Review: Touch of Rain by Teyla Branton

Posted February 7, 2018 by Lola in Fantasy, Mystery, Review, Suspense / 14 Comments

LolaReview

Touch of RainTouch of Rain(Imprints #1)
by Teyla Branton

Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Paranormal Suspense

Blurb:
Sometimes what you can’t see means everything

When a young woman vanishes without a trace, her heartbroken parents turn to the last prospect they can find for hope: Autumn Rain. Autumn reads imprints—emotions left behind on certain objects. Only she can shed light on their daughter’s last thoughts.

But Autumn’s gift makes her life difficult. Everyday activities like opening a door or holding a friend’s keys can send her into turmoil. It doesn’t help that the infuriating Detective Shannon Martin, who Autumn has helped on cases, usually treats her more like a suspect than a consultant. Too often Autumn finds herself retreating to her antiques shop and the company of her best friend, Jake Ryan, to avoid notice.

Private detective Ethan McConnell, whose widowed sister has gone missing under similar circumstances, also comes to Autumn for help, but her involvement sets in motion a series of events that risk not only her own life, but the lives of those she cares about most.

My Review:
This was one of those books that somehow caught my eye, in a newsletter I think it was. I liked the sound of the blurb and decided to buy it and it ended up being an amazing book. Touch of Rain has a very unique feel. It has a strong and extremely well written suspense plot line, a well thought out paranormal aspect, a great main character and multiple twists that took me by surprise.

The blend of paranormal and suspense elements worked so well in this book. Both added something to the book and I never felt like one or the other overshadowed the other element. Touch of Rain follows the story of Autumn who is asked to read the imprints for a couple whose daughter disappeared. At first it doesn’t seem to lead to much, but when another person also comes to her with a similar case, the suspense plot line starts moving.

I found the start of the book a little bit slow, not sure why exactly, but it wasn’t until a little while later when the suspense plot line started progressing that I got sucked into the story. And when I did got pulled into the story I didn’t want to put the book down as I wanted to know what would happen next.

I also like how unique this novel is, the whole feel of it and many of the little touches are just a bit different than most books out there, which was refreshing. I liked how quirky Autumn was, just a tad too different to be unnoticeable, but she made for a great for a great main character. And the way the author wrote the suspense plot line and the twists were amazing.

On the topic of twists, I have to say I am impressed with how the author pulled of two great twists toward the end of the book. It’s hard for books to really take me by surprise and often by the way things are written you can get a feel for where things are going, but not with this book. And I also liked how both twists did make sense once you knew them and things fell on it’s place.

I liked reading about Autumn, she was such a kind person. She truly seemed to care about others. I liked how she handled her paranormal ability and how that influenced her as a person. She grew up with two parents who gave her a lot of freedom and she has found her way with the antique shop she runs and her close friend Jake took over the herb shop. I liked reading about the store and getting a feel for her life.

There is a large cast of side characters, but everyone is worked out well enough that it was easy to keep everyone separate. I also liked how with some characters you weren’t quite sure what their intentions were. I also really liked Autumn’s sister and their connection and I hope we get to see more of her in the next book too.

There is a hint of romance. There seem to be three potential love interest for Autumn at the start of the book. We don’t get as many scenes with Shannon, but from the scenes we get there is definitely some interest on both sides. Jake is Autumn’s best friend and I liked how close these two were and how well they knew each other. They always have each other’s back, although Jake could be a tad overprotective of her at times. Then there is Ethan, who she meets at the start of the book and they quickly develop feelings. And he helps Autumn with the investigation.

I have to admit that at first I wondered if the romance would go into the reverse harem direction as it seemed like the perfect set-up for that, with three possible love interest that all have a different personality and seem to fit well with the main character. But at the end of the book I can say I am relatively sure it won’t go into that direction, but who knows. I did like the bit of romance intermingled into the story. I could understand Autumn’s connection with each of these men and it was interesting to see how she interacted with them.

The paranormal aspect was one of my favorite parts of this book. I like reading about powers like the one Autumn has, it seems very down to earth/ subtle and not as big and flashy, but then she can do so much with it. And while the paranormal aspect almost seemed subtle, it was such an important part of the book. And I liked how well the author seemed to have thought everything through. From what would hold imprints the best to which part of her body were most susceptible to pick them up to how she experiences the imprints and how she lives with her ability. It was all thought out very well and it really came alive due to how the author wrote it. It also wasn’t that the paranormal aspect added only some flavor to the book, no it’s an integral part of the story. The story wouldn’t work without the paranormal aspect and I really liked how the author handled it.

To summarize: This was an awesome book. It caught my attention in a newsletter and I decided to buy it as I liked the premise. It’s a great paranormal suspense book. The suspense part is really well done and there are some great twists at the end. The main character Autumn is a bit quirky, very likeable and kind. I liked reading about her and how she handled this whole situation. I also liked reading about how she interacted with the other side characters. There are three potential love interests for Autumn in this book and I liked seeing how she has a connection with all of them. The paranormal aspect was very well done. I really liked the concept of Autumn seeing imprints and I thought the author handled it very well. It was an important part of the story and very well thought out. The start of the book was a tiny bit slow, but once the suspense plot line started making progress the story completely had my attention. I bought book 2 before I even finished this one and hope to continue this series soon.

4 Stars

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
B&N
Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Do you like reading about more subtle paranormal powers?

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14 responses to “Review: Touch of Rain by Teyla Branton

    • I almost finished book 2 and this series is really good so far. I loved how the paranormal and suspense elements blended and the main character is great.

  1. Yes. It seems more…. realistic? Than flash-bang magic, somehow. Which is fine in some settings, but in others, subtle paranormal can fit better, imho.

    • I agree, it does seem more realistic. Although I also like flash bang magic, but it both has a very different feel. The subtle paranormal elements really shine in this series.

  2. Paranormal and suspense can def go great together. And quirky characters are great when written well! The twists sound great too and make me curious. And whoa, three potential love interests! That’s kinda cool though that you can’t tell where that’ll go yet, that it’s a bit unpredictable. Sounds like a good book, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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    • I haven’t read as many books that combined the two aspects so well, but this series nails the combination of paranormal and suspense. And Autumn makes for a great quirky main character. And I love it when an author can surprise me with the twists. Even now that I am in book 2 I am still not sure where the romance will end up.

    • I agree, I rarely buy the second book before I finish the first one, so it’s definitely a sign of how much I enjoyed it. I almost finished book 2 and it’s just as good!

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