Dead Woman’s pond - Elle E.Ire

The beginning was a bit slow and drawn out but towards the end is where it’s at. Neither good nor bad in my opinion. Not sure I liked the narrator, she seems like she wants to be somewhere else other than telling the story. 🤷‍♀️

Well color me surprised - I loved this one! I have to be honest, I grabbed this one because I liked the cover. Once I started it, I was a little surprised by the plot only because I hadn't read the synopsis. but this story is so good! I was instantly drawn in. I liked the MC and her brash and independent ways. Her girlfriend was equally interesting and I loved learning about them. There was maybe a bit more sex than I like to read in a story, but I easily glossed over those parts and just kept going with the plot. I loved following the story and was completely sucked in. Well paced and with the audiobook, the narrator is just wonderful. I'm so glad I read this one.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

My personal choice is always a thriller/crime theme and I’m not a real fan of the supernatural storyline but how can you dislike a story that starts in a bowling alley and has lights coming from a pond!
Flynn's life takes a bad turn in so many ways……job loss, work accidents, car accidents, ghosts, a girlfriend who is a psychic, and discovering her OWN paranormal skills. It all culminates into a jam packed sequence of events that will keep you driving around the block in your car to keep listening to the next chapter.
Anxious to hear what happens next events in Festivity FL .

an intriguing story that wasn't what I expected. Be prepared for a cliffhanger and get ready to eagerly await book 2 :) A nice combination of romance, intrigue, paranormal elements.

Audiobook review.

A paranormal lesbian thriller romance? Not my usual type of 'book', but it came highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a go.

First at all, the narration by Rebecca Lowman is excellent, a relaxing drawl with a superb dramatic range, working well between fragile and tender to enunciated ranting almost spoken word delivery. The presentation is always clear with no confusion on who is speaking.

The characters and the story are captivating, a romance between Flynn a construction work and Gen (Genesis) a renowned clairvoyant.

There are lots of elements outside of the fiction I usually read, spirits, possession, out of body experiences but they are vividly and believably conveyed. That's the test for me, the convincing construction of an internal logic, with supernatural rules of what is an isn't possible, and in this book it really works. The supernatural is core to the plot well balanced with the characters and story.

As the plot progresses Flynn character is tested, as are Gen's powers. There's a will they / won't they stay together romantic plot, as will as a quest to lift a deadly curse and a need for justice and to restore order. There's plenty going on, plenty of variety and it moves at a good pace throughout.

I'm not about to rush out searching for more paranormal fiction, but will definitely be looking out for book two in this series.


Thanks to Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio

I found this book a very interesting read. I actually rated it at 3.5 stars. Its a mystery book which isn't my favourite genre but I always keep trying them out as this book shows there are good mystery books out there for me. This book had a genre hybrid air to it. Feeling like its part mystery,  part thriller and some romance.  It also covers a controversial subject of the acceptance of gay relationships when they were first legalised. This aspect of the book was highlighted brilliantly and was the main focus of the people found dead in the lake. I find it unbelievable how people from the LGBTQIA were treated in the past and this it what made this book so wonderful to read as the cover brought this atrocity to real life. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and the narrator brought a great sense of atmosphere,  which definitely heightened my senses. There were plenty of twists and turns for you to enjoy.  The book contains very interesting elements of psychics,  magical powers and the ability to connect with the ghosts of the dead from the pond. I loved trying to work out what was going to happen next, I was always very surprised.  The ending was so good with plenty going on to keep you page turning and on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens.
Thank you to the author and publishers for producing a brilliant novel that will fill your senses and keep you hooked until the very end.

3/12/21 just left the above review on amazon, goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/dead-woman-s-pond-by-elle-e-ire-orangesky-audio-3-5-stars under my other name ladyreading365

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in November 2021.

