G193 E-Reading Book Review of Soul in Present Condition by Mary E. Merrell

Name of Book: Soul in Present Condition

Author: Mary E Merrell

ISBN/ASIN: B00EN0ZOC2

Publisher: Morningglory Publishers

Part of a Series: The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series

Type of book: Paranormal, ghosts, real estate, vampires, humor

Year it was published: 2013

Summary:

Divorced. Check. Ghost Whisperer. Check. Human Servant. Check. Great. Check.

Real estate agent Rosemary Fernandes never expected to inherit the ability to communicate with spirits, and she certainly didn’t expect her gift to attract the undead as well. Now Rosemary finds herself ghost whisperer to the lost souls stuck at their haunts and human servant to a gorgeous but aloof vampire Marcus Lyons.

Benito Cruz died with a dangerous secret, a secret that connects the ghost to Rosemary. Can Rosemary send the spirit to his final resting place before his past catches up with them, and can she convince the vampire helping spirits like Benito is her destiny?

When real estate and the supernatural come together it is murder.

Characters:

Rosemary is best described as independent, gentle and good character with a nice sense of humor. She is not a damsel in distress and is very stubborn whenever she makes up her mind. Marcus is a vampire who seems to have an inflammatory relationship with Rosemary and wants to protect her against all. Rosemary hints at his dark nature which might have been visible in the previous books, but in here I got a sense that he is protective as well as old fashioned. There is also Laura, Rosemary's best friend who is a supporting character, a decorator and good secret keeper. There are other characters too such as Benny the ghost who helps Rosemary out, Angel and Jorge, Rosemary's customers' sons. I sort of liked the unexpected personality flip between Angel and Jorge, how one expects Angel to be a certain way but instead he turns out to be a different way, and same thing with Jorge.

Theme:

You can't escape your nature

Plot:

This is written in first person narrative completely from Rosemary's point of view. While some information about the previous books is provided, I do think its necessary to read them to understand how Rosemary got into the real estate and helping lost soul business as well as how she met the people she knows. I didn't get lost or confused while reading the book. I also would have liked to see more instances of why a certain girl is best described as mean.

Author Information:

Mary E. Merrell writes Paranormal Mysteries and Young Adult Urban Fantasy. She has worked many jobs, but always had stories in her head. It wasn’t until she went into real estate and walked into that old, vacant home that The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series came to life. Fortunately, nothing spooky happened at the furniture store, or the first book might have been, “The Haunted Sofa." 

Mary E. Merrell’s plots are smooth and slightly dark, and her characters sinfully sweet. Try a little guilty pleasure with House Haunting, the first book in The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series. One reviewer called it “A good start to a new series.”

Her Young Adult series, Affinity is also humorous but deals with very real life themes. A reviewer said, “Love it. So different. A fun read.” 

Mary E. Merrell lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, two dogs, and five cats. She has two grown sons. When she’s not writing, she’s gardening or playing soccer.

Opinion:

Wow, although I haven't read books one and two yet, I loved reading this book. I have to admit that paranormal is not a genre I pick up, and reading it really reminded me of the previous book I have reviewed, Trail of the Chupacabra series. I enjoyed the female character of Rosemary Fernandes, the vampires and ghosts she meets. This is also filled with unexpected funny moments and its focused a lot on relationships between Rosemary and Marcus as well as her family members and some other friends. The book is mostly for adults due to some situations and language. Its also obvious that one does need to read the previous two books just to get a sense of Rosemary's background and her previous two cases which are frequently referenced in this book, although each case can be a standalone novel; that is Rosemary deals with a different specter in this book and its not a continuation of books one and two. Personally I really would love to read more books by this author and would love to know what happens to Rosemary.

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This is read and reviewed for Sage's Blog Tour

Series Line up:

August 30th Svetlana’s Reads and Views 
August 31st Silver Lining
September 1st Devoted Mommy of 3
September 3rd Beagle Book Space
September 4th Faerie Tale Books
September 5th my name is: Sage
September 7th Istyria Book Blog
September 8th Words, Words, Words
September 9th All Crazy Here Book Blog
September 13th Lovely Books Blog
September 13th The Insane Ramblings of a Crazed Writer 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)