First Visions
by Heather Topham Wood
New Adult Contemporary romance/mystery
Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother’s home.
Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can’t control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.
REVIEW
First visions breaks the current new adult mold because although this book has romance, this is not a traditional romance. It’s a mystery. I’m not generally a mystery reader, so if you’re not either, stay tuned. It’s not just a mystery, it’s a paranormal mystery. And as I mentioned, it also has a romance in it, so it should appeal to a wide variety of readers. 
The story begins two years after Kate Edwards recovers from bacterial meningitis and comes out of her coma having visions. The one in particular that changes her life is a vision of an abducted boy. Kate ends up giving the police the key clue to unlocking the identity/whereabouts of the killer, and thus, she is pushed into the limelight of Freakville.
Yeah, this is not cool if you’re just a new adult looking for a normal experience filled with normal new adult stuff. It basically ruins Kate’s life, so when uber hot Detective Corbett appears on her doorstep (after a very long dry-spell, OK) she’s a little caught up in the whole “possibilities” thing. Until she figures out Corbett has a girlfriend and that’s the reason he’s on her doorstep – her GF’s little sister has been abducted and he wants her to try and help them.
As a mystery, this case was just OK, but as a romance within a mystery, this was a fun read. I enjoyed watching Kate and Jared weave in and out of the various obstacles put in front of them and I also enjoyed Ms. Wood’s writing style. This was another easy read for me – and in case you haven’t been following my reviews, this does not mean simple. It means the style enables the book to be read easily and without hesitation because the sentences flow. It’s a skill that not all authors have.
I also enjoyed the way in which Kate’s unwanted paranormal skills impacted her life. In most paranormal novels the new ability is almost overwhelmingly positive, but Kate experiences things in her visions that are not anything people want to see. And it goes beyond your parent’s marital problems (yuk, right!?) and right into the personal relationship of the man she’s interested in, only the relationship is not with her, it’s with another woman.
Yeah.
Not fun.
So that was an excellent reality check that usually gets glossed over and I enjoyed it.
And Kate’s mom, I loved her! She was great and the fact that Jared played along with her plotting was awesome, it made him sneaky, but in a cute way.
If you’re looking for a quick, fun, and completely out of the mold new adult book, you’ll want to pick up First Visions and give it a try.
AUTHOR BIO
Heather Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. In 2012, she published the first two novels in her Second Sight series: First Visions and New Revelations.
Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.
Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.
Author Links
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Heather Topham Wood
Thanks Julie for taking the time to review First Visions!
J. Anne Huss
You are very welcome Heather!
Bookworm Brandee
This sounds really different and interesting. I’ll be sure to check it out. Thanks for sharing it!