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    Mind Over Monsters
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    Mind Over Monsters
    Unavailable
    Mind Over Monsters
    Ebook290 pages4 hours

    Mind Over Monsters

    By Jennifer Harlow

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher—she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn't yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. This top-secret branch of the FBI combats ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters threatening humanity.

    With her teammates—among them a handsome former-detective werewolf and an annoying Don Juan vampire who's dead-set on seducing her—Beatrice investigates her first case. Disgustingly dismembered bodies have turned up, bearing bite marks of the undead. Someone—or something—is raising a horde of hideous, bloodthirsty zombies. Armed with Bette, her trusty machete, Beatrice takes on the master of the flesh-devouring corpses, who's guarding a horrifying secret...

    Featuring a team of monster hunters with unique paranormal abilities, the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series combines humor, suspense, and supernatural crime-fighting.

    Praise:

    "The most engaging detectives to face the walking dead since Scully and Mulder. Part urban fantasy, part police procedural, and entirely marvelous, monstrous fun."—Library Journal

    "If Donald Westlake had ever gotten around to writing a paranormal mystery, it would have sounded like this. Harlow's genre debut is funny, creepy and refreshingly brash."—Kirkus Reviews

    "Jennifer Harlow's debut novel had me laughing and gasping from start to finish!"—Victoria Laurie, New York Times bestselling author of the Ghost Hunter Mystery series and the Psychic Eye Mystery series

    "Wonderful! A gritty, dramatic police-procedural with a compelling heroine and a fascinating group of sidekicks. Looking forward to the sequel!"—Karen Chance, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Cassandra Palmer series

    "Mind Over Monsters is funny, scary, and creepy—and ridiculous amounts of fun!"—Kat Richardson, author of The Greywalker Novels

    "Mind Over Monsters is a non-stop rollercoaster ride that fans of urban fantasy will love! Fast-paced, fun, and wildly entertaining, Jennifer Harlow has given the paranormal police procedural a fresh spin with her loveable machete-wielding heroine. A quirky cast of characters and sharp writing make Mind Over Monsters a wholly wonderful debut. I can't wait to read more!"—Jeannie Holmes, author of Blood Law and Blood Secrets

    "With its breezy style and exuberant sense of fun, this monstery mystery is a total delight!"—Carolyn Crane, author of Mind Games and Double Cross

    "Wildly fun and funny, Harlow offers treats for every paranormal lover to relish, with plenty of action, thrills and laughter."—Leanna Renee Hieber, award-winning, bestselling author of The Strangely Beautiful series

    "In her funny, fast-paced debut, Jennifer Harlow gives us an urban fantasy that sharply blends murder-mystery and horror, and introduces us to a world where the monster in your closet really does exist. Using both humor and logic to help solve a grisly double-murder, reluctant heroine Beatrice Alexander is a woman you can (and do) root for as she struggles to control her powerful telekinetic gift and to find her place in this brave (and sometimes scary) new world."—Kelly Meding, author of Three Days to Dead

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLlewellyn Worldwide
    Release dateOct 8, 2011
    ISBN9780738730523
    Unavailable
    Mind Over Monsters
    Author

    Jennifer Harlow

    Jennifer Harlow earned a BA in psychology from the University of Virginia. She has worked as a bookseller, radio deejay, lab assistant, and government investigator. She is the author of the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series, the Galilee Falls Trilogy, and the Iris Ballard series. She lives in Atlanta and is hard at work on her next book.

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    Reviews for Mind Over Monsters

