[RUJ]∎ [PDF] Dark Oracle Alayna Williams 9781439182796 Books

Dark Oracle Alayna Williams 9781439182796 Books

Download As PDF : Dark Oracle Alayna Williams 9781439182796 Books

Dark Oracle Alayna Williams 9781439182796 Books

I loved the book. Since I am a psychic reader and am familiar with tarot, the book felt like I was coming home. It was comfortable for me, although there was definitely lots of suspense...I see other reader's comments about plot, relationships, etc. Rather than picking apart the plot, I will just say go for the ride. I personally have jumped into relationships over my lifetime just because it felt right. I was married once and have three daughters but I have handled short and long term relationships and there are empaths in this world who will just feel their way into a relationship. This book was intriguing and made me want to refresh my scientific knowledge of black holes... Will check author's other publications to see what I want to read.


Tags : Dark Oracle [Alayna Williams] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <B>TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER. <BR><BR></B>As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved,Alayna Williams,Dark Oracle,Pocket Books,1439182795,Criminal profilers,Criminal profilers;Fiction.,Fantasy fiction,Missing persons,Missing persons;Fiction.,Mystery fiction,Secret societies,Tarot cards,Victims of violent crimes,Victims of violent crimes;Fiction.,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,FICTION Fantasy Contemporary,FICTION Fantasy General,FICTION General,Fantasy,Fantasy - Contemporary,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Science Fiction And Fantasy

Dark Oracle Alayna Williams 9781439182796 Books Reviews

DARK ORACLE is the start to an intriguing urban fantasy series. Instead of the usual vampires, werewolves, or fae, author Alayna Williams brings in a new inspiration the oracles of Delphi. In modern day, they are known as Delphi's Daughters and led by the Pythia. They're a secret society of women who can read the future, but they're not all powerful. They're soccer moms and bikers.

Tara is the only woman to leave Delphi's Daughters. Skilled in the art of cartomancy (using tarot cards to read the future), she used to work for the government as a profiler. After she got chewed up and spit out by a bad case, she left the Feds and the Daughters behind, wanting solitude and to live her own life. But when a scientist working on a deadly project disappears, Tara gets dragged back into the worlds she left.

Clues to Tara's past are sprinkled throughout the book, and build her character. She's not the usual up-in-your-face, brash, kick-butt type of urban fantasy heroine. Tara is cautious. Well, more cautious than most, but she does charge headfirst into some situations. I liked Tara's cautiousness and hesitance to get involved. The clues of her past hint at something dark and horrible, so I found it believable that it took her time to get over that. She goes from almost having a claustrophobia-induced panic attack at a crime scene to charging into danger to save her man.

DARK ORACLE doesn't read like your typical urban fantasy. It has more of a mystery or detective story feel. The everyday crime story combined with some hints of magic. I liked that the paranormal world in this series isn't always upfront. You know it's there, and that the oracles have some influence over the events of the world, but there's still the possibility that choice and free will can change the forecasted future. There's also quite a bit of focus on science, which isn't usually something you find in urban fantasy.

The writing in DARK ORACLE does get bogged down at times by the extensive descriptions of tarot reading. I both liked and disliked the use of tarot cards. I thought it was a neat way to foreshadow, but I could have done without the extended descriptions of each card and its significance. I'll admit, I ended up skimming some of those passages. But if tarot reading is something you have an interest in, you'll probably find those parts more interesting than I did.

Aside from Tara, the rest of the characters are pretty well done. The author makes an effort to give even the animals personality. Maggie the dog and Oscar the cat were actually some of my favorite characters, along with Cassie, the daughter of the missing scientist. The one rub for me was Harry, Tara's love interest. I would have liked to see more development of their relationship.

The main story of this novel concludes at the end of DARK ORACLE, which is nice. No frustrating cliffhanger, but there is room for more, and I'll be reading the sequel, ROGUE ORACLE, to see what happens to Tara, Harry, and Cassie. And the animals!

