Read this review on my blog: http://abnormallyparanormal.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-reviewthe-thirteenth-chime...

Plot: Destiny and her roommate Stephanie are staying with Stephanie's mother in an old Victorian house on the coast of a small Washington State town for the summer. An old grandfather clock has been part of the house since long before any of them ever set foot in it, and it has the tendency to chime thirteen times out of the blue. One night when that thirteenth chime rings out, Stephanie and her mother end up in the hospital. In a panic, Destiny calls her fearless ex-boyfriend, David, out from Cleveland to help her figure out how to unravel this paranormal mystery that has left her completely baffled.

Characters: Destiny is the main character, but a lot of this story revolves around her ex-boyfriend, David. Destiny calls him to fly out from their hometown instead of her fiance, Scott. She feels David is the more capable when she's feeling extreme terror, and David comes through for her. He's a really heroic character who has the tendency to be reckless in the face of danger, but always manages to come out unscathed. He still has feelings for Destiny, but Destiny sends him constant mixed signals as to whether or not she still has feelings for him. That's one thing I don't like about her—she seems to be unable to let him go, yet she is very determined to marry the guy she couldn't even reach out to when in crisis.

Technical Writing: The writing is weak in most areas, but does have some smooth patches here and there. I found countless writer's ticks that grated on me. Also some sentences are worded strangely, and I'm not fond of the clumsy use of adverbs. I have a personal preference for 3rd person-limited POV in adult fiction, yet this one was in 3rd person-omniscient, jumping from one character's head to another and then another, all in one scene. Very confusing and pulled me right out of the story. I think that type of 3rd person POV should only be used for children's fiction, but that's just my opinion.

Storytelling: Besides the likable characters (Stephanie's mother being one of the funniest), I think the story aspect was strong, too. It has an intriguing paranormal mystery premise that got me interested, and it did a great job keeping me just clueless enough to keep on reading to see the characters uncover the mystery. It uses a very different kind of paranormalcy that I've never heard about before, and it may even be the author's clever invention, this “Sense” phenomenon. I think for lovers of mysteries that can be a bit scary—scarier than Scooby-Doo, anyway—this would be a great fit, although, don't expect the rational explanation and the masked bad guy cursing those “meddling kids” at the end.

Overall Quality: It goes down on the technical writing, but back up again because of the effective storytelling and good characters, so it evens out to being average. I wouldn't read this if you hate reading any writing that is less than flawless. But, if you like a great paranormal mystery despite poor writing, then this one might work for you.

Favorite Moment/Scene: It's a spoilery scene at the end when Destiny and David are finally confronted with the spooky clock-dwelling thing that is causing so much trouble in the old Victorian. It was such a relief to finally arrive at that moment and find out what was behind that pesky mystery. ( )

Review to come... ( )

My first thought of this book was wow, what a beautiful cover. It's mysterious and creepy and just perfect for this book. I was excited to read a book about a grandfather clock, because I love them. My grandparents have had the same grandfather clock for as long as I can remember and I just love to look at it. The look and the sound of it is beautiful, and thankfully, theirs only chimes twelve times.
Anyways, the book starts off well. Right away we are introduced to Destiny and Stephanie, who themselves are good characters with just the right amount of character development. None of the characters are overdone in The Thirteenth Chime, nor are they too complex and that makes this particular novel more enjoyable.
The Thirteenth Chime is a debut novel written by Emma Michaels. Emma, I believe, is able to make her story believable and real. She writes with just enough detail to paint a picture of the story, and I was impressed with the picture painted in my head!
I enjoyed this novel and the chilling, eerie feeling I got while reading it. The Thirteenth Chime had me turning the pages so fast and had me yearning for more. It was fun and adventurous. I would recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys solving riddles. And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more novels from Emma Michaels in the near future. ( )

I found this book when I was online one day and saw the trailer on someone’s blog. The trailer is awesome and I was immediately intrigued and started searching online to try and pre-order this book. Sadly, it was not available for pre-order so I had to wait it out, but its ok because I have my copy now! The cover looks even better in person by the way, the eye is even darker and inside the pupil are the numbers for a clock face. The only thing I found strange is the roman numeral for “4″ used on the clock face. It thought it was supposed to be “IV” but on my cover it is “IIII”, anyone know why? Just curious I guess, maybe I am just missing something. Either way the cover is really cool, even the pages on the inside are faded a little so they are more yellowish instead of white which I thinks fits in really well with the tone of the book. Alright enough about the appearance, onto the review.