"Dead Woman's Pond" by Elle E. Ire was a bit of a baffling read, in the sense that the solution to the mystery is revealed in chapter 8. The novel is 63 chapters long (plus the epilogue), but for some reason, the author chose to spoil her own ending by having the villains openly discuss their evil deeds on-page in chapter 8. I can't deny that my interest in the story plummeted right there and then. After that, of course, the main characters still have to investigate what's happening, but by now it's all become quite boring because I already know what happened and what the curse is all about, which makes the protagonist look dumb since she's struggling to figure out what I, the reader, have known for ages. Admittedly, I only know that because the villains flat out told me, not because of any special investigative acumen on my part... which is another problem. As an aficionado of the mystery and thriller genres, I love having a go at trying to figure out what happened, therefore I find it very frustrating if the villains just plain tell me (and if they do so very early on in the game before I get a chance to even make a guess).
The rest of the book unfolds without any real surprise, among too many flashbacks (most of them irrelevant to the plot) and the pedantic writing style that instead of going for "Show, Don't Tell" opts for the "Show & Then Tell As Well" variant, such as when the main villain's lair is described in painstaking detail and *then* the reader is told that the decor is tacky. I know for myself that a polar bear's skin rug and all the other decor you just listed is tacky, thank you very much.
For most of the book, the action takes a back seat and it's the love stories (past and present) between the characters that take centre stage. I have nothing against that, but then the marketing should have been better calibrated. I think this story will appeal to romance fans much more than it can hope to appeal to mystery/thriller fans. It's a full-on romance with just a touch of mystery, not the other way around.
As for the characters, we're told that Flynn, the protagonist, is 28 years old, but more often than not she behaves like a high school girl, which gave me weird vibes and made it impossible for me to empathize with her (I can empathize with high school girls all right, but not with 28-year-old women who act like teenagers). The villains are preposterously cartoonish: they hate women, hate lesbians, hit their wives, abuse their dogs, and even indulge in maniacal laughters... The phrase "maniacal laughter" actually comes up in the novel, I kid you not. How am I supposed to take seriously a villain that utters "maniacal laughters"? It's the bogeyman, and it's hilarious!
Last but not least, the sex scenes in this novel contain some very awkward elements, such as when Flynn "keeps the score" of how many orgasms her partner Gen and herself have had in a given encounter, and she says something along the lines of "I owe her because she made me come 4 times and I only made her come 3 times". That doesn't sound like sex to me, it sounds like a football match, which I find distinctly unsexy.
Overall, this book is definitely not for me, and I think mystery fans will not be able to appreciate it. I suppose it would have better luck among romance fans.

𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨.

I was a bit skeptical starting this audio, ghosts, a psychic and a F/F love story, in the end I couldn’t stop listening. I love the supernatural elements, the setting was fantastic, the characters were great and it was action-packed and fun. My only problem was the end, I don’t like cliffhangers, I’ll need to wait for book two.

Thank you OrangeSky Audio by Findaway and NetGalley for this ALC.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘍/𝘍 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of Dead Woman's Pond in exchange for an honest review.

Florida Man headlines might be crazy... but what about Florida Woman headlines? This book definitely gives some representation to some of the rumored and infamous crazy things that happen in Florida in a fun and new way! Dead Woman's Pond is an interesting listen that starts off as a romance-soaked thriller (LGBTQ+ inclusive and representation, yay!), but quickly morphs into something else. Without giving too much away, just know that the twist... is not what it might seem to be. This was highly enjoyable with great characters, an interesting plot, and a narrator that was comfortable to listen to. It did drag on quite a bit in the middle, and I didn't feel like characters were distinct, but that might have kind of been the point for some characters to be written that way. Overall, pretty good read that has a lot of wonderful elements and was a good time killer.

It looks like this is going to be a series and I will definitely be watching for the second one because I am pretty interested to see what happens next to our characters and the world that they live in.

4⭐️
Psychics, ghosts and magic coupled with a F/F romance set in the US.
I had the 🎧audiobook version. The narrator is very good. I listened at x1.25 speed.

