ECHO

Far more romance than paranormal, this second installment of the Soul Seekers series finds its supernaturally endowed young couple struggling to gain enough strength to defeat their demonic foe.

Daire loves Dace, despite the fact that Dace is the twin of the completely evil Cade. Dace qualifies as a love interest because his soul is the polar opposite of his brother’s. Daire’s grandmother continues to teach her how to be a paranormal Seeker; now that Daire and Dace are 16, their powers are emerging. Together and separately they fight, usually losing, against Cade, who is corrupting the Lowerworld, where spirit animals live. As Cade has the ability to transform into a fearsome demon that Daire and Dace insist on fighting before they are remotely strong enough to win, the Lowerworld seems doomed. Despite the paranormal window dressing, this is a full-on romance novel, utilizing standard conventions of the genre. Virtually every character possesses an odd name. Sex scenes steam. Emotional hyperbole runs rampant. Noël’s sentence fragments and one-line paragraphs stand out most, rendering her writing clichéd to an eye-rolling extent. When written in common English usage, however, the narrative flows. Noël uses her New Mexico setting to weave in Native American mythology such as spirit animals and skinwalking. 

An intriguing story, but for confirmed romance fans only.