"3.5 out of 5 stars!! This is an intriguing story with a new twist on the "shifter" theme. Clever..."

Read more of this review and TWO TEASERS here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/made-grade-soul-search-by-ambe... ( )

Amber Scott excels at creating flawed characters and then surrounding them with emotional landmines. Grant carries a burden of guilt that he feels powerless to escape; his life was torn asunder three years ago when his young nephew was abducted while he was almost beaten to death, helpless to protect the boy. On that night, Grant was given a dual spirit; bequeathed by an unlikely benefactress to help him search for and rescue his nephew. His efforts thus far have been fruitless.

When Grant’s sister, Beatrice, hires yet another psychic, he is skeptical to say the least. Soon, however, he realizes that Leigh is the real McCoy. She also confuses him because she awakens something in him that has been buried deep inside.

Broke and alone, Leigh is homesick. After having used most of her savings to reach him, Leigh has just been unceremoniously dumped by the man whom she thought would become her husband. Leigh is not looking for any emotional entanglements after that embarrassing fiasco. Helping Beatrice find her son, Tristan, gives Leigh exactly the opportunity she needs to return home. Regardless, Leigh feels drawn to Bea’s enigmatic and volatile brother even as he tries to shield her from the darkness that is his nature.

Amber Scott capably gives voice to her characters with tersely written short sentences and phrases deliberately intended to convey the essence of what each character is feeling, thinking about, or reacting to. While normally I prefer reading books that are written using a more flowing sentence structure, in this case, the shorter, sometimes choppy flow, works well. The story moves along quickly as the tension escalates. The dynamics between the characters is particularly engaging, though I do feel like Shelton could have benefitted from some additional fleshing out. I enjoyed reading this book and stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning so I could find out how it would all end. The ending was satisfying while leaving just enough room to set up for the next installment in this uniquely conceptualized series. ( )