Title : Hush Money (Kindle Edition)
Author : Susan Bischoff
Publisher : CreateSpace
Genre : Paranormal,Young Adult
ISBN : 978-1453787540
Series or Stand Alone : #1 Talent Chronicles
Release Date : September 24, 2010
Rating : 4/5 Stars - Very Good
Description from Goodreads :
Be normal, invisible. Don’t get close to anyone. Kids with psychic abilities tend to mysteriously disappear when they get noticed. Joss has spent years trying to hide. Now she has an unasked-for best friend, who is the victim of an extortion plot by the school bully, who used to like Joss, who is best friends with her long-time crush, who is actually talking to her. Life just got more complicated.
Review :
Joss has been trained by her father to blend in, not be noticed, let no one know her secrets. It's the only way Talents like her and her family can keep under the radar of the NIAC. No one wants to be dragged away to the State School. It's always been easy to push people away and know that they would leave her alone. Eat alone at lunch, walk home alone, it's just part of her daily routine. When she meets Kat, that all changes. She can't get rid of this girl if her life depended on it. She goes so far as to tell the girl to go away, that she doesn't want any friends, but Kat won't stand for it. Kat is determined to bring Joss out of her shell.
When Kat starts getting blackmailed by the biggest bully in school, Marco, Joss finds herself beginning to worry about her. Marco is bad news, he's been out to get Joss ever since she rejected him years ago. He's always had a huge crush on her, but Joss can see what kind of person he is, and even if she were allowed to date, she wouldn't want to date him. On the other hand, she'd love to date his best friend, Dylan. Dylan is cute, and while he's the best friend of the biggest bully, he's always seemed far less hostile.
I loaned this book from another Kindle user, not even realizing that it was a self-published book. The gorgeous cover alone had me, even before I read the synopsis. After I read that, it sealed the deal for me. I can never turn up a paranormal type book. I sped through this book pretty quickly. It was a short read, but it was well worth the time I put into it. Susan Bischoff clearly has talent, and I'm surprised she hasn't been picked up by some big time publisher yet. I just hope that she gets the credit she deserves for such a well written story.
I really enjoyed all of the supernatural talents in this book, but don't want to give away too much. It's just safe to say that there is telekinesis, invisibility, laser vision, and even super strength all rolled up into this fantastic book. There was so many little stories all looping together, and surprisingly they meshed very well. I thought I would get confused, but Bischoff interwove each little piece perfectly to create one giant story that makes you want to keep turning the pages. Unfortunately there was an end to this book, but just knowing that this is only the first of many, excites me!
One thing I have to say I didn't enjoy about this book was the ending. To be honest, there really wasn't an ending. It just simply stopped, and that kind of upset me. I wanted a little bit more closure to this first book in the Talent Chronicles. I'm just hoping that Bischoff can redeem this short ending with a phenomenal second installment. I'm hoping to get my hands on the next in the series, it will be called Heroes, and will hopefully be released within the next couple of weeks.
Where did I get this book? :
I loaned a copy of Hush Money by Susan Bischoff from a fellow Kindle reader. I'm reviewing this book at my own leisure, and not receiving any compensation for doing so.
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