feel that there are several missed opportunities by the author in this book. Serenity has a shock of white hair, and she draws attention to it more than once. I think that the author could have touched on this more than she does. The author hints that Serenity acquired this at a young age, but we don't get any real backstory as to how it occurred or why. For me, this is a missed opportunity to give us some backstory. Also, I view it as another missed opportunity to write some paranormal aspect into the story behind it. A prime example would be - Serenity tried to color it to match the rest of her hair, but come morning it was back to being silver/white again. Also, when she is dealing with her friend after a shocking scene, the author seems to "check out" of the moment. Because the author states "after she helped the woman get situated with her stuff in her lap," it seems like the author is talking about a totally different character than Serenity's best friend.
There isn't a lot of paranormal in this story. Serenity sees and speaks to ghosts and Crowley has some paranormal/mystic abilities himself, but neither of these really take center stage in the story. I won't hide the fact that I was disappointed with this to a degree. I like the interactions of the ghosts and that there aren't just benevolent ghosts flitting around. I like that the author writes in darker entities as well. What I didn't like was when the author has a ghost just pop up out of nowhere in one scene in the story. I literally reread the chapter trying to see if I had missed something and that the ghost had been there all the time. With the ghost popping up into the scene made the situation seem off balance. Why was the ghost there? What was the point of the ghost being there?
While, for me, this story has some issues and flaws I think that the story has potential. It has few to zero editorial issues that I noticed while I was reading. It is an interesting story and I'm curious to see where things go with Serenity and the others because I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Crowley, Allistair and her best friend in the books to come. This story leaves you with more questions than answers, but I'm hoping that as the storyline progresses that we will learn more. Hopefully, we'll get some solid background on who Serenity Blake is, how she came to have/know about her abilities and exactly what is going on.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. The overall story has potential. It has the possibility to become something truly engaging, interesting and unique. I hope that the author is able to tap into that potential and really bring the next story to the next level because the possibility to write something amazing is there.
Serenity Blake, Paranormal Relic Hunter: The Prequel by Natalie G. Owens is the first book that I have read by this author. When I first saw the cover for this book and read the blurb I was eager to read and see where this story would go. For me, the story starts off slow and awkward and it takes me a bit to get into it. Once the story gets going the storyline has some engaging moments in it. You get the sense that Serenity is a pretty "by the book" kinda girl. She follows the rules of law and works hard to do things right. She's a strong female who knows her way around defense and I like that about her. She's an interesting character overall, and I'm curious to learn more about her.
While I enjoyed this book, for the most part, this book is not without its flaws and issues in my opinion. In my opinion, I feel that this book would have flowed and worked better if it had been told in the first person instead of the third person. The story being told in the third person seems awkward and strange at times. There are moments when I feel that it struggles to move forward like this. Also, I feel that there are several missed opportunities by the author in this book. Serenity has a shock of white hair, and she draws attention to it more than once. I think that the author could have touched on this more than she does. The author hints that Serenity acquired this at a young age, but we don't get any real backstory as to how it occurred or why. For me, this is a missed opportunity to give us some backstory. Also, I view it as another missed opportunity to write some paranormal aspect into the story behind it. A prime example would be - Serenity tried to color it to match the rest of her hair, but come morning it was back to being silver/white again. Also, when she is dealing with her friend after a shocking scene, the author seems to "check out" of the moment. Because the author states "after she helped the woman get situated with her stuff in her lap," it seems like the author is talking about a totally different character than Serenity's best friend.
There isn't a lot of paranormal in this story. Serenity sees and speaks to ghosts and Crowley has some paranormal/mystic abilities himself, but neither of these really take center stage in the story. I won't hide the fact that I was disappointed with this to a degree. I like the interactions of the ghosts and that there aren't just benevolent ghosts flitting around. I like that the author writes in darker entities as well. What I didn't like was when the author has a ghost just pop up out of nowhere in one scene in the story. I literally reread the chapter trying to see if I had missed something and that the ghost had been there all the time. With the ghost popping up into the scene made the situation seem off balance. Why was the ghost there? What was the point of the ghost being there?
While, for me, this story has some issues and flaws I think that the story has potential. It has few to zero editorial issues that I noticed while I was reading. It is an interesting story and I'm curious to see where things go with Serenity and the others because I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Crowley, Allistair and her best friend in the books to come. This story leaves you with more questions than answers, but I'm hoping that as the storyline progresses that we will learn more. Hopefully, we'll get some solid background on who Serenity Blake is, how she came to have/know about her abilities and exactly what is going on.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. The overall story has potential. It has the possibility to become something truly engaging, interesting and unique. I hope that the author is able to tap into that potential and really bring the next story to the next level because the possibility to write something amazing is there.
kristella's review
4.0
I enjoyed this prologue to the series. This is the first book I’ve read by Natalie Owens but it won’t be the last. Serenity Blake is more than she seems on the surface. I loved her sass. I think this was a good introduction to the world serenity lives in and I’m intrigued for the next instalment, I hope that the next book continues to build upon and answer some questions left after this book. The writing is good, the character development is good, overall a great solid introduction to a series.
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