So... this was supposed to be a paranormal romance, right?

I love the PNR genre so I jumped at the chance to review this book and then I read it... and I'm not really sure that this had enough of the supernatural persuasion nor of the, you know, romance, to qualify. It was a huge disappointment on that front. 

It starts with Helena. I didn't like her. She's just, well, let's just say she brought the whole mood down. Her life sucks. I get it. And nothing seems to really make it better and her whole attitude made this book an energy-suck to get through. I don't mind more depressing books every now and then but it's not what I look for in a romance, not front and center for quite a bit like this was.

I didn't understand why Helena and Graham should have a romance. It felt forced and stilted, as though the author wanted the romance to happen but it didn't fit the characters she wrote. Not good for a romance novel. 

As for the world, I needed more. The setting veered to the side of fantasy but was vague at best and uninteresting at worst. Just there to beef up the descriptions. Yet it played a role in the story, this world, and that really didn't help because the characters didn't have my attention and nor did the world. In terms of the story, I really didn't feel one way or the other about it. 

In the end I skimmed quite a bit of this to see if anything grabbed at me and I left the book with no inclination to continue the series. Perhaps I just wasn't in a good mindset for this book, or it was the book, but it didn't go well.

Awesome start to a great new series! The story flowed like a fine wine, and I'm looking forward to more.

I know that paranormal romances are a hot item in the book market these days and so, in the tradition of opening myself up to new material, I thought I'd try something billed as a paranormal romance. And being married into an Irish family this series title - Irish Traveller - seemed just as good a place to start as any.

But I was greatly disappointed with this book.

What does it take to be considered 'paranormal'? Not much, apparently. There is a moment or two early on which had me ready for something, but then as I got deeper into the book I thought maybe I had imagined things. But then it cropped up again, ever so slightly, and it continued to crop up, just enough to be considered a paranormal story, but certainly this comes across as a means to be considered paranormal but it feels tagged on rather than an integral part of the story.

That leaves 'romance.'

I admit that I haven't read much in the way of romance before this, but I found nothing 'romantic' here. There is some longing and some characters talk about wanting one another, but none of it ever feels authentic. I didn't believe anyone and I didn't care what happened to anyone.

Mostly this was some nicely done research and a lot of annoying Irish brogue dialog.

I'm not the usual target audience for a paranormal romance ... I get that. But I'm willing to be open to finding a good book in any genre, and this just didn't work. I'll try again with another author.

Looking for a good book? Once a Gypsy is billed as a paranormal romance by Danica Winters, but I found nothing romantic about it and it's barely paranormal.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Once a Gypsy takes us into a different area of the paranormal. I haven't read much about "Travellers". This setting was new to me. I knew that gypsy's had many different beliefs and basically a pretty bare bones lifestyle. I don't want to say "rough" life, because for them it is all they knew and they likely did not consider it rough.

Helena is different. She has dreams and aspirations that take her out of the Travellers world. She wants to go to school and become something different. Especially get away from some of the trials she faces at home. Her father gets offered a job, but it is on the condition that Helena attend with him.

This is where Helena meets Graham. He seems like a sweet guy who is showering her with attention, but you can tell something is up and he's hiding something. His feelings all felt real for Helena, until we get a glimpse of just what the whole story going on at the manor is. A lot of secrets are discovered in the old mansion that Graham has been desperately trying to hide. He is stuck in a hard place with his father and their secret, as well as feelings he is starting to have for Helena.

Once A Gypsy has both Graham and Helena who are dealing with their own personal demons, come together to combat the mansion's issues. The story of the mansion was unique. Helena's life definitely needed to be changed so I think even with the initial trials of the mansion, the new relationship with Graham and the opportunity to get away from her mother outweigh the trials.

The lifestyle brings many questions and concerns in Helena's life and it feels as if she is forever going to be dealing with other people's prejudices, beliefs and problems.

Once a Gypsy was an interesting read with some good drama. I didn't feel completely pulled in or engrossed in the story, but it had a good base with a couple of surprises. It will be interesting to see how this turns into a series. The first books always seem to have a lot of world building in them which is probably why I didn't get a deep connection to the story. The Travellers world is definitely different and I am anxious to see how much the Traveller's lifestyle affects the rest of the books.

Great start to a new series. Perfect book to read during halloween.

Having watched so many traveller television documentaries I can see that Danica has put alot of thought and research into Once a Gypsy.

Helena's lifestyle is very much the typical lifestyle of a traveller.
However you can see she wants more
She is longing to learn and escape the everyday reality. Although Helena appears to love her traveller lifestyle you can see something is missing. She wants to attend university and learn new things.

Helena doesn't have any easy life, her Mum is a drunk and abuses her emotionally and her Dad is due to be released from prison

Helena is a psychic and is just discovering her powers. She is somewhat shy and nervous of her new found ability.

She meets Graham who unlike Helena is not a traveller but a Gorger  (non traveller).
He persuades Helena and her Da to come work for him at Adare Manor.

Graham and Helena soon develop feelings for each other, which is frowned upon in the travelling community.
Graham is aware of Helena's powers and he tries to get her to use then for he's own gain.
It seems to me that Graham is just using Helena and he's feelings are not entirely true.
Which is heart breaking to see as Helena lacks real self confidence due to her mother constant put downs. The last thing she needs is another knock back.

I hope Graham stays true to hes feelings as I would hate to see him use Helena as she trusts him even though she knows it will go against all she believes in and potentially could lead to her family shunning her

I enjoyed reading Once a Gypsy and can't wait to read the second book.
I'm guessing by the title the next book will be about Helena's new exciting journey.

My only criticism would be there wasn't much paranormal aspects I would of loved more.
I did however love learning about the Travelling community and their beliefs and culture.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Helena grows as a character, towards the end you can sense her strength is growing and she is becoming more confident and assertive in what she wants.

I do recommend reading this book as it has a good story line, some romance and a little paranormal undercurrent. I do believe the best it yet to come!