Nightmares Rise (Dark Shores Trilogy #1)

Mirren Hogan,
Erin Yoshikawi
Genre: 
Paranormal

When Hawaiian tour guide Makani Lau meets Aussie tourist Flynn Cole at a local bar, there is immediate attraction. Armed with Flynn’s Nikon camera and Makani’s dilapidated old Jeep, the two set off to explore areas of the Hawaiian island little known to tourists and mainly uninhabited. Flynn is  looking forward to capturing original photos of landscape not typically seen by tourists. Will dark secrets from Makani’s past get the two into trouble? 

The character development here is awesome, making it easy for readers to fall in love with Makani and Flynn. The two go exploring and wind up in an obscure cave. Out of nowhere an evil, disfigured monster surfaces, and the landscape of the story changes. At this point, it becomes hard to determine if this is  a romantic thriller or a scene from the movie “Ghost Busters”. The story goes from Makani and Flynn slaying nasty monsters and splattered with foul smelling blood and guts one minute, to the couple showering, laughing and having sex the next. (That was a head scratcher.) Several new, undeveloped characters are introduced very quickly and the book becomes confusing as one attempts to determine how they figure into the story, only to never hear from those characters again.

The sex scenes are light hearted and sweet, making the reader love the couple even more and the authors give a wonderful look into the Polynesian lifestyle and culture. In spite of the many loose ends that were just left hanging, and  an out-of-the-blue happening at the end, "Nightmares Rise" is an enjoyable and fun read.

 Layne Lancaster