Tortured Souls
The Orion Circle #1
Kimber Leigh Wheaton
YA Paranormal Romance
Available now from Sea Dragon Press
Sometimes Rest in Peace isn’t an option.

Kacie Ramsey sees ghosts—and it’s ruining her life. Her mother left, her father blames her, and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t keep the ghosts away. Now a new power has emerged. Nightly visions of grisly murders and a relentless predator draw her to the brink of insanity.

When the phantom appears at a party, Kacie’s longtime crush, Logan, saves her. He invites her to join the Orion Circle, a group of supernatural hunters with chapters in schools all over the country. Through the Circle, Kacie learns to embrace her spiritual powers, and for the first time in her life she feels in control rather than a victim.

But the Foxblood Demon will not give up so easily. A demented serial killer in life who trapped the souls of the thirteen children he murdered, imprisoning them within the walls of his mansion. Now in death, he plots his return while drawing power from the pure souls of the children. He recognizes something in Kacie he’s never seen before—a medium powerful enough to provide a vessel for his tainted soul.

Kacie can’t ignore the tortured souls of the children crying out to her every night. With Logan at her side, she will fight the Foxblood Demon. But can they banish this powerful phantom, or will Kacie lose not only her body, but her eternal soul to the monster.

My Review:
Kassandra has had a rough life. She was born a psychic, and her parents were frustrated and angered by all of Kacie’s “imaginary friends.” Her mother left years ago, claiming she couldn’t deal with Kacie’s antics any longer. This left her father resentful to the point that Kacie has buried her psychic abilities so he won’t be reminded of his broken marriage.

One night at a party, Kacie senses a powerful spiritual presence–and she isn’t the only one! Logan, a boy from school that Kacie has admired from afar, actually approaches the spirit and forces it away, not before it scratches Kacie, however. Logan, it seems, is a psychic, too. In fact, he’s a member of the Orion Circle, a group of “talented” kids and adults who work against in it’s many forms–corporeal, and not.

Working with Logan is as empowering as it is enticing; Kacie is enamored, and the feelings are mutual. But, more than having a boyfriend, Kacie treasures being understood, being accepted for having her psychic powers. In fact, it soon becomes clear that Kacie’s nightmares are more than scary images, they are visions that hold the key to destroying the soul torture of thirteen murdered children.

With the help of Logan and the team of Orion Talents, Kacie has new friends she can depend upon when the evil Foxblood Demon spirit attempts to possess her. Even Kacie’s mother is in on the help–turns out she has some pretty awful reasons for abandoning Kacie all those years ago, and this Foxblood Demon threat has turned mom into an informant.

So, lots of changes for Kacie in a very short period. She embraces her psychic powers and learns to speak with the dead, releasing them to eternal rest, when possible. Logan is a great stand-by, offering whatever support Kacie needs, even if it’s just a soft shoulder to cry on. Kacie’s dad also recognizes that Kacie’s powers aren’t the insane nonsense he’d written them off as all those years ago, and her relationships (on the whole) become stronger and more healthy.

This was an interesting YA read, with well-developed primary and secondary characters and an intriguing plot line. It is the beginning of a series that will undoubtedly feature Kacie and Logan and the rest of the Orion paranormal hunter gang in new and exciting cases. I’d like to take a moment to note that the ebook was beautiful–well-edited and with great internal elements and chapter headings. I know this won’t matter to most readers, but when you read as many books as I do, I really appreciate formatting that goes above and beyond. So, bravo for writing a beautiful book as well as an interesting one. If I had one complaint, it would be that I thought the romance between Kacie and Logan blossomed a little two quickly. I had wished there was a bit more time between the meet-cute and the making out. Still, there was little more than kissing between the main love interests, so I’d go ahead and recommend for all YA readers.

Interested? You can find TORTURED SOULS on Amazon and Goodreads.
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