Mystery Falls

Mystery Falls

Book One

in the

Mystery Falls Trilogy

Secrets. Lies. Deception. For the past six years, Samantha Hunt has lived with the belief that the untimely death of her parents was the result of an unfortunate accident—that by the cruel hand of fate, she had been left an orphan. But it was a lie, a terrible lie told to her by those who wanted to keep her in the dark. And the truth... when revealed, will change her life and haunt her forever.

Suddenly plagued by a series of events which find her in danger and in need of a savior, Samantha is repeatedly rescued by the mysterious and elusive Shadow—a stranger who seems to know more about her past and the tragedy which befell her family, than she does. Drawn to him despite the antagonism she feels whenever in his presence, Samantha soon discovers that Shadow is not what he appears to be. Determined to learn his true identity and why he has come to Mystery Falls, the small town in which she has spent all of her seventeen years, Samantha not only uncovers the secrets he refuses to share, but also the truth about her own past. A truth which forces her to acknowledge that things are not always as they seem, and sometimes, not even those close to you can be trusted.

Resolved to seeking justice for the unwarranted death of her parents, Samantha embarks on a journey which brings her perilously close to her own demise. Can Shadow use his angel powers to save her yet again, or this time, will he be too late.

Mystery Falls is my debut novel. It is the first in a series.


An excerpt from Mystery Falls

Standing in front of Shadow, I looked into his eyes, and was overcome by a sudden burning desire to kiss him. Without stopping to consider how he would respond, I raised myself onto my toes and leant towards him. And in that instant, he disappeared.

Surprised, it took a few seconds before the embarrassment and shame kicked in. It was the first time I had ever attempted to kiss a guy, and to have Shadow reject me, cut deep. Without bothering to see where he had gone, I walked to the edge of the stream and wished that I had not behaved so impetuously.

He came to stand behind me. “Samantha, I know you don’t understand, but seriously, you don’t want to kiss me.”

Remaining motionless, I whispered, “Why?”

In the dark, I could hear each breath he took as he tried to form a response. Eventually, he said, “How do I explain?”

Recognizing that the question was directed at Shadow himself, and not at me, I remained silent.

Placing his hands on my shoulders, he turned me to face him. In a voice loaded with desire, he said, “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to resist you when we’re standing this close to each other?”

Forgetting any shame I felt, I murmured, “Probably as hard as it is for me to resist you.”

He smiled. Then, once again solemn, he said, “You know if I do this, if I kiss you, you will belong to me forever.”

Inside my chest, my heart was racing. Staring at him with the same serious expression he was directing at me, I replied, “Then let me belong to you forever.”

Mystery Falls is listed on Goodreads


It can be sampled or purchased in eBook form at the following retail outlets:

Amazon

Apple iBookstore

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Sony Reader Store

Kobo

Diesel eBookstore 

Here are some of the things people are saying about Mystery Falls:


Naomi Hop - Nomis Paranormal Palace:

This is a beautiful love story where opposites do attract!! I really enjoy novels about Angels and Humans and this was definitely another great read. It wasn’t action packed (no fight scenes); it has a more romantic storyline, revolving around the growing relationship of Sam and Shadow. However it has a little bit of mystery about it too.

After a tragic accident which resulted in the death of her parents when she was 11, Samantha moved in with her Uncle Mike, Aunt Carole and Cousin Claire. Sam and Claire were like sisters prior to the accident, but after Aunt Carole moves away, the girls have a falling out. Sam becomes quite withdrawn and her only friend is Mia, who 5 years later, is still her best friend.

Sam is a very shy character who lacks confidence. Most of the decisions she makes in regards to Shadow are usually encouraged by Mia. She is always making plans for Sam and giving her the courage to act on her feelings.

Shadow is a very strong character and in one scene Sam describes him as “arrogant, egotistical, annoying, conceited, self-centred...” He, of course, is all of those things, but he is also very caring, especially towards Sam, not that she always knows about it. He appears to be moody every time Sam tries to speak to him and he is able to stir her emotions so easily!! Even I was getting frustrated with Shadow at times when he manipulated her feelings. Ahh... Men!!

Mystery Falls is an easy read and I was absorbed into the book so quickly that I couldn’t put it down. I love the cover, the mysterious blue of the falls and the feather (which gets a mention in the book).Marilyn has done a fantastic job writing her first novel; it is a great start to the series. I am eager to see where things go next!!

Liz - Fictional Candy:

My friend, Naomi, at Nomi’s Paranormal Palace has great taste in books. So when I saw she had read this book and had a terrific review, it cinched my choice to sign up for the book tour when it came around with Supagurl Tours I was definitely on board. I am really very happy that I did! Angel books are usually a little harder for me to get into, even though I usually love them when I do. This book turned out to be a terrific story and it grabbed me right from the beginning.

While walking in the woods one day, seventeen year old Sam comes upon two creatures – a bear and a man. Strangely the bear scared her more than the man; even after he recites everything he knows about her and says he has been studying her. Um, hello?!?! Studying?!?!? Repeat, hello?!?! And she’s attracted – not concerned. Then the mystery guy shows up for the first day of school and pretends he doesn’t know her when she confronts him to thank him for saving her from the bear. Yet, she is still attracted.

