Blog Tour ~ WHISPERING HILLS by Taryn Browning

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Whispering Hills Blog Tour! Today I have a guest post from the author of Whispering Hills, Taryn Browning. Enjoy!

Favorite Books/genres

My favorite books come from the YA paranormal romance, urban fantasy and dystopian genres. I’ve always been drawn to those genres in books, television and movies. My favorite shows growing up were Buffy, Angel & Charmed. I also love The Vampire Diaries. My favorite childhood movie was The Lost Boys. Actually, during BEA last year I met Jason Patric (the big brother in The Lost Boys). Now, I have a photo of the two of us in a NYC Irish Pub. Funny thing is he was mentioned in my debut urban fantasy novel, Dark Seeker, long before I met him.                  Some of my favorite authors and books are Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices), Lauren Oliver (Divergent), Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey) and J.R. Ward (The Black Dagger Brotherhood). I also really loved Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.                                                                                                                        Each of these books/series were hard to put down. The action, romance, characters, paranormal/dystopian worlds, and writing styles kept me captivated until the very last pages. I read The Hunger Games series in three days. When I don't want to do anything but stay in the world the author has created, the book goes on my favorites shelf. There's nothing more thrilling than reading a book that latches a hold of you and doesn't let go - even after you've finished.

For as long as she can remember, 17-year-old Alexis Forbes can hear the thoughts of others. Most recently, she is disturbed by the dark, unfamiliar voice of a frightening killer: callous, cunning, charismatic…and dead.                                                        She hears his every sinister thought. But she can’t tell anyone. No one would believe her. Alexis is suddenly being haunted by a terrifying past she doesn’t remember, and a ghost with a serious score to settle. Even Chance, the gorgeous new guy she’s falling for, has his own ghostly secret. He’s definitely not like any guy she’s ever met. Alexis soon discovers she has a connection to the dead and it runs much deeper than she could ever imagine. And if the sociopathic entity has his way, she’ll finally be sentenced to the fate she escaped thirteen years ago. ~From GoodReads

The Whispering Hills Blog Tour is being hosted by Heather at Supagurl Tours.

Review ~ Dark Seeker, by Taryn Browning

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.(From GoodReads)

In One Word ~ Imaginative

In Dark Seeker, and the short story prequel Dark Beauty, author Taryn Browning has create a world truly her own. This landscape is full of Seekers, those who are trained to go after the undead; vampires, not the nice kind, the really evil vampires; and a strange demon-vampire hybrid called Daychild, unlike any vampire I've read before.

In Dark Seeker, the action comes swift and savagely. Janie, a Seeker whose mission is to keep her city safe from evil, is thrown from one dangerous situation to the next. She is always on guard. She is never safe. Janie is bold and fearless and because of her dangerous lifestyle, is resigned to a life without love.

Now, all of this was well and good. I was reading at a decent pace and enjoying the book. But when the character of Kai was introduced, as my aunt would say, "Oh, Lawdy". Talk about one sizzling hot bad-boy. After Kai came along, well, my interest was definitely piqued. Kai is everything Janie was been warned about and trained to kill. But when she starts uncovering secrets from Kai's past, she discovers that everything is not what it seems. Kai and Janie can't seem to stay away or keep their hands and eyes off of each other. The chemistry between this forbidden pair was the selling point for Dark Seeker, in my eyes.

But...here's the rub. I had an issue with one part of Dark Seeker. When Kai's past starts being revealed, I knew it wasn't going to be exactly pretty. He is a demon/vampire hybrid, after all. But the big shocker wasn't just big, it was HUGE. It's something that impacts pretty much the entire story. It has a tremendous effect on Janie. And, without telling you what happens, because I want you to be shocked while reading like I was, I felt that the whole big, nasty ordeal may have been resolved/forgiven way too easily.

Nevertheless, I did find Dark Seeker, and Dark Beauty, to be quite enjoyable reads. I flew through both quickly, all the while maintaining interest in the story. These stories would be appreciated by those who like Young Adult/Urban Fantasy.
Favorite Quote(s) ~

"Janie traced the scars of his forearm with her fingers. His face tightened. She wondered how long it
 had been since someone had really cared about him, and showed it."

"Trust me, if you knew what I've done, you wouldn't be next to me right now. You wouldn't be friends
  with me. You would've made sure you killed me the first time we met."

ebook, 298 pages

Published October 4th 2011

You can find Dark Seeker at:

GoodReads  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon  |  Book Depository  |  Smashwords

* I received a copy of Dark Seeker/Dark Beauty from the author, in exchange for an honest review.*