Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Portal's Choice and The Inn of the Kindred Spirits by KD Pryor Reviews



Date Published: 5/6/2013
Young Adult Paranormal / Horror

Journal, just in case . . .
I didn’t ask to meet ghosts. Shoot, I was fine without them in my life. Uncle Craig and Hannah were nasty to me, but at least I knew how to handle living pains in the butt. Now I have to figure out how to open and close a portal between the human and spirit worlds. And I have to find and return a bunch of angry ghosts through the gateway and lock them on their side. I don’t know why the portal chose me to do this, a fifteen-year-old kid with no ghost busting experience. But it did. And if I want a ghost-free night’s sleep anytime soon, I’d better figure out how to get the job done. Because I’ve about had it with murderous ghouls and their unpleasant agendas.  “Signed Tallis Challinor”
When Tallis Challinor has to move a second time after the death of her parents, she hopes it is for good. She and her brother are ready to settle into a stable home situation with their Aunt Gabbie and her husband, Noreis. But what should have been a happy reunion is plagued with problems when Noreis opens a portal between the spirit and human worlds located in the basement of their house in New Hampshire. 
Tallis is a practical kid. She doesn’t believe that ghosts exist. But she can’t deny what she sees with her own eyes and the two ghosts Tallis meets at Thanksgiving in the basement of her aunt’s house are definitely not figments of her imagination, although she wishes they were. Tallis is unwittingly drawn into the portal’s energy when one of the ghosts fixates on her and forces her to assist in the release of three particularly nasty spirits. As a final blow, the portal chooses Tallis as a temporary gatekeeper and she finds herself charged with the duty of returning the very ghouls she’s set free, plus a few of their buddies, back to the spirit realm.  
As Tallis learns the secrets of the portal and begins to understand her newly acquired power, she formulates a plan to return the ghosts. Along the way, she receives help from many new friends who fill in the details about the identity of the escaped spirits, providing a possible motive for the outrageous actions of the escaped ghosts. Tallis must learn to trust herself and others as she taps into her inner courage to get the job done and save her town from the angry restless dead set. 
My Review:
This was a really good ghost story. I loved the first bool when the portal chooses it protector. There is a lot of introductions in the first book, and it is done in a way that I felt I was just reading along about the story. There are 484 pages and they were filled with the supernatural. There are ghosts, escaped ghosts, someone dies, and of course mean relatives. Noreis was not Tallis's friend, but Tallis soons learns more about her uncle and she starts to understand him. Their relationship was a lot like many family relationships, except the whole ghost thing. Aunt Gabbie reacts like I think most people would if they saw ghosts. My favorite part of this series are the crystals that the gatekeepers use. I would love pictures of the crystals in a future book. I also really liked that help came from unexpected places. I am giving The Portal's Choice a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.

BUY LINKS

Barnes and Noble:  http://bit.ly/12xWOv4


Book #2  The Inn of the Kindred Spirits
Brittany, France. Near the coast. A picturesque inn. Spectacular scenery. Tasty French treats. Time off from school.
Tallis Challinor imagines this as the perfect vacation scenario, so when her grandfather suggests that she accompany him to the country of her ancestors, she is more than happy to tag along. What Tallis doesn’t bargain on is another ghostly encounter, especially not so soon after she’s sealed up a bunch of unruly ghosts on their side of the portal between the human and spirit realms. But, when she feels the energy radiating from the megalithic standing stones dotting the countryside around Carnac, France, an energy that feels frighteningly like the power exuding from the portal in her basement back home, she has a feeling she might be in trouble.  And she is right.
When her grandfather goes missing, Tallis leaps into action. She calls the only ghostbuster she knows in France and, with help on the way, she gears up to battle another set of spirits bent on causing destruction. Along the way, Tallis is forced to examine her life, her relationships, and her tightly-held beliefs about who she is and where she comes from.  She also has to juggle two impossible males, both attractive but annoying, both seemingly set on driving her nuts or breaking her heart.

My Review:
This sequel/ novella was really good, because it was about Tallis and her grandfather, which we did not really know that much about. There were so many interesting things about her grandfather, including how he got married. There were more ghosts, more crystals, and we got to find out about other gatekeepers. This was almost 180 pages, which I thought was a little long for a novella, but it was full of supernatural activities! I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.

K.D. Pryor
KD Pryor started life in Missouri, where she read lots of books, even sneaking them into baseball games to the irritation of her father. Kelley graduated with a degree in International and Comparative Studies from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. After college and marriage to a great guy, she decided to pursue a law degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Her oldest son was born soon after law school, followed three years later by her daughter and a move to Kentucky. One more son, a move to Ohio and four years later, her family jumped on the opportunity to move to India. They lived in Bangalore, now Bengaluru, for four wonderfully chaotic years, traveling all over Asia, Australia and Europe. 

Now, settled in New Hampshire with her family and herd of cats (only three), she can often be found in her office, working on the next installment of “The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean” series, reading one of a dozen books she has started, and dreaming of her future travel destinations.

“The Portal’s Choice”, book one in “The Gatekeeper’s of Em’pyrean” series featuring Tallis Challinor, was released on May 6, 2013.

“The Inn of the Kindred Spirits”, a novella featuring protagonist Tallis Challinor, was released in November, 2013.

“The Forgotten Gate”, book two in “The Gatekeeper of Em’pyrean” series, is scheduled for release in 2014.




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