Book Review: Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall

This story grabs you from the first sentence and keeps up a nice fast pace - good entertainment..

Echo Falls

by Jaime McDougall

• File Size: 285 KB
• Print Length: 240 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (July 15, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005FQN2A4

Genre: Paranormal Romance

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Product Description
Running from a nightmare stalking her every move, Phoebe Martin arrives in Echo Falls hoping she has finally found a safe place to stop. But trouble has a way of catching up and soon the signs are there.

After a vicious attack in an alley, policeman Aidan O'Bryan is left with Phoebe as his only path to understanding why the Echo Falls werewolf pack - his pack - is being attacked. When another pack member is killed, Phoebe is forced to confront her past before she loses Aidan and everything she has come to love.

Love and duty become one as Aidan strives to prevent Phoebe from becoming the next victim. But with Phoebe just as determined to protect Aidan and her new home, secrets from her past threaten to tear them apart.

Will love give Phoebe the strength to trust Aidan and face her fears, or will her past destroy her future?

Review:  This is a fast paced read with warm characters.
Phoebe has recently moved to Echo Falls and is hoping to stay and set up a photography business. She thinks she has finally out run the trouble that has chased her. Unfortunately she is attacked and soon learns that there is a murderer in town. Although not certain at first she does suspect that the killer, hunter, has followed her. But Phoebe is alone and has never had the responsibilities or protection of a pack.

Aidan is the local werewolf pack leader and a police officer. He rescues Phoebe from a fierce attack then tries to question her to see if she remembers and is alarmed by the ‘non human’ combatants.  It is quite clear that Phoebe doesn’t want to be questioned, doesn’t want help and is hiding secrets.  Though Phoebe may not be part of his pack, Aidan has determined that he wants to protect her.

As more lone weres are killed it appears that the killer has a partner within the pack.  When one of Aidan’s own pack friends dies the betrayal becomes even more painful.

I really liked Phoebe’s strength and determination. Unfortunately her decision not to reveal facts hinders the investigation and her insistence on not seeking help only puts herself and others at risk. 

Aidan is just what you’d look for in an alpha male: strong, dedicated and protective. He is a warm character with friends who support him even when times are troubled. Phoebe may have to find out if he will forgive her for her secrets and the danger that has followed her to his community.

The ‘hunter’ is a nasty piece of work and is portrayed well.  He has some oily charm but underneath is a shallow brute.  It is fairly easy to guess which member of the pack is helping him. Even though the mystery is revealed pretty quickly, the danger of the situation kept my attention hoping that Phoebe really could find a way to defeat the killer. Not likely, but I give her points for deciding to stop running and stand her ground. 

The writing flowed well with good action and interesting and warm characters. The romance is sensual and tasteful. I enjoyed this quick read and would like more stories by Ms. McDougall. I recommend this to those who enjoy warm werewolf stories with a little mystery and lots of danger.

The Hook:
Keep running, keep running, keep running. Location 21.

Smooth ease in the writing:
She silently told it [her growling stomach] to be quiet, wanting the easy drift of sleep for just a while longer. Location 54-55

Thank you to the author for providing the ebook to read and review.

I'm not positive but I believe the location is in Washington for my Where are you Reading Challenge. I will include this in my ARC challenge.

Book Review: So You Want to Write a Guest Blog? by Jaime McDougall

This is a very informative resource tool for authors!

So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author's Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging by Jaime McDougall.

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 210 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0052F477U

     Genre:  How To/ Nonfiction
     My Rating:  4.5 of 5.0

Product Description
The publishing world keeps on changing and, now more than ever, it is important for authors to have a presence on the internet. But where do you start? So You Want to Write a Guest Post is an easy to follow guide that will help you connect to bloggers and to write guest posts that get potential readers interested in your book.

Review: I wish many authors would read this informative pamphlet and at $0.99 it is money well spent!
Jaime works with promotions at Pump Up Your Book so she has first hand experience to add to this work. Jaime approaches the Guest Post topic in an easy format with concise explanations, examples and suggestions.  I can say that as a reviewer (and publisher) I would love to see authors read and follow this informative guide.  I know from experience as a reviewer and as a small publisher, with new and backlist authors, that it is surprising how many authors have no clue what it takes to promote their book.  The publisher hopefully will give help in promoting but the larger burden these days falls on the author.  The bottom line of success may well be a result of the author's own efforts to promote their book.

This “How to” is short and easy to read but FULL of good advise. Here are some, but not all, of the items covered and my brief comments regarding the topics:
•    The Purpose of Guest Posting - Jaime briefly but assuredly expresses why authors should be concerned about Guest Posting.
•    Finding, Researching and Contacting Hosts - Jaime sets out something that should be basic but isn’t necessarily clear to authors... research the blog hosts you submit to. She provides tips where to research too.
•    When Contacting the Blogger - Jaime provides wonderful suggestions and samples to help make a professional contact with the right Blog hosts.
•    When Words Count: The Importance of Word Count in Your Post - I agreed strongly with Jaime’s suggestions in this section.  It is not all about word count but it does matter.
•    Selling Your Book Without Selling - As Jaime notes, the Guest Post is not to be just an ad for buying your book.  It is a tool to draw a reader in let them know about the author and the book and to direct and encourage the reader to buy the book. This is a time when courtesy and subtlety are nice.
•    FAQ: Is Using a Guest Post More Than Once Okay - Jaime discusses the pros and cons and some etiquette rules of this question in a unique way that I liked. I recently followed an Author Blog Tour which included a giveaway. I was a little surprised to see repeats of the same GP during the one tour.
•    What to Do After the Post is Live - Jaime provides input on what to do with your post including announcing your post and making contacts to encourage visits.
•    The Do and Don’t List - Jaime does a nice summary of the dos and dont’s for a quick guide and wrap up.
•    Guest Post Ideas - Jaime provides some topic examples and suggestions that could help an author begin to prepare guest posts or expand on their repertoire of posts.

This is a wonderful resource tool and I encourage authors to use it to help their promotional efforts be more efficient and effective.

I received the eBook from the author for an honest review.

Jaime asked me to add a footnote on this tour blog:  
'Thanks to the wonderful reviewers who have hosted me on this tour, I will be coming out with a revised edition in August with more content'. :)