Review for Improbables by Jonathan Charles Bruce

Improbables

By Jonathan Charles Bruce

Publisher: Booktrope

Date of Publication: February 22, 2016

Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN: 978-1-5137-0653-5

ASIN: B01BH86AWU

Number of pages: 334

Word Count: 107,360

Cover Artist: Ashley Ruggirello

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About the book:

Abigail Wren’s new life fresh out of college is dull, even with her (almost) dream job at the local newspaper. The only real excitement she can get is found between the pages of an endless stream of paranormal romance novels she can’t help but love.

Then, on a snowy night in December, Abigail catches a glimpse of what could only be described as a werewolf. Enamored with the possibility, her investigation leads her to discover a paranormal population—improbables—harmoniously living in the midst of humanity. Between making eyes at a perpetually grumpy werewolf and hanging out with a vampire with a lust for life (and liquor), Abigail’s life takes a shaky step out of the ordinary and into the fantastic.

Just outside of the sleepy town of Whitewater, however, a force of rage is building. Born of hate and delusion, a living cataclysm threatens to devour everyone in its path—human or improbable.

An eclectic reader by nature, I’m always on the lookout for something new, different, unusual or ahead of its time so when I got the opportunity to read and review Improbables by Jonathan Charles Bruce, I jumped at the chance.  A cross between paranormal fiction and a mystery/thriller, Improbables is filled with colorful characters and a light touch of humor.  If you’re looking for something different, you just might find what you’re looking for in the Improbables.

Mr. Bruce does a very good job introducing and developing the main characters in his story right from the start.  I easily connected with the primary human character, Abigail, a young African American woman who has just graduated from college with a degree in journalism and is headed to the Pacific Northwest for her first real job.  She’s smart, funny and soon finds herself caught up in a paranormal situation more complicated than the ones she’s read about in her favorite paranormal romances.  I also connected with Winston Nakamura, one of her co-workers at the local newspaper, who is the second “witness” to the paranormal goings on about town.  He’s spent his whole life with paranormal beings all around him and just hasn’t noticed them. 

The paranormal characters written and developed by Mr. Bruce were in a word fantastic.  I easily connected with Marley, the female vampire and sort of de-facto leader of the “Improbables” as they like to refer to themselves.  Collins, the ever grumpy werewolf, made me laugh, especially since Marley is his godmother and because his running around, and occasionally getting photographed, in his werewolf form is behind part of what brings the problems to the small town of Whitewater.  My most favorite character though had to be “Cat”, I won’t spoil the surprise by telling you what kind of paranormal creature “Cat” is, only to tell you that he is not a feline.  The villain of the story is an interesting paranormal character, I really can’t tell you much about this character without spoiling a big part of the mystery.  I can tell you that the character is also well developed and I particularly enjoyed watching Abigail and Marley solve how to deal with the dilemma and danger this character posed.

The romance is not really central to the story and wasn’t between the characters I expected.  I won’t spoil the mystery by telling you who became attracted to whom,  but I will tell you that there is one scene in particular, dealing with Abigail’s romantic past, that really made me laugh.  The story’s pace is quick and fairly even and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages to discover what is going to happen next.

Will Abigail and the “Improbables” survive the attack from an entity determined to “purge” the world of everything it deems evil?  Will Abigail finally discover where she really belongs?  And what will she tell the public about the situation in Whitewater?  You’ll have to read Improbables to find out, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Mr. Bruce’s work.

My Rating:  4.5 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author for a fair and honest review.  My opinion of the reading material provided is independent of any other factor.