Jasmine is convinced she's invincible. The visions she experienced as a child told her so.
She’s crazy to build her life on childhood visions, but …
Jasmine Wade, rich man’s eye-candy, trusts in visions she experienced as a child. In them she “traveled” with a woman facing incredible danger and vanquishing evil. Driven by this ideal,
Jasmine is determined to change the world—at least her little corner of it.
Kidnapped, not for ransom, but to be eliminated, Jasmine must depend on her wits to survive.
But where, in this mix, are the aliens who are using her as their tool? Will they be the ones to save Jasmine? And, if not …?
EMPOWERED, book two of the Em and Yves sci-fi series –action, suspense, and human relationships woven into a story you won't want to put down.
Buy EMPOWERED to enjoy grand adventure as aliens try to “fix” Earth.
Excerpt
“Honey, can you talk to me? Please. Talk to me.”
The little girl stared straight ahead, eyes wide, unblinking. In all her years of teaching, Mrs. Craig had never encountered anything like this with a student—this … trance …?
“Sweetheart, come back. Come back.” She rubbed the child’s back; saw the flicker of an eyelid. Thank God. “Sweetheart?”
“Where are they?” the girl asked. She looked around the room and then at her teacher. “Where are they?”
“Who?”
“The babies.”
“What babies, sweetie?”
“The babies all in pieces.”
*
Jaz crawled out of bed. Three in the morning and she wouldn’t sleep now. She was seeing them again—the visions from her childhood. They’d been with her forever, tucked into a back corner of her mind, hovering over her protectively. Now why did she think of them as protective when they were mostly bloody and brutal and harsh and cruel? What happened in those visions was atrocious; she’d known that even as a child, so why hadn’t she been afraid then? Why wasn’t she afraid now? Why did she think of them as a safeguard, a shield? And a shield against what? Those babies in pieces … She shuddered, wrapped her arms around herself and paced.
God, she had to find him—the man she could share this with, the man who would help carry the burden, the man she’d been promised in those dreams.
Professional Reviews
Perfect heros or regular people manipulated by the gods?
Do you believe in reincarnation? What if your past life and the next was controlled by "powers" with an agenda? These questions floated through my mind as I read EMPOWERED, the second in a series. I had not read the first book in the series, EMBATTLED, so I wondered if this one could stand alone. Yes. The characters are well developed and the author tells a complete story within this book. That doesn't mean the story ends or begins in this volume.
This novel follows Jasmine and Victor as they fall in love and face a great challenge. The author uses a "flashback" technique to give readers insight into all the major characters' past. It's effective and interesting. Readers aren't "told" the things we need to know in a long dry narrative, we're shown parts of the characters' stories. The only exception is the background of the entities that watch and manipulate people on Earth (and other planets) for a special purpose.
At first I thought the two lovers (who were destined to be together) seemed too good to be true. Then I realized they were forced to be perfect by the "powers." From childhood Jasmine and Victor felt compelled to make the world a better place and wait for their soul mates. Is this fair? Well the "powers" do what is necessary to achieve their goals and let puny mortals fight their battles. Who are these powers anyway? Angels? Olympic gods? Alien beings? I guess we need to read the rest of the series to find out--clever of the author to make us wonder.
This book is a blend of romance, adventure, and science fiction. Darlene Jones is a talented writer who makes us wonder if the world can be a better place. I'm sure "powers" manipulate her for their greater purpose but we get to enjoy the result.
Anne-Rae Vasquez
Although I had not read the first book in the series, Empowered was a great read on its own. The author did a good job with character development and I never felt I was missing any information. I enjoyed the the twists in the story and the strong female character Jasmine. At first, we think she is a typical blonde rich airhead but find out she is someone quite interesting. Throw in some supernatural reincarnation and you have a very entertaining read. I am a fan of TV shows such as Fringe and Lost so the supernatural aspects struck a positive chord. I look forward to reading Jones' other books in the series.
I give 4.5/5 stars. Highly recommend this book if you like romance, adventure and supernatural thrillers.
5-star Review on Amazon: "A terrific read about a very disturbing subject!! The book is exciting and interesting and chilling and alarming! A literary ride that is well worth the time and money."
----
Aggressive AI invades young boy. Can he sav
Evil Seed: Mother Earth vs. the Human Race; Who Will Survive?
Launched onto a surreal odyssey by a desperate call for help, a heroine reluctant to save her own unworthy species, coupled with her closest friends and a band of otherworldly allies,
This chair is not your grandmother's rocking chair! In fact, you wouldn't want your grandmother or any loved one near it! So find a well lit room and enjoy an intense read of this Sci-Fi thriller.