It’s very character driven and predominantly a love story, heavily based in the supernatural with a mystery to be solved.
The characters of Flynn and Genesis are very likeable.
It’s got a good pace holding my attention throughout.

I really enjoyed it, not my usual genre. You have to be able to go with the flow with the supernatural content. I think a lot of the appeal for me is that it is very different to my usual genre, and an easy relaxing listen.
It looks like there are more books in the series which I look forward to listening to.

[This audiobook was sent to me free of charge via NetGalleys.com. This will not affect my opinion of the book.]

Content notes for this book include homophobic slurs and bullying, and discussions of sexual assault.

Dead Woman's Pond is an exciting LGBTQ romance intertwined with a dark supernatural murder mystery about a mysterious lake that claims many lives. Ire did a great job of keeping the romantic relationships realistic, which is even more impressive considering the supernatural setting of the novel -- the characters are not sanitized and do not make ethically black-and-white choices. Stereotypes around queer people are also subverted which is very refreshing in an era where many queer characters written by a non-queer audience feel very one-dimensional and reductive.

Additionally, Rebecca Lowman is an amazing audiobook narrator. She's great at vivid portrayals of the emotions of the characters.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley of this in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This is the first book in the Nearly Departed series.

This paranormal mystery book is unlike anything I've ever read; it's fun, entertaining and mysterious. I felt it had the right amount of action and drama.

Well crafted and interested characters, can't wait for the next book.

Dead Woman's Pond by Elle E. Ire - 5/5 stars
TW: Homophobia, D-slur, drowning, partner death

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the free copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this unbiased review independently.

I'm not a hard man to please. Give me a book with diverse representation of queer women who get to murder homophobes and I'm set. That being said, this book tackles so much more than that and does an excellent job with all of it.

Sexism/homophobia on a construction job site - thwarted
Large income disparity between partners - discussed frankly and empathetically
Biphobia and bi-erasure - tackled by the bi partner and the gay partner experiencing the bias
Mariticidal homophobe killing lesbians - literally shot and killed

I love the way so many issues are handled in this book. On top of that, we have a "one of the guys" butch main character with long hair, which is representation my high school self would have LOVED to see.

This book truly is a master class on how a gay main character can have being gay be an important part of their character, while still not having it be the defining trait that drives their entire store. The main character in this book is unapologetically lesbian, lets that be a very important and central part of her character, but still had drives and motivations outside of her sexuality. The central plot, while not unrelated to her sexuality, is much more about stopping deaths than it is about being gay. I was thrilled to see this was the first book of a series and I look forward to reading the future installments.

I would definitely recommend this book to those having trouble finding adult LGBT fiction, especially lesbian fiction not written for the male gaze.

-Audiobook Notes-
This book is read by Rebecca Lowman, most recognizable to me through her work with Rainbow Rowell. While I've not listened to a book read by her before, I will definitely try to do so in the future. Rebecca did a wonderful job with the narration of this book. While I'm not one who will seek out books with sex scenes, especially audiobooks with sex scenes, I appreciated that Rebecca did well with them, not overplaying a sultry tone and making the experience more awkward. I look forward to listening to more books read by her in the future.

Mystical and mysterious, Dead Woman's Pond is a thrilling introduction to the Nearly Departed series.

MV Rating: 7/10
- Flynn and her psychic girlfriend, Genesis, live a pretty quiet life in Festivity, FL, but that's all about to change. When a local pond starts seeing an uptick in random car crashes, one being Flynn's, things start getting pretty weird around here.
- I listened to the audiobook, and adored the narrator for this one, which is hugely important for me. The tone of the book shines through really well, and you'll want to listen to it in one shot.
- The series is set up so well with this first introduction; the story sucks you in, and is complete enough to make you feel like you've "finished" things, but there are still some loose strings that will keep you coming back for #2.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and will be looking out for #2 in the near future! Thank you to Netgalley, Elle Ire, and OrangeSky Audio for the ARC!

