Book Tour: The Missing by Shiloh Walker

The Missing by Shiloh Walker
Re-released: July 6, 2010 
Genre: paranormal romance
paperback-313 pages

Summary:

LOVE LOST

As a teenager, Taige Branch was able to do things with her psychic gift that others couldn’t understand—except for Cullen Morgan, the boy who stole her heart. He did his best to accept her abilities, until his mother was brutally murdered—and he couldn’t forgive Taige for not preventing her death.

PASSION FOUND

Now a widowed father, Cullen Morgan has never forgotten Taige. But what brings her back into his life is another tragic event. His beloved little girl has been kidnapped, and Taige is his only hope of finding her.

A LOVE THAT NEVER DIED

Working together against the clock, Cullen and Taige can’t help but wonder whether—if they find his daughter in time—it isn’t too late for the overpowering love that still burns between them… (Summary from author’s website)

My thoughts:

The Missing is a re-release from Shiloh Walker. It’s about a psychic named Taige Branch and the boy that fell for her, Cullen Morgan. Cullen is on a family vacation for the summer when he meets a 15-year-old Taige and is quickly infatuated with her. It soon becomes apparent that there is more to her than just her gorgeous looks, and Cullen handles Taige’s abilities very well. The two continue to become closer to each other over the next four years, until Cullen’s mother is killed and Taige doesn’t see it until it’s too late. This tears the two apart.

Twelve years later, Taige has spent her life trying to help people, and Cullen has never forgotten about her. So, when his daughter is kidnapped, he knows that Taige is the best person for him to turn to for help. Can they overcome their past to find his daughter?

Taige is a wonderful main character that I felt for from the beginning, and I got completely caught up in her story. She has had some horrible things to deal with in her past, from the death of her parents to living with her awful Bible-spouting uncle who thinks she’s evil. Still, she strives to help others above all else and puts others before herself.

Cullen is a very likable character as well. He’s a nice guy as a teenager that grows into a great man. Though he has his faults, and once or twice I wanted to smack him, overall he’s caring, observant, and will do anything to find his daughter.

This is the first book I’ve read by Shiloh Walker, and I was so looking forward to it because I’ve heard such great things about her work. I wasn’t disappointed. The chemistry between Cullen and Taige radiates from the page and always left me wanting more. Also, I loved the way the book was set up, split off along years so we got to follow along. You can bet I’ll be reading plenty more of Shiloh Walker’s books from here on out!

 

*received copy for review from The Book Vixen as part of The Missing Book Tour*

 

Website I Twitter I Facebook

 

Make sure you visit the other stops on The Missing tour:

6/28 - The Book Vixen http://thebookvixen.com
6/29 - The Fiction Enthusiast http://thefictionenthusiast.blogspot.com/
6/30 - Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick http://not-really-southernvampchick.blogspot.com/
7/1 - The Bibliophilic Book Blog http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/
7/2 - Sit and Read http://www.sithereandread.com/

 

Excerpt Three-The Missing

Shaking her head, she flung up a hand and rasped, “Stay back. Oh, God . . .” It was a harsh, tormented moan. Slowly, she sank to her knees and doubled over, her arms wrapped around her middle like she’d been punched right in the gut.

Frustrated, helpless, Cullen stood by watching until she fell over in the sand, and then he couldn’t hold still any­more. A weak whimper escaped her throat as he scooped her into his arms and sat there, holding her in his lap. Stroking a hand up and down her back, he murmured to her and brooded. Prayed. He kissed her temple and rocked her back and forth, and all the while, she curled into him. She didn’t speak. Occasionally, there was a soft little mewling sound, but that was it.

Cullen didn’t know how much time passed. He lost count of the waves that crashed into the sand. The tide moved out, and water that had been lapping just inches away from his feet was a good five or six feet away. The clear, flawless blue sky slowly started to deepen and darken, the moon making its ascent while the sun still burned, sinking closer and closer to the horizon.

The setting sun had started to paint the sky with a pal­ette of orange, gold, and pink when Taige finally moved. Deep in her throat, she made a harsh, guttural moan, and her spine bowed, her neck arching back. For the first time, he saw her face.

An icy chill ran through him when he saw her eyes. They were black. The pupil was so huge, it had all but eclipsed the iris, and he couldn’t see the soft gray at all. In a matter of heartbeats, her icy skin started to warm, and by the time the sun had completely set, she was burning hot in his arms. Her skin was dry, although he had broken out into a sweat from the heat she was throwing off.

Terrified no longer described what he felt. There was only one time in his life he’d felt like this, and that had been in the hours after he’d learned that Jillian had been abducted. His fingers trembled minutely as he went to push her hair back. Fisting his hand in her soft thick curls, he said, “Taige. Come on, baby. Talk to me.”

“It’s him.” Her lashes drooped low over her eyes. Her voice was dreamy and oddly disconnected. “He’s there. Burning . . .”  

 

Make sure you stop by The Bibliophilic Book Blog tomorrow for another review and excerpt as the next stop on The Missing Book Tour!