The Necromancer [Kindle Edition]

This story introduces us to Michelle, who is a hard working property manager. She has a fear of men due to a brutal attack suffered in a hotel room. She finds solace working hard, taking karate lessons and trying to continue working on her sobriety.
She meets a man named Omar, and there is a weird attraction to him. Not really a romantic attraction but some sort of draw to this guy. So Michelle decides, why not try to use this guy to get over her phobia of men since she isn't really in danger of falling in love him. Maybe a sexual relationship will help her get over that hump so she can finally have a real relationship with the opposite sex.
But there is something weird about his guy. She has nightmares and he just seems to perfect. Slowly we begin to learn more about Omar. He is sorcerer/wizard or magic using necromancer. He starts affecting things around Michelle. Then we are unclear if his intentions towards Michelle are moral or malicious.

I enjoyed this story because it wasn't an overly romantic PNR and it was definitely different from the typical witch and vampire stories. It wasn't filled with gratuitous sex or cheesy love lines. There was a solid foundation that the author built and the characters were likable. I couldn't put this book down because I just had to know what would happen next. I think this author is one to watch. I will definitely read her other books.

Before I give my review I wanted to give a little warning: There are two semi-graphic rape scenes in this book. Okay, with that being said, I was in a reading slump before I read this and was not expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised when I could not put down this beauty of a book. Here is a quick summary on some of the characters that come together without giving away too much:

Vincent is a well- respected professor who is known to his students as the "Vampire Hunter" because of his research on witches and cults. He has been chasing a man named Omar around the world because he believes he is a leader of a cult that rapes & drugs women in order to make them his "witches" (aka his followers). Vincent thinks if he brings along his young pretty college student Suzanne to Hawaii with him, it will be easier to get on the inside of Omar's world. Poor Suzan has no idea what she's getting into, she just thinks she's along for a free trip. And poor Vincent really doesn't believe in real witches or magic...he's got a lot to learn fast, if he wants to survive.

Michelle (the main character) is in property management for a large hotel in Hawaii and she's darn good at her job no matter how hectic it gets. She is also a recovering alcoholic who had to move to Hawaii from Las Vegas due to a traumatic rape by someone she never saw & was never caught. She has come along way in two years since the rape; she is now active in karate, well respected at work and has a great friend named Heather but she hasn't started dating again. Michelle is terrified of men with good reason and it's causing her to have panic attacks when she's around men outside of work. However, she has decided she wants to get back in the game and try a one-night stand. Omar the gorgeous charming man who just bought out the top floor of her building seems like a good start...if it wasn't for his strange looking eyes holding her back....

Nackamura is the head of the company Michelle works for and he lives in Japan. He has noticed her good work with financial reports over the last two years. He is so impressed with her work that he has decided to come to Hawaii to meet her and offer her a job as his personal assistant in Japan. When Nakamura arrives in Hawaii he automatically finds Michelle attractive but he can't understand her reaction to him. He is used to people reacting warmly when they meet him with his red hair and freckles but Michelle seems to be extremely nervous. He chalks it up to what he read in Michelle's employee report about her having been attacked and after he gets her comfortable and offers her the job he vows to be strictly professional with her, no matter how pretty and smart he thinks she is. He has no idea how hard he's about to fall for his pretty new assistant or the troubles and adventures that lie ahead.

Omar had a tough childhood; his mother died when he was very young and his father never wanted him. As he grew up he took a strong interest in his power over animals and his study in witchcraft. It didn't take long for him to discover he is a very powerful Necromancer (as he likes to call himself). Omar has witch cults that follow him all over the world that help him in his evil tasks. However, Omar has one thing in mind when he came to Hawaii and he's not leaving till he gets what he wants. God help anyone who gets in his way.

There are a few other characters like Lucifer the evil kitten (god I loved him!!!) or the evil giant Sam Stroker with the ugly face and missing tongue....

This is an excellent book for anyone who loves suspense or the study of witchcraft. Although this book has a scary undercurrent, it's also lighthearted and even funny at times. It really shows the power of recovery and friendships as well as love. The author does a beautiful job of switching point of views of characters through out the book without making it confusing or boring. I could hardly believe how much I loved every character even the evil ones! The romance is there but it's not a large part of the book. What I liked about the romance is that the love interest is not the gorgeous love at first sight type you read about all the time. It takes a while to happen and it's his personality she falls for not his looks (and you have gotta love that refreshing change). This book had no filler in it; every last bit had to do with the plot and was very interesting. All in all it was a very good EXCITING read that I could not put down! When all the characters above come together is just makes for a quirky, scary, exciting, passionate, fun read!

(Disclosure - I received this book free in an author giveaway.)

This book and I got off to a rough start. Initially, many of the characters were either unlikeable or too inconsistent for me to care about. Michelle, the main character, seems rather chilly, distant and intelligent, yet simultaneously stupid and unthinking in ways that don't really add up for me.

I also got hung up on some errors that I encountered in the book - common misspellings and other minor errors - as well as some facts that didn't wash. I felt as though some things were just thrown in so as not to waste the research, so to speak.

The first character that intrigued me was Nakamura. Soon, Michelle's interactions with Nakamura started giving her character more depth and realism. I'm not sure where exactly, but somewhere just past the halfway point, I got sucked in and really started to enjoy the book. The cast of characters came together and meshed, I started to care about the good guys, and there was enough action and momentum to carry me past the small issues.

The Hawaiian setting was beautiful, and the author was good at providing details that added realism to the story environment.

Though I nearly gave up on the book early on, I'm glad I stuck with it. Yes, it needs editing - both for errors and for a few instances of foreshadowing that go nowhere - but the story works out and I think the book redeems itself.