Firefly Hollow Series

Firefly Hollow by T.L. Haddix

3 Stars

Firefly Hollow is the first chapter in the Firefly Hollow Series.  This book is a new take on the paranormal romance.  I have read my fair share of paranormal books and series, but nothing like this book. 

The book started off slow and it took everything in my power not to put it down and call it quits.  I am so glad that I didn’t.  The way this book was written as a historical piece with the paranormal elegance romanticizes the story and takes it to a whole new level.  I love the fact that the author included Appalachian folklore and was specific of places in KY. 

Like I said it started slow, but when the story picked up I could not put it down.  I love the innocent flirting between Sarah and Owen and added a refreshing new aspect to romance.  I was not sure how to feel about the story setting taking place in the 50’s and 60’s but I was so swept up in the story that I didn’t find it distracting.  

The descriptive writing style engulfed my senses and transported me to the mountains of Appalachia.  I am so glad that I pick this book up and didn’t give up on it.  I can not wait to see what the next chapter has in store.

On a side note, my father’s family is from Harlen Co. KY and I was surprised to hear it mentioned in this book.  I do not know them all that well, and they stick to themselves.  Maybe they have a shifter gene…lol. 

Synopsis

The mysterious recluse…
Owen Campbell holds himself apart from other people. Badly scarred from emotional wounds that have never healed, he doesn’t expect to find true love or happiness. He remains isolated in a prison of his own making, determined to not let anyone close enough to hurt him again.
But his willpower is shaken to the core when Sarah Browning enters his world.
The girl next door…
Sarah Jane Browning is three years into her college degree when a call from home changes everything. Back at the family homestead in the heart of Appalachia, she’s forced to reevaluate her hopes and dreams for the future.
Distraction from her heartache comes in the form of her parents’ neighbor. Whispers about “odd Owen Campbell” abound in their small community, and Sarah’s curiosity is aroused. When she breaks the rules and trespasses onto his land, what she finds is beyond her wildest imaginings.
As Sarah struggles to overcome tragedy and loss, her burgeoning relationship with Owen is sorely tested. Will love conquer all, or will the secrets from Owen’s past tear them apart forever?
Firefly Hollow is the first in a new Romance series by T. L. Haddix, author of the Shadows/Leroy Collection, a series of standalone Romantic Suspense novels. Titles include Secrets in the Shadows, Under the Moon’s Shadow, Shadows from the Grave, and Hidden in the Shadows.

 

Butterfly Lane by T.L. Haddix

 2 Stars

Butterfly Lane is the second addition to the Firefly Hollow series by T.L. Haddix.  This book is nothing like its predecessor and I find somewhat bringing down the series down a notch.  I have to keep an open mind reading this book because I like the first one so well. I find it hard to compete with the debut.

This book’s prologue is confusing and I have read the first book.  I also read the author’s note prior to reading the prologue.  I can not comprehend why the author would jump so far in the future from the first book.  The first book started in the 50’s and this one in the 80’s, please pick a time period in which you want to write and sick with it.  The original protagonists from the first book, Owen and Sarah, are now in their late 40’s early 50’s and I feel like I was shafted in their story. I loved them and wanted so much more than a family tree in the front of the book that I had to keep turning to until half way through.  I expected a continuation of their story, but to have the prologue start out with their grandchildren threw me for a loop.

This book as with the first, started out so slow and lagging until about 40% then picked up.  The prologue also gave away that this couple was in fact staying together and also that the characters in the accident would live to see tomorrow, so what is the point in reading the rest of this book. This couple John and Zanny, they are on the fence with their relationship and can not figure out how to fix it so they separate. 

This story has a minuet paranormal aspect but not anything like paranormal lovers want.  I felt ripped off in this too.  This book should have been considered romance and should have not been the second in this series.  The only link that the first book and second book have in common is that Owen and Sarah the parents of John who does not even carry the shifter gene.  The romance that I loved from book one was absent in this book and the only characters that I really cared about besides Owen and Sarah are the twins Ben and Emma.  I probably wouldn’t have picked it apart like I did if it was written as a stand alone. 

I will read the books with Ben and Emma, but unless the next book is better I can completely lay this series down.  I could not have fathomed this after the first book; but I will try out book three just because I think that this series could be redeemed.

Synopsis

What do you do when the person you love, the person you share a life with, decides things just aren't working for them?
That's the dilemma facing John Campbell. As the oldest of Owen and Sarah Campbell's five children, John had long worn and accepted the mantle of responsibility. But five years into his marriage, things fall apart. Through his own actions, the life he has built is in shambles, and John is left trying to figure out what to do with himself.
Zanny Franks Campbell loves the family she and John have built with their children. She believes she's happy until the day everything falls apart. In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, she realizes that in order to go forward, she and John have to fix what's broken. But John isn't talking to her, and no matter what she tries, she can't seem to get through to him.
To have a future together, they first have to learn to live without each other. And once they start down that road, neither Zanny nor John is certain they'll ever be able to put the pieces back together again.