Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall

Echo Falls is a Paranormal Romance.

Phoebe Martin has just moved to Echo Falls; running from a past she doesn't wish to embrace.  Upon her arrival, she is attacked by a huge dog and she would have been ripped to shreds if it wasn't for the heroic attributes of Aidan O'Bryan.  In an off-hand, flippant manner, she brushes away the attack and Aidan's help.

Aidan, a police officer and an Alpha-male werewolf, has his own secret agenda for keeping the streets of Echo Falls safe.  When a serial killer begins to kill people in town, Aidan and his task force are set to remove the Hunter from their midst.  Someone is killing off their kind and Aidan is determined to find out who it is before too many more are killed.

Phoebe is attracted to Aidan and wishes to keep him at a distance.  There are things about Phoebe that Aidan could never find out and she tries to discourage their friendship but to no avail, Aidan has sworn to protect Phoebe at all costs.

The Hunter is tracking someone in Echo Falls and the psychological mind games he plays with his victim makes it hard for them to trust anyone and everyone is guilty of subterfuge.  Who can Phoebe trust, she has been running for so long and she finally felt like Echo Falls may be the future she is looking for.  However, someone is killing her friends and she feels that only she can stop the madness.

I loved this book and thought it was an excellent paranormal romance.  I loved the descriptions of the characters and enjoyed their back stories and thought they fit the story nicely.  I liked the attraction of Phoebe and Aidan and enjoyed watching their relationship grow.  I thought Phoebe's trust issues were believable and I loved how Aidan ingrained himself into her life.

I thought however, there was, at times, too much time in between the characters and when they should have reacted to one another.  Such as, Aidan swore to keep Phoebe safe and then doesn't come around for a few days...I understand he was giving her distance, but for the events unfolding, propriety should have been set aside for urgency.  I thought that Aidan didn't dig deep enough when he should  have.

I loved Mia and her wickedness and thought she was written perfectly to balance the characterizations of Phoebe and Elle, who befriended Phoebe from the onset of the book.  I thought that there could have been more back story between these women, as well as several of the packs other members, such as Elle's husband Will, Aidan's best friend Thomas and even The Hunter.  While I loved how the story progressed, I felt it could have been so much more with that added level of character understanding.

I would give Echo Falls a four out of five stars.  I loved the pace of the story, the draw to the plot and the romance that built upon itself instead of rushing, however, I would love to see more of the back story characters.  With a little more definition, Jaime McDougall is definitely a writer to keep on watch list, she has the right stuff and I would definitely read more of her work!

SYNOPSIS:
Running from a nightmare stalking her every move, Phoebe Martin arrives in Echo Falls hoping she has finally found a safe place to stop. But trouble has a way of catching up and soon the signs are there.

After a vicious attack in an alley, policeman Aidan O'Bryan is left with Phoebe as his only path to understanding why the Echo Falls werewolf pack - his pack - is being attacked. When another pack member is killed, Phoebe is forced to confront her past before she loses Aidan and everything she has come to love.

Love and duty become one as Aidan strives to prevent Phoebe from becoming the next victim. But with Phoebe just as determined to protect Aidan and her new home, secrets from her past threaten to tear them apart. Will love give Phoebe the strength to trust Aidan and face her fears, or will her past destroy her future?

 

 ** Disclosure: I did not accept any compensation from the sponsors other than review copies, my views are my own, reviewed by me..as I see it~!! **