Chime

By Fran Billingsley
Genre: Paranormal with a bit of romance
Rating: 4 stars

Briony Larkin is the reverend's daughter, a twin, with pale skin and hair and dark dark eyes.  She lives in her small swamp-side town which is slowly draining the swamp to make way for progress.  And Briony is a witch.  How else can she explain her ability to talk to the swamp spirits and to the ghosts of the dead?  How else can she explain the terrible things she's done, like calling up Mucky Face to attack Stepmother or calling up the fire to burn up the parsonage's library or having her jealousy cause her sister Rose to fall off the swing and never be right in the head again?  Briony cannot love, is not capable of love. But when Eldric comes to board at the parsonage, Briony's heart wants to open. He is handsome and fun-loving and seems to want to spend time with her.  But what if he finds out what she really is?  When Rose develops the dreaded Swamp Cough, Briony realizes she needs to make some sacrifices to save her.  But when you deal with the Old Ones, you better be sure of what kind of bargain you are making.  It is creepy and dark, just how you like your paranormal stories, and there's definitely something "not right" going on you'll be eager to uncover.