Kathleen Suzette Harsch

About 1/2 way into writing DREAMING DANGEROUSLY, I knew I wanted to write a sequel. I also knew I wanted it to be mostly from Will's point of view. So, in DARKNESS DESCENDS, Will is the main protagonist. Something is up with Cassie. Although she is trusting him more, she is still keeping something from him and it's driving him crazy.

Yet, Will is guilty of keeping stuff from Cassie, too, like the existence of other Children of the Psi, teens with special abilities, like them. I also wanted Will and Cassie to get an inkling of where their abilities come from. In fact, that is Will's major quest.

I think from here I'm going to copy and paste what I said on Goodreads about this book:

This book takes over where DREAMING DANGEROUSLY ended - Cassie's Dream #12, where she encounters a man who is mind-stalking her and Will in her dreams.

Ashley Wilder also plays a big role in this book, as Will learns more about her secrets (why she wears gloves and hides behind dark clothing and make-up).

Some exciting hints:

A young man with a Phoenix tattoo stalks them.

Cassie is having dreams about the dark presence and a little girl with psi abilities in a hospital.

Will is going to fly through the air a few times, but not because he wants to! :D

The young man with the tattoo also wants Cassie and Will to do something for him - I believe kidnapping is a first degree felony, right?… (plus d'informations)

I began writing DREAMING DANGEROUSLY three years ago after having a dream about a high school girl and a guy talking, while sitting on a gym floor. Suddenly, he discovers she is telepathic, like him. He is so excited by this that he kisses her in the middle of gym class. I woke up and started writing at four in the morning, until I had recreated the dream in words.

Then, I started thinking about to develop the characters. I read my old diaries from high school to remember what I was like in high school. I was popular, but shy, almost painfully shy. I started thinking about how telepathy would affect Cassie as a person, how that would mold her. It would be cool to know what other people are thinking, but many times thoughts can be destructive and negative. Also, what would happen if you heard a room full of thoughts all at one time? It could either drive you crazy or give you massive migraines.

So, I decided that although Cassie uses her telepathy to her advantage, she has to keep careful control over it. I also had to show what happens to her when she loses control. How it affects her mentally and physically. Cassie was very difficult to get to know even though I created her. She was difficult because she is so secretive. She's friendly, most of the time, but she's also very closed-off to people at times. She's scared that if anyone finds out she is telepathic, they will never trust her again, and she will be left all alone. This is one of the biggest fears of all humans, but especially high school students. Everyone wants to be accepted, and that is something Cassie strives for.

Meanwhile, her complicated relationship with Will begins to change her abilities. She starts to have dreams about the people she knows, nightmares that begin to come true in frightening ways. She knows she needs to stop the future she sees from happening, but she needs Will's help. This is what she has the most difficulty with, learning to trust him before it's too late. People change when they are in relationships, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. What if those two people had paranormal abilities? Wouldn't they influence each others abilities?

I loved that possibility. Dreams were a logical choice for me, since I've always been fascinated by dreams. I've always had extremely vivid dreams, some of them cool and some of them horrifyingly scary. When I was 19, I had a dream which predicted my father's death. I loved creating the character of Will. I wanted him to be just as complicated as Cassie, making mistakes and losing control like she does, but yet fiercely loyal to her, even when she doesn't deserve it.

I hope everyone who reads this book comes away from it thinking about the possibilities that science may bring about someday. What if your senses were enhanced in spectacular ways?… (plus d'informations)

Originally Posted at my Blog Concise Book Reviews by Michelle
http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com/

Publication Date May 28, 2012 by CreateSpace

Warning…. You will be up so late reading this book. I could not put it down. I found myself hiding from the family to leave me alone already, and let me read!! It’s even better than the first book, which I really, really liked. Cassie has grown and matured a lot in this one, and Will has much more to say, in fact, he takes over the reins on this one for the majority of the book. Which I LOVE By the way! I just love Will, he is a nice strong, and interesting character. We also get to find out about some more children of the psi. Some that have been around since the beginning of the first book, and a few new few new ones. I love how Will and Cassie seem to strengthen each other’s abilities, and that their abilities are growing too.

This book starts right were Dreaming Dangerously: Young Adult Science Fiction Thriller leaves off, at dream #12 that Cassie has, and the man that is dream stalking her.
I love that Ashley Wilder has a bigger role to play. Will finds out why she wears gloves all the time for instance. She has some secrets of her own.

