Crossing the Veil with Laura Whitcomb

Laura Whitcomb will enchant you with her beautiful prose and imaginative spirit realms. Her paranormal romances are refreshingly compelling. If you are thinking of reading (or writing) a ghost love story, these books are worth checking out.

A Certain Slant of Light 

"In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen--terrified, but intrigued--is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess." 

When I mention this book to people they usually say, "Nice title." It comes from a poem of the same title by Emily Dickinson, which you can read here. This was the first book I read from Laura Whitcomb, and it sucked me in. I really loved her evocative prose, especially when she is describing the experiences Helen goes through as a ghost. The spirit world feels very real, and the romance is beautifully star-crossed. The characters go through so much! It was one of those books that I could not put down. Don't you love it when that happens?

The Fetch

"Calder, like every Fetch, had only one name, but he had two ages: his Earth Years numbered nineteen and his Death Years numbered three hundred and thirty. Though it was no excuse for what he would do, for a Fetch, Calder was young. The Order of the Fetch, on the other hand, was old--it began when the ruins of the first garden could still be found hiding in the desert beside a river, a blanket of green having grown over her like a shroud, and, in this moist cave that was once Eden, at the heart of her darkness, the Tree of Knowledge bowed to the earth."

Calder (love the name!) is a Fetch aka Death Escort whose role is to guide spirits to the afterlife. He has a key to doors that lead him to the souls of people that are are dying. He believes he has found an apprentice in a young woman and must give her the key that opens the death doors. In his quest he takes over the body of  a recently deceased man, Rasputin. The story takes place during the Russian Revolution and is part historical fiction, part fantasy, part love story. Although it can be slow in parts, I enjoyed the love story, and of course the spirit realm that Laura creates is amazing.

 Laura Whitcomb's Website
http://www.laurawhitcomb.com/index.htm

Laura Whitcomb's Blog
http://laurawhitcomb.wordpress.com/