Phaedra Weldon

I absolutely loved Wraith and Zoe, she is reckless, irreverent and funny and I'm kicking myself for waiting do long to read it! How can you not love a heroine who admits she's not the brightest bulb in the sign? One who talks to herself and has the unfortunate tendency to let her mouth run away with her at the worst moments.

Zoe is operating blind, when it comes to her ability or the paranormal world. Most of what she has learned comes from trial and error and she often takes stupid risks, show more but since she doesn't know anything about Travellers, she has no other way except to throw herself into dangerous situations in an attempt to discover the truth about her own abilities and the paranormal world she finds herself in, despite being out of her depth on more than one occasion.

Zoe often finds herself relying on family and friends for support and information though she is hesitant about putting them in danger. Her mother, Nona seems to know more than she is letting on about Zoe's abilities and the paranormal, and misguidedly thinks she is protecting her by keeping her in the dark.

Phaedra Weldon deftly draws you into Zoe's world until you are completely sucked in and leaves you wanting more. The first book is a great start to the series and I've immediately ordered the second one, I can't wait to discover more about the can of paranormal worms opened in Wraith. show less

With the release of the second book in Phaedra Weldon’s series, I thought it would be a good time to revisit Wraith, Zoe’s debut. A friend first introduced me to the book in November and I’m very excited to read the next Zoe Martinique investigation.

Zoe is a quippy, compelling protagonist, a woman able to project herself astrally. She uses her talents to procure information, which leads her into trouble from the outset. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot; a good teaser show more can be found at Amazon. I enjoyed this book a lot more the second time around, likely because I was able to appreciate the nuances of Ms. Weldon’s writing. Zoe is surrounded by a great supporting class - her mother Nona, her friend Rhonda, and two ghosts - and a fun love interest. There’s also a lot of humour in the story, in addition to the complex plot with tons of action, and it makes the book go by too fast, in the best way possible.

The author has a neat take on astral projection and the effects it has on the human body. It’s almost enough to make me want to buy this book. Well, not really but Ms. Weldon has a fairly convincing take on the science of astral projection. Her wraith concept is also really cool.

Originally published at http://ireadgood.wordpress.com show less

I quite liked this despite the silly title, which seems to be along the lines of those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. A conflict between brothers leads to the sort of shenanigans you might expect. In amongst this are at least three different sorts of elves, which adds to the variety

The prophesied son who was going to save the humans from a forthcoming invasion of the evil elves, was accidentally dropped into the holy fire and died as a baby. The King found a convenient show more replacement and killed everyone who knew the truth, apart from his most trusted elder brother and advisor. The 2nd son is always slightly grumpy about being 2nd and not as handsome as the (replacement). Cue scheming priest who can tell something's up even if not what. show less

Zoe can travel astrally, out of her body. She hires herself and her talent out and it's a pretty good moneymaker that's gained her at least one devoted client. Until one day she seems something weird in the astral plane, someone else who seems to be able to do what she does. Only that someone else commits murder and knows Zoe was a witness.