Synopsis: Cat McLean is a sixteen year old girl who moves to a new town with her older sister Vanessa. After a near-fatal car accident, Cat wakes to find that she can see auras and heal others. But she also discovers an ancient evil that means to destroy her new town of Valleyview. She must join forces with her sister and a new friend to defeat it, or die trying. Will she learn how to harness her new powers before the darkness comes for them? Or will she succumb to the darkness she fears?
About the Author: H. M. Gooden has been scribbling on everything since she first learned how to hold a pencil. While often told that her handwriting was atrocious, she persisted, and upon discovering computers and learning how to type, she realized that she was no longer limited by her (admittedly) messy writing.
Unfortunately, life and work and family have conspired to make it only possible to write in the wee hours or at coffee shops, so most of her love of reading and writing are indulged at times when only vampires and insomniacs abound.
Beginning in October of 2017, her love of writing and the characters in the world she has created burst into public view in her first book, Dream of Darkness, which follows the adventures of a group of girls fighting evil with abilities that H. M. Gooden would love to have. As a result, 4 am has become even busier trying to find out what will happen to her paranormal buddies in the future, and book six, seven and eight are in the works.
Contact Information:
Social Media:
Gooden’s Summerland Gate - Facebook Fan Page
My Review: The first thing that I have to talk about is this cover!! Just look at it! Its amazing!!!! I have to say that this book was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. So many small or Indie published books are hit and miss. For every good one you find you will find about a hundred that are horrible. This young adult story though was wonderful! I had a fun time reading this one I really enjoyed the characters and the story. Cat was amazing and I loved how the author grew or developed her over the course of the plot/story. The addition of powers in this one was fabulous. It really was a story of good vs. evil.
The author did a great job with the flow and I can not wait to grab book two!
The Excerpt:
The girls finished lunch without any attention from other students, other than an occasional glance. As they walked back to the office, Cat tried to avoid catching anyone's eye, wishing again that she was more outgoing or had a thicker skin. Vanessa stopped abruptly and Cat had to pull up short to avoid running into her.
"How's the first day working out?"
A boy Cat didn't know smiled at them and she felt herself color involuntarily.
Damn it!
"So far so good!" Vanessa chirped.
The boy flashed another smile, and be damned if his hair didn't appear to ripple when he moved. He looked like a movie star, with his dark blond hair, dimples and grey eyes. He was probably about six feet tall, slightly taller than Cat, and well built. He looked directly at Cat, giving another blinding, toothy smile.
"We haven't met, but I guess you must be Catherine. It's not every day we get new students. I'm Declan Boyer. I'm in History with your sister."
Cat found herself feeling uncomfortable, but not because of his good looks. A weird, cold, and empty sensation washed over her. It felt completely out of place in the bright hallway, standing next to a guy who could be a homecoming hero.
"Hey, nice to meet you, too. It's Cat. Um, people call me Cat, generally." She managed to croak out her reply, wincing at how dumb she must sound.
Vanessa immediately noticed she was off and came to her rescue.
"Hey, Declan, do you know who we'd talk to about a track or running team? Cat was on the team back home before we moved and wants to try out here."
He nodded. "Of course! You want to talk to Ms. Fisk. She's the Art and Music teacher, but doubles as the cross-country coach. There aren't a lot of teachers here, I mean, the school only has 300 students from grade nine to twelve, so a lot of the teachers double as coaches." He looked at his watch. "I have a few minutes, I’d be happy to take you to her office."
Cat followed behind Vanessa and Declan, trying to figure out what felt so off. It was more than her usual discomfort with new people. This felt bigger and she knew she needed to listen to the feeling. It reminded her of the time she'd gone swimming with Vanessa and some of the neighbourhood kids. She'd refused to jump off the dock into the water when she was dared, walking out instead because of a weird feeling she'd had telling her not to do it. The next kid who'd jumped had hit a broken board and torn their leg badly. She had the same cold, dark feeling now that she'd had while wading in the water that day. Something about this beautiful guy made her as scared as she'd been back then.
"And here you go!" said Declan, bowing and waving his arm as though producing a rabbit out of a hat. "Ms. Fisk, in person."
A short and powerfully built Asian woman in her mid-forties smiled at him.
"Oh, Declan, always the charmer!" she said, as she fluttered and preened at his attention.
Declan smiled suavely, turning back to Cat. "I hope you find what you need. I'm on my way to a quick drama club meeting before lunch is over."
Vanessa straightened up, looking interested in something for the first time. Declan noticed and extended the invite to her.
"We're planning the show for the annual spring review. It's going to be a big one this year. We could use more players, if you're interested in joining us."
Vanessa looked at Cat with excitement. "Do you want to come?"
Cat shook her head. "You go ahead. I'll be busy here for awhile. I'll meet you outside after school, at the parking lot doors."
Vanessa smiled and gave a quick 'see ya' wave, before turning and following Declan down the hall without looking back.
Cat watched them walk away, still feeling an odd sense of unease, turning to see Ms. Fisk watching Declan walk away fondly. Ms. Fisk switched her attention to Cat, giving her a friendly once over.
"So, what brings you here today? Are you a budding artiste, looking for extra work perhaps? A musician? What can I help you with today, my dear?"
Cat smiled, finding the friendly warmth from the teacher relaxing after the oddness that had come with meeting Declan.
"Sorry, no. I'm not the artist in my family. But I'd heard you were the person to talk to about a cross-country or distance running club? I was on the track and cross-country team at my last school. I'd like to continue here, unless I missed try-outs, or whatever." Cat felt calm asking this teacher, warming to her open and attentive face.
Ms. Fisk smiled, regretfully. "Well, the track team is done until spring, but we do have cross-country into November, depending on weather. It isn't a very large group, so there's no need for try-outs. I can introduce you to the other students at the next practice on Wednesday and you can consider yourself officially a part of the team now, if you want. The last actual meet is in a couple of weeks."
Cat took down the rest of the information on a corner of a notebook, promising to be at the practice. Maybe she'd get a chance to talk to someone outside of class in an environment she was comfortable in. Feeling more optimistic than before, Cat checked her schedule and headed to her next class, English. Apparently they were learning Shakespeare, according to the titles on her book list. She sighed again, and prayed to whoever listened to high school students. Please spare me from a group read along...
The plot of H. M. Gooden's novel is fun, but the best part of the book is the relationship between the two sisters. There's a little jealousy and a period of great guilt, but mostly there's love and support shared between both girls. When Gooden throws in Evelyn, a mutual friend with powers of her own, the picture is complete and the girls are ready to take on the evil threatening their world.
Steve Lindahl — Author of Under a Warped Cross, Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul
“Dream of Darkness” by H.M. Gooden is a YA (and up) fantasy with elements of both the paranormal and the faerie world. Two teenage sisters-Cat and Vanessa discover they have powers and must learn to use them quickly when a dark menace threatens their new hometown. A delightful tale of friendship, sisterly love and good triumphing over evil. I’d heard a bit about this book and author and wanted to give it a go. The “out-of-body” experience in the hospital is described so eloquently and passionately that it alone is worth the price of admission. I wasn’t disappointed.
David W. Thompson — Author of Sister Witch and His Father's Blood
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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