The book centers mainly around Destiny and David so you get to see both of their point of views which I love. I think multiple points of view always add depth to the story since you get multiple angels. Anyway, Destiny and David dated for 4 years, but an accident shook both of them up and when David asked Destiny to marry him she said no. A week later, she met Scott who asked her to marry him 6 months in and she said yes. I don’t know about you, but I still think there are some unresolved issues there that Destiny needs to deal with before she can marry this new guy. I also happen to really like David and wish that something would spark again between him and Destiny, but we don’t really get to see Scott that much so maybe I am not giving the guy a fair shot. Not so sure, but I will be interested to see if that comes up later down the line. On the same note, Stephanie, Destiny’s friend, starts to develop a little crush on David and I for one do not like it. I guess I am one of those people who thinks you don’t date your friends ex’s no matter what, but that is just me. I think this also might come up later down the line but we will have to wait and see.

The mystery in this story revolves around a grandfather clock that is in an old Victorian style house. This cryptic clock only works some of the time and has a tendency to chime thirteen times when there is about to be trouble. On a side note, I have a grandfather clock in my house and I find myself listening very carefully when it goes off now because I am worried I am going to hear that thirteenth chime. I don’t even want to look up at that clock, I am actually thinking about silencing it :) I know it is just a story, but I really got into this one, so it is kinda staying with me. I think that is a sign of good writing though, Emma has me all freaked out about the object that causes so much mayhem in her book.

I would classify this book as a mystery, but there are definitely some paranormal elements in there. There are no vamps or fey or anything like that running around, but that does not mean it is not obscure and that is what I like about it. I also like that there is no fluff! Thank you Emma for writing a great story and not putting in any of the nonsense. The book is 240 pages, but you are always moving forward and getting new pieces to the puzzle which kept me very interested. The Thirteenth Chime is a mystifying read that will captivate you so quickly you won’t even realize it has happened. If you have not read it put it in your “to be read” pile! I know I loved this book! ( )

I was very excited to read a book from a fellow book blogger. Many of us have dreams of one day being published, and Emma is proof it can happen.

I read The Thirteenth Chime very quickly. I found the concept of a hatred that never dies very intriguing. It took me a little while to get into Destiny's head. She is a pretty guarded person. But I did enjoy her character once I could peg her down. I loved David immediately. My favorite parts were reading from his point of view. David is Destiny's ex, but there is unfinished business between them. That is obvious when Destiny calls David for help, and not her fiancé, Scott. Her friend Stephanie was very funny. She spoke her mind and called it like she saw it. I liked that about her. All the characters could have used some fleshing out- at some points they seemed a bit flat- but they were enjoyable to read about none the less.

Finding out about the backstory of what happened in the house was where the creepiness came in. I did get pretty spooked while reading this one. David's theory of emotions imprinting on places is very cool. I definitely want to know more about that. Between the old house, the could-be-possessed grandfather clock, the old lady holding out on information, and the jail tie-in, you are bound to get goosebumps while reading The Thirteenth Chime.

I honestly enjoyed reading The Thirteenth Chime, but there are a few complaints I have. I got tired of hearing the characters went here or there, or the characters did this or that. I feel the actions of the characters were a bit over-explained. I also saw places where the language was cut back for the sake of publishing. I think a big security officer in the jail would more likely say "ass" than "butt". It took away the realism for me.

But in the end, I would love for this series to go on. The Thirteenth Chime is a creeptastic thrill-ride that keeps you guessing (and reading). Michaels knows how to take an exciting concept and keep the reader drawn in. That's a quality that will take Michaels far in this business. She has a lot of potential, and I am excited to see more from her. ( )