    3.5/5

    35 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Well, this showed up in a cozy mystery to-be-published list, and it's DEFINITELY not a cozy!! Having said that, it's a great read. It's graphic in a Buffy-the-vampire-slayer kind of way and humorous in a dry way. Great characters, and a solid story line. I look forward to the next book!
    • 4/5
      My thoughts: I loved this story! I'm not a huge zombie fan, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. The writing is wonderful. The author's use of the language is superb, giving her words life and making the scenes into images as well. I easily pictured every character and place in my mind through her vivid descriptions and attention to detail. The characters are cleverly created and so very easy to invest in. As a licensed elementary teacher, I was thrilled to find one as the main character. We are given a little bit of everything paranormal with this story! Each is well developed and given a unique personality. The plot is original and entertaining. The reader isn't spoon fed the ideas, but neither is the reader left hunting for them. The story is easy to read, but not elementary in it's development. This was my first Jennifer Harlow read, it will not be my last - can't wait for more!
    • 4/5
      I got a signed advanced reading copy of this book at Book Expo America. Harlow was great, very fun to talk to. This was a decent book; it is one of those fluffy and fun sort of paranormal books. If you are into that you will like this book; it was a fun read just not all that original.Beatrice isn't your normal elementary school teacher; she is telekinetic. After she almost kills her brother by accident she joins the F.R.E.A.K Squad (Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals Squad). She's been trained and now she is moving in with her fellow F.R.E.A.K.s just in time to help them fight off some zombies and an evil necromancer.This is one of those books that is a fun light read but not super original. If you are a fan of the lighter side of the paranormal genre; you should find this book entertaining. By lighter side I mean authors like Molly Harper, Katie MacAlister, Nicole Peeler and Jolie Wilkins. Beatrice is one of those girls who is a good girl (schoolteacher) trying to fit in with a paranormal crowd. Beatrice doesn't necessarily like fighting, but she tries to be as tough as she can to prove herself to her fellow FREAK squad members. She's your every day girl trying to learn how to kick some serious butt. Like many of these types of books, this book has a love triangle featuring a vampire (Oliver) and a werewolf (Will). There are some steamy scenes between Beatrice and both of these male leads; although things never get past kissing. Again this was fun, the male leads are well done, but nothing we haven't seen before.It was interesting how the author paired paranormal abilities like teleportation and telekinesis, with paranormal species like werewolves and vampires. It gave the book kind of a paranormals with super-heroes twist to it. One place where this book does differ from the above-mentioned authors is in the goriness. The goriness of dismembered human bodies is described in great detail; so just a "beware" for those with weak stomachs.The writing is well done and the book easy to read. The book presents the mystery behind these zombies and wraps that up nicely. Overall this is a good read. It is well-written, had likable characters, and was fun to read. It was a nice diversion, but there wasn't anything here that was super creative or all that different from a number of other authors out there that do this kind of light, fluffy, fun girl-next-door meets paranormal baddies. So if you are really into light paranormal you might want to give this book a read. I personally enjoy books like Nicole Peeler's Jane True series more because the races you meet are more creative and the world building is more extensive. I also think Molly Harper's Jane Jameson series is funnier. But this series does have a sort of fun paranormal girl next door meets gory violent zombies vibe to it that is fun and entertaining.
    • 5/5
      I really do love these books. I like the fact that they aren't just books about some chick trying to decided if she wants to be with one guy or another. There is a real story going on with the main character and her job. There is a love interest in the story that I think is great, but there is so much more to the story.
    • 4/5
      Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales Quick & Dirty: This paranormal mystery starts off a little slow but then picks up for an enjoyable ending. Opening Sentence: I was surprised to find that a man who wore a three-thousand-dollar suit was staying at the Comfort Inn. The Review: Beatrice Alexander is a psychokinetic. She can move objects with her mind. The bigger the object, the more it takes out of her. So when she saves her student from being run over by lifting a Hummer over them, she spends several days in the hospital. Her brother confronts her at the hospital, saying that she is a freak and it upsets her enough that she inadvertently almost kills him (although how she almost kills him isn’t really explained). News of her exploits reaches the ears of the FBI and she is confronted by the leader of a special unit called the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad with a job offer and a way to help her control her gift. After training, Beatrice moves to Kansas where the team is stationed. The rest of her team is an eclectic bunch: werewolf, vampire, teleporter, medium, pyrokinetic and psychometric. Beatrice barely has time to get to know her new teammates when they are sent out on a mission. Two people in Colorado have been found ripped apart and it’s up to Beatrice and her team to find out who is causing these murders. In the process of trying to solve these murders, Beatrice fights her feelings for Will, the werewolf and Oliver, the vampire. Beatrice misses her old life in San Diego, but she’s never had more fun when she is trying to solve the case. As the story moves along, Beatrice discovers she has other talents as well as being able to move objects. These new talents actually scare her teammates but ultimately they help in the end. Beatrice is really the girl next door type just with strange powers. She has kept mainly to herself so no one would find out about her powers. She has unintentionally levitated objects when she is mad or has nightmares. She is a likable character. She is not woe-is-me about her powers. She never complains. She does what she can to fill her new role. She is a little freaked out about learning that these strange creatures are real but she doesn’t dwell on it. She believes she isn’t brave but when it comes down to it, she definitely steps up to save the day. I really did like Beatrice. She is a character that I definitely would read about again. Mind Over Monsters does start off a little slow, but the pacing was enough to keep me hooked. The real action doesn’t really kick in until about 100 pages in and Bette the machete doesn’t show up for quite a while, but when she does, Beatrice really does kick butt. I enjoyed the world that Jennifer Harlow creates for Beatrice; it is really easy to follow. Mind Over Monsters is only told from Beatrice’s point of view. Her character does grow as the story goes along, but there really isn’t any depth to the supporting characters. She has a crush on Will but she really spends more time with Oliver and even though he is really cocky, I’m rooting for that relationship more. This series has the potential to be a really good. Since the foundation of the world has been laid down, I hope the next book focuses on the relationships with the characters more. I couldn’t find anything on the next book except for the excerpt at the end of the book, no title name or release date, but I am actually looking forward to reading it. Notable Scene: My hand moves for the gun beside me, but I’m not quick enough. I blink and his snout is inches from my face, teeth bared, his paws on either side of me, straddling me. He breathes in short bursts right beside my face, his hot breath smelling of rotten flesh. My eyes water and it takes all my willpower not to let them become full-fledged tears. He’s going to eat me. I try to pick him up, but the concussion must have impaired my psychokinesis. Go to Plan B. My hand begins inching toward the gun again. Werewolf Will’s eyes move from my face, to the gun, then back to me. He responds with a low menacing growl, complete with more teeth. My hand shifts back to the ground, and the noise stops. I’m out of ideas. I can’t think over my pounding heart. Seconds tick away like hours as neither of us budges. His green eyes study my face as if it was a piece of fine art. How can his eyes be so human when the rest . . . There’s no anger in those eyes. No malice. Just sadness. “Will?” I whisper. His lips move into a snarl as his snout moves closer. My eyes close and my breath literally stops. This is it. Please just let it be quick. But instead of teeth on my face, a soft, wet something moves up my cheek. My eyes fly open. We’re face to face until he moves to my other cheek, licking from jaw to eye. Oh. My. God. This is too frigging bizarre. He returns to my other cheek, caressing it with his tongue. I must taste good. Or this is a werewolf French kiss. As if that wasn’t creepy enough, his snout tenderly muzzles where he just licked. This is not how I imagined our first kiss. “Um, Will?” I whisper. A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation Series: 1. Mind Over Monsters FTC Advisory: Midnight Ink provided me with a copy of Mind Over Monsters. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.