Pam's Review and A Giveaway: Chosen by Paula Bradley

Chosen
~Paula Bradley

 Paperback: 334 pages
Publisher: Fiction Studios (August 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936558106
ISBN-13: 978-1936558100
ASIN: B00551ASGK

From Goodreads:
Shy and introverted Mariah Carpenter has concealed a hidden talent from childhood that, according to her mother, would brand her a freak. Now a fateful encounter has caused her secret skill—an extraordinary psychic ability—to become greatly enhanced. Suddenly, she has a purpose for her gift, as her vision gives her the ability to find kidnapped children telepathically. But is this a blessing or a curse? When Mariah’s fourth finding is filmed by the FBI and the recording is stolen and sold to a broadcast journalist, Mariah’s worst nightmare becomes a reality. She is acclaimed worldwide as a saint and messenger from God—and vilified as the Antichrist whose powers must be quelled. Meanwhile, another government agency has its own covert agenda for Mariah…. In the midst of all of this, Mariah has a series of horrifying nightmares, culminating in the discovery of an ingenious serial killer, one who somehow prevents Mariah from finding out who and where he is. Locating this murderer before he kills again becomes Mariah’s obsession, one that threatens to consume her––and could even destroy her. Chosen introduces readers to a remarkably complex, achingly human, and absolutely unforgettable heroine. Bursting with tension, danger, and the thrill of the unexplained, Chosen is a singular reading experience.

Mariah swallows almost two dozen Restoril pills with the intention of killing herself. She is stunned when she wakes up the next morning, very much alive. However, something happened to her while she was sleeping, something she refers to as the ‘visitation.’ As she confides what happened to her friend, he thinks that this was something miraculous and prompts her to talk to the minister of his church. Michael, the minister, also thinks that this was God’s doing, a miracle. And soon Mariah finds a new home in the church along with singing in the choir. A short while after the ‘visitation’ another unusual occurrence happens that leads Mariah on a psychic sort of journey to find a kidnapped victim. When these psychic like episodes continue Mariah really does not believe that God is behind these events after all….

My Thoughts:
Well, I can definitely say that this book is unique and I have never read anything like it before. It was a good story that kept me interested most of the time, but there were some parts that didn’t fit, and some things that were missing. For instance, Mariah tries to kill herself, and what happens? People think it’s a miracle that she survived, but no one addresses the problem of her wanting to end her life! I just couldn’t fathom it. If my friend tried to kill herself, even if I thought it was a miracle she survived, you better believe I would call a close family member and make her get professional help. Also, sometimes there were too many people for me to keep track of, and the friend that she confided in about her suicide doesn’t get mentioned a second time until so much later in the book that I didn’t remember who he was.

On to the positive; I cannot figure out what is on the cover of this book, and it really creeps me out, which I believe is the intention. As Mariah’s psychic abilities increase, she begins to have different sort of dreams, and some of them even made me scared reading them by myself at night. It takes some pretty good writing to have that kind of frightening effect on me. Also, as mentioned before, this story is definitely one of a kind. You’re not going to read it and have it feel familiar to you.

If you’re looking for a different sort of story, one that may frighten you at times, while at the same time keeping you wanting more, then you should give Chosen a try.

 My Rating:

Pam

Thanks to the lovely ladies over at Media Muscle, 

we have a copy of Chosen to give away to one lucky reader!  Simply leave a comment stating you want to win this book.  

US addresses only.  Contest ends 9/22.

Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.