After refusing to provide an alibi for her unhinged, tyrannical husband all that Brook Davenport desires is to feel safe – Witness Protection is her only hope.
Moments into her new life on the west coast of Scotland, Brook encounters the staggeringly beautiful and reclusive Arwan Jones…
The distantly familiar, compelling but belligerent Mr Jones seems to take an instant dislike to Brook, until one morning when he saves her life under inexplicable circumstances. Soon after Brook is haunted by a series of vivid dreams and visions all centred round Arwan and a strange nebulous world every bit as mysterious and intriguing as he, leaving her to question who, or what, is Arwan Jones and why does she feel such a fundamental need to be near him?
When their relationship takes a surprising turn Brook resolves to learn the truth about Arwan and what lies between them, while unwittingly becoming embroiled in the sinister goings on of a not so sleepy village.
Will Brook be able to live with the reality that Arwan is no mere mortal; or indeed, the discovery that she has a history of running from her past? And the past has its way of catching up . . .
The One
by Annaliese Plowright
Series
The One Saga #1
Genre
Paranormal Romance
Fantasy
Adult
Publisher
Independent
Publication Date
September 4, 2012
I seem to be reading a lot of books that are set in Scotland lately, and this book is no exception. I always seem to enjoy anything that takes place in the Scotland/Ireland part of the world-just the perfect setting(besides New Orleans) for a paranormal story.
Brook’s violent and super controlling husband has just been put in prison for murder after she testified against him. Mobster that he is, he has a long reach even from prison, so she is put into witness protection, and sent to the small village of Claremont. Driving into the outskirts of the town, her car breaks down in front of a huge manor house during a thunderstorm. She meets an “absurdly handsome man” at the house who allows her to use his phone. He is unwelcoming, and pretty much treats her horribly. However, he stares at her the whole time and she is completely unnerved by him. She goes on to start her life in the town, living in a small cottage, and starts her first part time job as a recreation aide at a senior center. But it’s the second job that she starts(thanks to the witness protection service) that shocks her. She is now part time housekeeper for the owner of the manor house, Arwan Jones.
What follows is a story that almost equally balances Brook’s time at the senior center, her time getting to know the people of the village, and her time in the company of the strange Arwan. The author has fully realized not only the main characters of Brook and Arwan, but also the residents of the center, and her new best friend and co-worker at the center, Morag. In addition, a young police officer, Alex, starts showing an interest in her. It’s not long before she realizes that Arwan isn’t exactly human, and that he has an extreme interest in her, after all. And the question here is why?
I would categorize this book as a fantasy, as much as I would a paranormal romance. The paranormal aspects escalate slowly but surely, and the author has paced it perfectly for this type of story. I would also consider it a mystery of sorts, as Brook struggles to find out what is going on with Anwar and his home. The witness protection part of the read was interesting for me as well, as her husband is a piece of work-and not a good one! Add to that the inclusion of teenagers in the area suddenly dying of tainted drug use, and the mystery deepens even more.
I enjoyed the romance between Brook and Arwan, and the mysterious paranormal parts as well. I found this to be well written and plotted by the author, and there is already a second book titled, Into the Dark, that continues the story. As much as I enjoyed this book, I may just have to leave it as a stand alone. The next book sounds like it’s more high fantasy than this one, and I am not always a big fan of that. For those people that like that, than you may love this entire series.
I would recommend this to paranormal romance readers. Very enjoyable read!
The review copy of The One was purchased by the reviewer.
About Annaliese Plowright
Annaliese Plowright wrote her debut novel, The One, during a traumatic period in her life. Discovering a love of writing fantasy romance sheltered her through a divorce, fear for the safety of her family, and bankruptcy. Rather than laying awake at night worrying about her predicament Annaliese transported herself to the fictitious Scottish village of Claremont and during the day she wrote about her adventures there with Brook and Arwan.
Annaliese has a Diploma in Clinical & Advanced Hypnosis and credits her time studying hypnosis with giving her the self belief and confidence to achieve her dream of becoming a writer … ‘Hypnosis opened my eyes to our limitless potential as human beings – set your sights, believe in yourself and above all else, never give up!’
Annaliese was born in Truro, Cornwall in 1976 and emigrated with her family to Perth, Western Australia at the age of 5. As a young adult she moved back to the UK where she lives today with her young son.
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