Here is a quote from a mystery man, it’s from his point of view, and calls himself Phoenix:

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At first, he didn’t recognize them. He’s only seen Will from a distance, when he was with his grandfather in the shed the other night. He imagined the couple to be more ordinary, to avoid bringing attention to themselves. Instead, the two looked like they’d just walked out of Teen Beat magazine. She was all blonde hair and long legs, wearing some lacy blouse and skirt combo with boots, and he’s jeans and an Abercrombie t-shirt. A short bleached-blonde man arrived with them as well as Will’s grandfather, who carried himself, shoulders back, eyes darting around the room, always aware, always on guard, instinctively knowing where to find the exits.

Love this part, when they are getting some explanations for why they have these abilities.

(Will’s POV, talking to Phoenix/Adam)

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“Your father programmed a protein that’s in our DNA?” Yamil asks. “Get outta here! How could he do that?”
“Nanotechnology,” I tell her (Will)
“Nano Whato?” Yamil asks. “Speak English!”
“It’s technology that’s super small. Atomic sized,” I explain.
Love the Nano Whato, lol, cracked me up. (Yamil is another psi child they find out about)
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“They’re doing that thing again,” Yamil says to Ashley.
“Yeah, where they stare at each other and mind-talk, so we can’t hear it.”

Love these guys; we get some cute funny parts like that from time to time, and some more danger and thrills in this book.

I love how this cover has a transparent photo of I am guessing Will, and the first book a transparent photo of Cassie. At first I did not see that in these covers, but finally noticed it.

So we have:

A tattoo guy mind stalking Cassie and controlling her body remotely.

He wants them to do something for him, which involves a kidnapping, which last time I check is illegal, and Cassie is having vision/dreams that are putting her inside a young girl.

Another mind-stalker which she calls a Dark presence.

Will does not trust this tattoo guy.

Will finds out he has more family that he never knew he had, and wishes they were not his family.

Will does something that will have you freaking out at the end. Big cliffhanger!

I can’t wait until the next book is out. I will be getting it right away.

A must read, anyone who likes a little paranormal with sci-fi will love this book.

Summary:

Will Rossi made two promises to his girlfriend, Cassie, to keep her secret and to keep her safe. But after discovering other psychic teens, he is determined to learn their origin, and when a dark presence threatens Cassie, he must decide to give up his quest or risk losing her.… (plus d'informations)

Originally Posted at my Blog at http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com/

What if you could HEAR thoughts?

Thanks to her ability to mind-drop, Cassie can hear the thoughts of everyone around her. But sometimes her telepathy is more of a curse than a psychic gift, especially when it comes to Will Rossi.

Reason #1: He pushes his thoughts at her, whether she wants to hear them or not.

Reason #2: His sexy, vindictive ex-girlfriend.

Reason #3: His dimples are absolutely, 100% distracting.

To her surprise, Cassie feels drawn to Will's electromagnetic vibes. Yet, as she falls for him, she discovers their relationship has some serious side effects. She begins to have dreams about the future - dreams that come true in horrifying ways.

Cassie needs to learn to trust Will, or she won't be able to prevent the tragedy she sees coming. (Summary from goodreads)

I really, really enjoyed this book, I was pleasantly surprised, but should not have been, but I actually just started reading, really, without reading the summary’s or any reviews. I knew it was a type of book I would like when I first checked it out at Goodreads, and then when I got it, to read, I didn’t refresh my memory, just read.

I was mesmerized right from the start and hooked. Cassie is a great character, and I really love Will. He is a great guy, and has his own ability that Cassie will find out about.
I do not want to give too much away, but to say, it’s a fun, interesting, paranormal/sci-fi romance. I am now reading the 2nd one called Darkness Descends: Children Of the Psi Book 2.

Here is a nice quote, in the beginning when Will is trying to get to know Cassie, before either know about the others abilities, she knows there is something different, as he seems to be able to push his thoughts into her head, when she is keeping her mind closed. He is not aware he is doing it.

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He leans in close to me. His warm breath tickles my ear. “I wonder if you could help me with something.”
“That depends on what that something is,” I mutter. I spoon a peach into my mouth, hoping that he doesn’t notice my hand is trembling. I finally meet his eyes again. They are dark green with flecks of dark brown and gold in them.

“I need a sketch for an art assignment, and I was wondering if I could sketch you,” Will says. The dimple in his chin distracts me.

{Something about her is different. Unique. It’s like I’m pulled toward her. A gravitational pull into her orbit.}

My tongue is paralyzed. I look at Annie, hoping for some help, but she’s still all goey-eyes with Paul.

Between {} parts are her reading his thoughts. It’s nice how its written like this in the whole book, so very easy to tell when something is thoughts being picked up (in book its in italics). Its very interesting, and I am really impressed with the writing.

I don’t even think I seen one typo or anything either.
Overall, great book, interesting, kept my interest, and I would recommend to anyone who likes some light sci-fi/paranormal romances.… (plus d'informations)