New Review! Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel 4.5 Cranky Stars

Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Cranky Stars


Rikki has suffered loss in her life. Her mama is the sheriff of the town she feels she is suffocating in. She is working to save so she can leave for Chapel Hill and college and not look back. What she isn’t expecting is Owen Amir to show up in her sleepy town and knock her off her feet. He isn’t in the plan, but he works his way into her heart. She starts to notice some things about him that don’t add up to being human, but she pushes her fears down. Surely, it’s just her imagination. Yet when tragedy strikes once again it sends her running and she is gone for three years. She turns back up in town to face her demons and Owen Amir.


Owen has survived the deserts of Iraq and being a soldier. He lands in Evansville and a red-haired beauty catches his eye. Owen has secrets but all he wants is to fall in love and have a good life for himself. He finds himself going at Rikki’s pace and he knows he should push her away to protect her. When his true nature is revealed hearts are left broken and Rikki leaves. When he sees her again it sparks something in his heart and he knows he won’t let her go a second time.


I had to sit on this review for a bit. I’m trying to find the right words to portray this story. It’s a lot of story and so much backstory. It flips between past and present. I thought it would be more paranormal than it was, but the nature of Owen isn’t really shown till almost the end. You get glimmers of what he might be but you’re not sure. That ending broke my heart but gave it hope. This was a new to me author and she is proficient at world building and portraying how the characters felt. You felt like you were on the ride with Owen and Rikki. If you love a paranormal love story this is for you.



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