A Dream Within A Dream: Touching Evil Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Touching Evil (The Leila Marx Novels #1)
Author: Amber Garr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1480021594

ISBN 10: 1480021598)
Number of pages: 326
Word Count: 81,000
Cover Artist: Amber Garr

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/1z7SEGu0jwo

Book Description:

Leila Marx is trying to put her life back together after her fiancé is murdered. Her book illustrating career has limited her social contact and nightmares have trapped her in the past. When a police acquaintance enlists her help with a difficult case, Leila is surprisingly thankful to have a purpose. Not only will this help to keep her mind focused, but she will be able to use her talents as a touch clairvoyant that are frequently dismissed by skeptics. Leila and Detective Garrick Pearson delve into the mystery behind a series of missing teenage girls and mummified corpses while fighting their own growing attraction to each other.

Conner Hoffman is an intriguing lawyer and striking half-demon who enters Leila’s life unexpectedly. Although her visions are terrifying, she is fascinated by his charm and his legacy. When it becomes evident that the murders are linked to a paranormal event, Conner introduces Leila to a world unbeknownst to ordinary society. She suddenly finds herself immersed in supernatural politics, sorcery, and danger as she becomes the killer’s next target. Staying alive will mean relying on friends, accepting the unbelievable, and trusting in her heart again.

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What does one wear when they commit the first felony of their life? I probably spent two hours going through my closest trying to find something criminal. It had to be black. Yes, definitely black. I finally settled on a turtleneck, spandex workout pants, and the only pair of black sneakers I’d ever owned. They were left over from my waitressing days and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were still in good shape, even if they did smell a little like grease.
I just finished pulling my hair back into a low bun, like spy girls do in the movies, when the doorbell rang. Conner was here and my heart fluttered instantly. Last night had been a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my evening with Garrick, but this was the first time any man had been to my house who wasn’t a part of the police force since Russ was killed. This was also the first time I’d ever had a half demon in the house, at least as far as I knew. After another quick glance in the mirror, I bounced over to the door.
And as soon as I opened it I realized how much of a dork I must have looked like.
There was Conner, in a regular pair of jeans and a college sweatshirt doing all that he could not to laugh at me. I glared up at him.
“What? No one told me what to wear so I had to improvise.” He started laughing but then choked it back down when I tried to close the door on him. His foot shot out and blocked my attempt.
“I’m sorry. You look good. Really.” He smiled fully at me and then bowed his head as he put his hands together in a prayer-like position. “May I have permission to enter my ninja warrior princess?”
I could see his shoulders shake with amusement again and I refused to be embarrassed. With an exaggerated sigh, I walked back into my bedroom, leaving Conner to let himself in. I decided that he should wallow in uncomfortable silence for a while, although when I came back into the living room and saw him flipping through some of my illustrations, I realized he was unfazed.
“These are really good. You’re quite talented.” I stood there, leaning against the wall for a few seconds trying to judge if he was being serious or not. Just as I started to give him the benefit of the doubt, he arched an eyebrow my way and said, “A much better artist than fashionista.”
I threw the sweatshirt I had in my hands at him and stomped over to the kitchen. His laugh consumed the room and I was surprised to find a smile on my face as I opened the refrigerator.
“Should we take snacks?” I asked. We were going to drive to a spot close to the house and wait until it was clear. I’d been told that it might take several hours and I didn’t want the cambion getting hungry while we waited.
“Sure, if you want. Maybe some water would be good.” It was obvious that he enjoyed my lack of stake-out abilities.
I grabbed one of my reusable grocery bags and filled it up with water, crackers, and Twizzlers. All of the essentials. I briefly considered grabbing a bottle of wine to control my anxiety, but decided against it in the end.
“So, are we ready to go?” I asked as I hoisted the bag on my shoulder and grabbed the sweatshirt back. He studied me for a moment and then pulled an object from his back pocket.
“Not until you put this on,” he said as he tossed something small and black at me. It was a ski mask, one of those ones that covered everything except for your eyes. I pulled it over my head and batted my lashes.
“Am I ready now?”
He laughed and took the snack bag off my shoulder. “Yes, Leila. I think you’re ready for a life of crime.”

Touching Evil is the first book in an urban fantasy series that follows our heroine, Leila Marx, as she tries to heal after the murder of her fiance. She fills her days with illustrating books and occasionally helping the police with cold cases. Leila has the gift of being a touch clairvoyant - she is able to glean information from merely touching a person or an object. Only this time, the police need her help to catch a serial killer targeting teen girls. On top of the case and Leila's growing attraction to Detective Garrick Pearson, Leila discovers that all the creatures she thought were fairytales actually exist. A team of supernatural beings has come together to help Leila crack the police case she's helping on. Soon Leila finds herself the killer's next target. Will Leila and her newfound friends be able to stop the killer before it's too late?

I found this to be a fantastic start to an awesome new series. There's a ton of different things going on throughout the novel that it keeps the reader on their toes, but doesn't overwhelm or confuse them. I love the psychic aspect to the plot and the main character of Leila. The way that the author uses different topics and genres to tie all the storylines in the book together was seamless. There's tons of action, adventure, mystery, fantasy and even romance in the book. The characters were interesting and made up an unique cast for the series. The romance that blooms in the book wasn't too corny and didn't overpower the main plot, which I really liked. The writing itself was very well done and I enjoyed reading about the different characters, their histories, and their abilities. The plot was fast paced and had great twists that kept me guessing. Overall, this is a wonderful first book in a series that urban fantasy lovers will not want to miss. I'll definitely be reading the next installment.

Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.

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