I borrowed a copy of Elizabeth Hunter‘s Suddenly Psychic through Amazon Prime.
Every woman goes through changes in their forties.
Just not… these changes.
Robin Brannon was a normal wife, mom, and antique shop owner until a brush with death turned her day-to-day life upside down. Now she and her two best friends are seeing things that belong in a fantasy novel. Ghosts. Visions. Omens of doom. Nothing that belongs in the peaceful mountain town they call home.
Added to that, Robin’s marriage is on the rocks, her grandmother’s health is failing, her mother is driving away the customers at her shop, her teenage daughter refuses to get her drivers’ license, and her left knee aches every darn morning.
Robin doesn’t have the time, energy, or knees to unearth the secrets buried at the bottom of Glimmer Lake, but fate doesn’t seem to care. Some secrets are just dying to be exposed.
Paranormal Women’s Fiction has become one of my favorite genres. But I fully admit that, of those I’ve read, some authors are more successful writing 40+ year old heroines than others. A lot of them feel 20 but the reader is told they’re 40 and that’s about that. But Hunter hit a home run here.
I related to so much of Robin’s character. She wasn’t overly cutesy in some warped attempt to be relevant. Her age-related struggles felt real, not just painted on or cliched. Aching knees or twitchy bladder alone does not a middle aged women make. Robin and her best friends feel like real women in their mid-40s. And I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that.
Similarly, her romantic struggles were a departure from the norm. I swear something like 85% of PWF books start with a divorce. (I made that number up, but it’s a lot.) That Robin is trying to save the marriage that is wounded but so clearly not dead was a breath of fresh air. Her husband was marvelous, but not a Gary Stu.
I also liked that the women’s sudden exposure to the psychic wasn’t over the top and was, therefore, a lot easier to swallow. I did think they discovered, discussed and accepted the situation a little too easily. But a story does need to move along. Lastly, with all the parents, siblings, spouses, ex-spouses, children and towns people, I did lose track of who was who on occasion.
Despite those few complaints I’m hoping to get my hands on book 2 and continue the series.
Do you think I was bored? I was bored. I forced myself to the end by pure determination alone. The whole thing is too slow, bogged down in dialogue, explanations of what is to be done, rather than doing, weak characterization, and cutesy book/movie references that did not endear me to the character as intended. Honestly, I felt more for the small, relatively unimportant side character Gerard than ANY of the main characters. And NONE OF IT IS BELIEVABLE, no matter how I suspended my disbelief.