Psychics, ghosts, and supernatural events, sign me up!

The first half of this book focuses mostly on romance (F/F) and relationship drama. While well written, spicy romance is really not my thing, nor is it what I expected. But I was immediately intrigued by the two women, so I was entertained while waiting for something of substance to happen.

The second half brings us lots of action and freaky supernatural events. I really enjoyed the way events unfolded.

I was loving the ending, up until the big cliffhanger. I dislike cliffhangers. A lot. I can deal with them in trilogies, when I expect it, but otherwise I like series fiction to give me a solid ending. This is my personal issue, I know, but I’m mentioning it because I’m sure I’m not alone here.

Audiobook narration is fantastic! I felt the narrator embodied Flynn’s character, and I believed I was right there with her.

Flynn Dalton's things are not easy going at the moment.
She looses her car as well as her construction job. To total it up there is also a jealous ex-boyfriend. Who happens to have died in a suspicious car accident. Her current lover, a well-known psychic named Genesis, fears there's a rogue psychic loose who may have cursed the local Dead Man's Pond where people (in particular lesbians) are ending up dead.
This story is even spiked with a paranormal element. A lot to take in for a reader!
Rebecca Lowman did a great job in narrating this story!
Thanks a lot #NetGalley #OrangeSky Audio for an advanced audio copy of this book

This book was just okay for me. I didn’t love it but I also really didn’t hate it. This book felt like it was missing the WOW factor for me. Part of this might be that I might have enjoyed reading it versus the audiobook better because I was not a fan of the narrator. It was really hard for me to keep listening because of this. Parts of the book were pretty action packed and faster paced but as a whole the pacing was a little slow for my taste and seemed to drag on

Dead Woman’s Pond is book one in the Nearly Departed series and is a LBGTQ thriller / paranormal romance.

I received a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just okay for me. I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it. There were things I did like about the book but it really didn’t give me the wow factor that other books in this genre have. I think I would have enjoyed reading it versus the audiobook better because I was not a fan of the narrator.

Flynn is a broke construction worker that can’t seem to avoid the supernatural world. From seeing ghosts as a kid to falling head over heels for Genesis (Gen) who is a powerful psychic. She does her best to ignore the supernatural but after a brush with death after a wreck near “Dead Woman’s Pond,” Flynn can no longer ignore the paranormal world around her. Flynn must battle becoming the pond’s newest fixation and her dead ex lover showing up and causing problems while she and Gen get to the bottom of the curse on the pond and attempt to break it.

Parts of the book were pretty action packed and faster paced but as a whole the pacing was a little slow for my taste and seemed to drag on. I do think this book set up the next books in the series well and there is a bit of mystery around Flynn and her past that is hinted at in this book that seems like it will be explained in later books.

Overall this one was just okay for me. I’m interested to see where the series goes.

TW: There are some lgbtq+ slurs/hatred in the book. The references are few and some are subtle (about 5 I can remember) but they are there and as a member of the lgbtq+ community I did want to add that as a TW.

I’ve been in a slump for mystery/thriller books for a while. And nothing was able to hold my attention then dead women’s pond came along and finally gave me a book I couldn’t put down! Once I heard it was set in Kissimmee, I was even more sold since that’s my hometown. This book has mystery, lgbtq+ characters, paranormal, and keeps you reading to know what will happen next! I loved the paranormal aspect of the book and felt like it was done perfectly.

Flynn has faced struggle after struggle and then dead women’s pond comes into play. It took me until over halfway through the book until I realized what the city of Festivity was based on in real life then I laughed because the way it’s described and the residents are described is spot on!

This is the first in the series and I can’t see what the next book has in store. Thanks to NetGalley for providing the e-ARC of this book.

I was surprised by this book! Sometimes supernatural books just don’t do it for me but I really enjoyed how this book intertwined it. It was a jam packed story but not complicated to follow with the supernatural elements.

I see this is a series! Excited to continue the story later on!