These types of instances defy logic, but you just know they are leading up to something good. So while you are inwardly throwing out a few “WTH”s, it all just feels right and you find yourself thinking the same as Sam. Yeah, he’s not someone to worry about, he’s definitely someone to fawn after. And his name is Shadow.

Shadow is arrogant and conceited and a whole laundry list of similar adjectives. And he’s hot. And he is so head over heels in love with Sam that everything else seems to be forgiven. Yep, I definitely found myself falling for Shadow, too! On top of that, the descriptions of him in his angel form are just beautiful and he is definitely a leading man not to be missed. His arrogant nature turns out to be quite endearing, and it was no time at all before I fell for his sly grin.

Sam is your average teenage girl. I mean, other than her parents both died in a car crash and she went to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin. Then her aunt up and left, leaving just Uncle Mike and cousin Claire with Sam. She’s a bit shy at times, but everything about Shadow rocks her world and has her head over feet. I like Sam. I like her easy and loving friendship with bff gal pal, Mia.

There are some things in this book that seem to happen a little easily and a bit conveniently. However, it all seems to work and it goes with the flow. There are a lot of toe curling kisses in these pages, that’s for sure. Another viable name for this book would be “Best Kiss Scenes with an Angel…Ever” or something like that. I mean seriously, that guy Shadow has the skills on lockdown! Any time he wants to come on over to my place, he can definitely lay some of those liplocking maneuvers on me!

Michelle Lynn - Michelle’s ParanormalVault of Books:

I found another epic love story type paranormal book. Wow, just fell in love with Shadow. I really liked the main character too Samantha Hunt, aka Sam. She has gone through a major tragedy, and you really feel for her. I really connected with her, and fell in love with Shadow along with her.

I really loved the love story in this book, but still paranormal, which is what makes it exciting to me. Got to have it. I won’t say anything that will spoil the book, as it’s great to discover the little mysteries throughout the book like I did.

I have a new book crush, in Shadow. He is a mystery to Sam, and she is determined to find out his secret. He has saved her in several mishaps and has the uncanny ability to find her and help her when it’s needed.

She also finds out about lies that were told her surrounding her parent’s death.

There is plenty of mystery going on, some suspense too. Not much action, but it’s not really needed. It’s an epic love story that really touches your heart. I really liked that their love built up over time. Yes, there is a paranormal development that is the initial attraction, won’t say what, but even then, it built up over time, and I liked that.

When I think of Shadow, I think of Ian Somerhalder, his description fits him, but not just that, the attitude and snarky quirks Ian has on the Vampire Diaries reminds me of how Shadow would act.

This book is really well written too, and guess what? NO CLIFFHANGER! What a relief to finally read a book, that is just one great story, not a series that will drag on, and on, with cliffhangers. I am not saying this won’t be a series, but it doesn't feel like it. It could I suppose, but just really happy that I was not left hanging. I hate that more than anything.

I highly recommend this book. Anyone who likes romance books will love this, even if you usually do not read paranormal, I believe you would still like it.

 Fallen Angel  / Wickedly Delicious:
 

Mystery Falls had me hooked by the 5th paragraph in the prologue with Shadow.

First I have to give a huge thank you to Marilyn Phillips for giving me the opportunity to read Mystery Falls. Second another huge thank you to Nomis Paranormal Palace for having this wonderful book on her blog. Because of them I have now found another amazing author I look forward to reading more books from. I was hooked right from the beginning and not even half way through I had to buy a copy for my Nook.

Samantha but known to her friends as Sam thinks it is her fault for her parents death and have been living with the guilt ever since then. All she wants to do for six years is hide from the world that is until she meets the mysterious stranger known as Shadow. She knows that he knows about her parent’s death, but is keeping her in the dark. I loved Samantha’s character. She will do whatever it takes to find out more about what happened to her parents.

Shadow is the mysterious new kid in school and has feelings for Samantha but at one point is a snot nose brat to her, but he does have his reasons. At the beginning he keeps her at arm’s length because he knows he will end up hurting her, but he seems he cannot stay away from her. He is always right there when something bad happens and ends up rescuing her. He is a tad arrogant but is so sweet. The things he says and does for Sam are beautiful. He is definitely swoon worthy that had my heart pounding, skin tingling and stomach fluttering.

Their chemistry together is beautiful and steamy. The first time they meet it is intense as he knows everything about her. Shadow can stalk me anytime. Their time together is sweet and can be bumpy at times. I will admit I did want to beat him over the head a few times. But it always worked out with me wanting to root for them to have a HEA.

Marilyn Phillips has a beautiful writing voice and is an outstanding storyteller. I never knew what was going to happen next. Love all the twist and turns. The surprises just kept getting better throughout the book, especially towards the end. I even shed a few tears in the graveyard scene. Do not want to give any spoilers away just know I was shocked and never saw it coming.

Marilyn Phillips is a phenomenal author not to be missed. Mystery Falls is perfect and a keeper for me that I will re-read over and over again. My review does not do good on how amazing her debut book is. Really you need to read it, to appreciate a good writer that in my opinion is right up there with some amazing world known authors. I would for sure highly recommend Mystery Falls and I am eagerly waiting for more. I honestly do not think I would ever get tired of reading about Sam and Shadow. Love the beautiful Mystery Falls cover and look forward to the next cover.

For more reviews, you can vist Goodreads on the link above.