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
An engaging, fast-paced read with a tough and tender heroin who, miracle of miracles, actually has a learning curve! Refreshing and fun.
This book was completely and utterly dull to me. Several times I even came back to to re-read the reviews, just so I could be encouraged to continue reading this book. It's ashamed really, I was so looking forward to this fantasy/scifi hybrid. I imagined it to have real promise and be something different from the norm. Although it was different from the norm, there wasn't enough action and progress in the story to hold my attention.

I don't think this author Laura Bickle/Alayna Williams' writing style jives with me. When reviewing her books, my opinion always seems to be in the minority. I'm never impressed with her books and usually walk away from it feeling disappointed and bored. Therefore, this author and her pseudonym will be stricken from my reading list.
When I heard that Laura Bickle would bring out another urban fantasy series under the pseudonym Alayna Williams I was over the moon. Since I enjoyed Embers so much, I thought that DARK ORACLE would be a sure deal. Even if the cover looked like it was photoshopped by an amateur, the concept sounded interesting.

Profiler Tara Gilian was used to hunt serial killers, but one of them turned on her and the experience left her scarred physically as well as mentally.
When her former allies, the Oracles of Delphi call her for help, Tara wants to refuse. She's done with this scene. Her cards tell her to help them though and it's hard to refuse fate.

While I was reading DARK ORACLE a suspicion sneaked up on me. Writers rarely sell their first novel and they often have several novels they are shopping around, trying to get a publisher. I believe that DARK ORACLE is the older and Embers the more recent novel. That's the most logical explanation for the differing skill sets shown by the author. 'Cause there is a difference - not only in style and tone - but in the level of expertise.
Let's start with the concept. In theory a criminal profiler who solves her cases with the help of tarot, doesn't sound bad. Especially, when this profiler abandoned the secret society of oracles where her deceased mother was a prominent member. The reality is mind bogglingly dull. When Tara lays her cards, she describes them in great detail. Why would she do that? She knows these cards (and what's on them) better than the back of her hand! At first I thought they were magical and that the pictures would change slightly to adapt to the situation, but it turns out the cards are mundane. Some of the sets hold more than eight cards and when Tara finishes with the last one I had already forgotten what had come before. Her results are vague and can't compare with the more flashy methods of the other oracles. Maybe someone, who is familiar with tarot, will appreciate this part of the story more than I. Still, there must be a way to make these scenes interesting.
The male dominated military against female dominated magical society fighting for possession of a new, extremely dangerous technology (military wants to use it for nefarious purposes, oracles want to prevent its use) plot is stereotypical and cheesy. Williams struggles bravely against the cheesefest, but it breaks through time and time again.
While the characters have the potential to ground the story in reality, they often add to the melodrama. I liked Tara's background, the way she was scarred emotionally and physically and how she tried to deal with it (not always successfully). However, others portray her as a warrior (the other oracles, her mother, her boyfriend), but there is nothing in her mental make up to convince me of it. Neither her power nor her personality seem suited to this task. That doesn't mean she can't hold her own if she needs to, but there's a vulnerability, a softness, a passivity to Tara that don't mesh with my understanding of the term "warrior". I also didn't like the relationship with her sorta-boyfriend. It develops in leaps and bounds, backtracks again and there's much agonizing on Tara's part. No thanks.
The best thing about this novel is a minor character. Wily old Martin knows enough about heart attacks to outfox the enemy and enough about sensual massages to embarrass his protégé. There is something about him that feels real and authentic, that others lacked.

In the end I was happy I discovered Laura Bickle first. If it had been the other way round I'm not sure I would have tried the superior Embers and I would have missed out on a very enjoyable novel.
I loved the book. Since I am a psychic reader and am familiar with tarot, the book felt like I was coming home. It was comfortable for me, although there was definitely lots of suspense...I see other reader's comments about plot, relationships, etc. Rather than picking apart the plot, I will just say go for the ride. I personally have jumped into relationships over my lifetime just because it felt right. I was married once and have three daughters but I have handled short and long term relationships and there are empaths in this world who will just feel their way into a relationship. This book was intriguing and made me want to refresh my scientific knowledge of black holes... Will check author's other publications to see what I want to read.