First Fruits and Second Coming

PARANORMAL ROMANCE
 
Title: First Fruits and Second Coming
Author: Amanda Carney
Publication date: 12/13/2015  
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: Yes (in First Fruits, none in Second Coming)
Rating: 4 out of 5
 
Amazon blurb (First Fruits)
Reading minds can be dangerous.
Parsley Walker can hear people’s thoughts and it’s made her a target. As a natural-born telepath who’s also telekinetic—two things that can be disturbingly lucrative in the wrong person’s hands—she’s learned to hide who she is. To be always moving and never at ease. To run from that inevitable moment of discovery. She’s a nomad in a waitress’s uniform. This is how she survives.

Until him.

Jesse Linwood is a vampire with a problem. An automaton with sharp teeth, he was sent to evaluate and ultimately abduct her. What he doesn’t expect is the way her blue eyes turn him inside out. Stalking her wasn’t supposed to make him feel anything. She was supposed be like all the others. He begins to unravel and, in the end, makes the choice to pick a fight he knows he cannot win in order to save her life.
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This is the first book in a planned series and DOES end in a cliffhanger. It also includes erotic scenes and graphic violence.

Amazon blurb (Second Coming)
There is no sanctuary without him.

At last, she has it all. Everything she thought she’d never have. Acceptance. Friendship. Love. Parsley Walker is finally home. Allswell, the magical refuge for supernaturals, is all she’d imagined and more. She’s making friends. Learning not to hide her telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Learning not to fear. And, most importantly, planning a future free from that ever-present sense of foreboding with the vampire she loves. Her life, the life she was always meant for, is about to begin.

Then she gets the letter that turns her new world upside down.

Jesse Linwood has just made the most difficult decision of his life—to turn his back on the only girl he’s ever loved. Now he must return to his sire—the ancient, wicked vampire who lusts for Parsley’s blood—to eliminate the threat to her once and for all, even at the expense of his own life.

Because love isn’t about the heart. Love is about the soul and how much of it you’re willing to lose.

This book includes erotic scenes and graphic violence.

My Review
I have to admit, I almost didn’t read this story. I was instantly snobbish because of the heroine’s name. (I mean, really, Parsley?) But thankfully, the blurb was well written because if it hadn’t been, I would’ve missed out on a really interesting series.
 
The author created a really cool world for First Fruits, one where vampires aren’t at all stereotypical. (They can even go out in the sunlight and eat real food) The hero, Jesse, was strong and brooding and protective without being an alpha-hole (that’s an alpha male asshole, for those of you who aren’t terribly familiar with the PNR genre, which is damn-near overrun with alpha-holes). The villains were creepy as hell without being cartoonish. And even though I cringed every time I read her name, Parsley was a decent heroine.
 
I also have to give a shout out to the book’s editors. First Fruits was free of typos, grammar and punctuation errors, and continuity problems. The author obviously did her homework and chose a good editing team. Kudos.
 
Like First Fruits, Second Coming  was well-written and well-edited. This author obviously takes her job very seriously because she always seems to bring her A-game to every new release.​

The world-building in Second Coming is super cool, and it works well with the world from First Fruits, but still manages to be really unique. I have a low tolerance for cuteness, but the cute levels in the magical sanctuary of Allswell (because “Utopia” was taken, I suppose) didn’t bother me at all. It was a world I enjoyed reading about. I’d like to have a summer home there.
 
I LOVED that Parsley didn’t fall for Jesse’s “I’m pushing you away for your own good” ploy. I didn’t so much love that she immediately took off after him with no thought for her own safety, but hey, it wouldn’t have been much of a story if she’d decided to stay in Allswell and tell Jesse to suck it (sorry folks, I love puns, especially vampire puns).
 
I also really enjoyed Sib’s solution to a vampire’s need for blood. That wasn’t something I’ve read anywhere else, and as an avid paranormal romance reader, unique plot elements are truly rare.
 
I have a little problem with the fact that Parsley’s powers weren’t explored further in Second Coming. I almost forgot that she was both telekinetic and telepathic until the end. I’m wondering why she wasn’t able to inflict more damage on the ferals with her powers.
 
Other than that, though, my only negative with this story is the heroine’s name. Sorry, I know I should get over it, but it still bugs me, and the explanation of why she was named after a garden herb was a little unsatisfying.
 
All in all, this is a great continuation of Jesse and Parsley’s story and I highly recommend it (and its predecessor) for fans of the genre. When book 3 comes out (which I have it on good authority that we’re ALMOST ready for book 3), I’m all in.
 
Full disclosure: the author generously provided an ARC of both books in exchange for an honest review.
     
Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Crushes it. No rehab needed. This series is clean and sober.
 
Other reading suggestions
For another cool series that toes the line of being considered “dark” romance, try LE Wilson’s Deathless Night series. ​

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