After receiving a letter from an aunt she never knew existed, Kyna Hughes travels to Ireland only to find out her whole life has been a series of well-orchestrated lies.Suddenly, this poor girl from the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains is thrust into a life of not only the wealthy and affluent, but of dark magic and secret societies.As Kyna learns of the magic hidden inside her, purposefully … purposefully stunted for her protection as she grew up, she must now battle mystical hauntings—the result of curses—while getting a crash course in utilizing her powers.
Kidnappings and satanic weddings become her daily events as she struggles not to lose her heart to one of two men—a former Navy SEAL hired to protect her, or a wizard hired to train her.
Soon she will realize just how true it is that “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
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Our heroine returns to her native land only to discover that magic is real and she can use it. But others want her gifts for their own.
This is a paranormal fantasy/romance story set in Ireland. I found that story to be very well written, although perhaps a bit hard to follow at times. The world building was fascinating, with quite a bit of detail put into it. The characters were also a diverse and interesting cast which helped bring the story to life. There was quite a bit of twists and turns which kept things interesting as well. Overall, I found the story to be quite enjoyable, but not an easy read. Still, in the end it was worth my time.
Recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.
What Lies Within Us by Kiki Howell and Gina Kincade is a story about an adopted girl who learns she has family in Ireland. In the beginning of this book, Kyna receives a surprise letter from her birth mother’s sister in Ireland asking her to come for a visit. Kyna decides to visit her Aunt in Ireland to find out information about her birth mother. However, as soon as she arrives there she finds out some surprising information. She discovers that magic exists and that she is capable of manipulating the world around her by using magic. From this point on the story’s mysteries continue to build, twisting, turning, until the unexpected crescendo of the story at the very end. This is a book for readers who like mystery, magic, and suspense.
Kyna grew up with a single mom and had a fairly happy childhood. The shock is great, when she is told in a letter – and explained by her Mom – that she was adopted and now her biological aunt is asking her to visit her in Ireland and find out aobut her family.
Once there she learns that magic is real, and she is a powerful witch who needs to be trained and protected.
2 men want her for different reasons – one a Navy Seal, hired to be her bodyguard until she masters enough skills to protect herself, and a sorcerer, who wants to combine his magic powers with hers.
A book with lots of intrigue, magic and some quite surprising turns in the story. Definitely intersting and entertaining.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a well written book with strong likable characters and an entertaining story line. The author moves the story quickly and pulls you in with all the magic,suspense and romance. She keeps you reading adding twists and bringing the story to life with her descriptive characters and vivid scenes. I loved and highly recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.
I enjoyed how easy this book was to read. The characters were pleasing to understand. I liked the depth of the book. It was well worth the time to read
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
All I can say is WOW!!! Kyra was such a great character. A female alpha type to say, she was so resilient to all the changes in her life. She finds out that basically her whole life was a lie and goes to Ireland to find the truth. Not only does she finally get the truth she finds love as well. There are so many great characters and such a story twist you can put it down.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Dark magic, secret societies, mystery, suspense, intrigue… All the ingedients for a great paranormal story! I got hooked by the blurb and I don’t regret giving this book a try. There was great world building, well defined characters and an intriguing storyline that flowed and kept my interest to the last page. I recommend this book to everyone who likes paranormal romance with a gothic twist.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It was a good mixture of magic, mystery, and intrigue.
The style made me read and read.
I honestly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What Lies Within Us by Gina Kincade is an amazing story I have read. I loved reading this cause it has to do with magic, witches and wizards. I can not get enough of this author and I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about wizards,witches and magic in their stories.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What Lies Within Us
Paranormal Romance Witches & Wizards
Gina Kincade
Kiki Howell
I thought this was a great story! It was full of intrigue and adventure. The characters were unique, and worked well together. I loved how they blended. Kyna was a great character. The storyline was full of twists that kept me turning the pages, and wanting to see what comes next. Loved it!!
We meet American Kyna soon after she lands in Ireland. An Irish aunt has summoned her here. Apparently, adopted Kyna is actually descended from a long line of magical people, and Kyna was sent away as an infant and her magic hidden and diffused. Kyna doesn’t know quite what to think of all this at first. Soon, she is immersed in this magical world right in the middle of an ancient feud.
How will Kyna adapt to this new knowledge about herself? What of the two men who have been tasked to protect and train her?
This is the first time I have read either of these authors. I found the language to be excessively overblown to the point of being difficult to read. It was so unnatural, both in the narrative sections and in dialogue. Not every noun, feeling, action, or event has to be described in excruciating detail to be adequately shown and not told; metaphor, simile, and other literary devices may be occasionally left at the wayside. The narrative sections often went on for quite a while without a dialogue break, and I personally find that difficult to read. I’ll do a share a few quotes below to show what I mean.
The book had some surprising problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage. At times, wrong tenses were used. There were some close-but-not-quite-right words like taut versus taunt. At times, there were too many commas.
Here are a few examples of what I think are overwritten prose:
“While she presumed the stone to be a light grey in the light of day, it accosted her with looming shades of smoke, as if old and charred, from her storm-shielded, misty view. The metallic shriek of her door opening sent a wave of panic crashing over her. From her teeth set on a painful edge, to that cold slither of fear down her spine, she forced herself to ignore each physical sensation, each body betrayal.”
“You will be the death of me, enchanted lady, and I will glory in the coming of it. Pardon me for saying so, so soon, but I think I’m in love with you, and it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever delighted in.”
While I did enjoy parts of this book thrillers are not my favorite type of books to read, I just have to hard of a time enjoying them. The slow pace of this book at the start also gave me problems but I think that is due to the genre. The characters and world building were great though and the storyline flowed nicely. As I said thrillers are not my type of book but this does not mean that others will not totally enjoy the book.