Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Classically trained at the Jung Institute in Zurich, Doctor Lara McInnis has a special gift that helps her with her patients. Born with "the sight" she can read auras, while flirting with a somewhat elusive ability to foretell the future. Lara becomes alarmed when several of her patients-and a student or two-tell her about the same cataclysmic dream. Reaching out to the Institute for answers, Lara's paranormal ability sounds a sharp warning and she runs up hard against a dead end. Her search for assistance leads her to a Sidhe and ancient Celtic rituals blaze their way into her life. Complicating the picture is a deranged patient who's been hell bent on destroying Lara ever since she tried to help his abused wife, a boyfriend with a long-buried secret and a society that's crumbling to dust as shortages of everything from electricity to food escalate.
Bookworm_Babblings
Posted November 22, 2012
I received a copy of Psyche's Prophecy by Ann Gimpel in exchange for my honest review. Lara McInnis seems like an everyday, ordinary psychologist until she decides to marriage counsel a couple, trouble begins. Apparently, the husband didn't appreciate the advice she gave his wife and now he's out to get her. Then Lara begins having a bizarre dream, as she, her fiance and some of her student experience the dream and try to decode it, They come to the only feasible conclusion they see...the end of the world. As Lara strengthens her psychic capabilities, she also learns of something else, the dark side knows she's coming! This was book 1 in the Transformation Series, I look forward to book 2 to see what Ms. Gimpel does with her intriguing characters.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Doctor Laura Mclnnis not only has a special gift that helps her with her patients, but she is a gift to the world she lives in. Although Laura's unique psychic ability is a secret, she uses it to understand her patients. However, her clinical experience isn't enough when multiple threats begin to enter the world of chaos she lives in. As Laura is confronted with helping a couple sort out their problems, danger begins to increase, and survival becomes the name of the game. Who had the same dream as Laura, and what was it about? Why did Laura consult a psychic, was she in love with Trevor, and did they trust each other? I highly recommend this book to all contemporary fantasy lovers, who enjoy mystery, combined with intense suspense, and romance. Ann Gimpel's expertise in psychology shines through page-after-page, blended with thrills, chills, and mystical-magic made for a movie screen. The author takes the reader through a haunted house of horror as Laura is faced with crisis as the clock ticks fast in her desperate search for answers. What powerful force does Laura struggle with, and how does the old woman help? Time is running out, along with the comforts of civilization, is there hope for the future? "PSYCHE'S PROPHECY" is as thrilling as WHAT LIES BENEATH, as chilling as THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE and as mysterious as THE SIXTH SENSE, with Bruce Willis.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ellen_ThompsonPhD
Posted March 25, 2011
Ann Gimpel's first novel takes place in the near future where rapidly dwindling oil reserves bring about the worst fears of many of us at the dawn of the twenty-first century. As chaos begins to build, a psychologist who has considered her undeveloped psychic abilities as not much more than a curiosity, is visited by a strange and powerful dream. When her patients and students begin to report the same dream, she realizes that forces are at work beyond those recognized in the materialistic modern mindset. As events unfold, Lara becomes increasingly aware that she is caught up in an age-old struggle between powerful forces. Power failures increase, oil becomes scarce, supermarket shelves empty and are not restocked, and the comforting trappings of civilization we take for granted fall away, all the while ancient powers reassert themselves. In spite of the deeply disturbing events surrounding the collapse of civilization, this is an optimistic look at the future. Lovingly drawn descriptions of the everyday material aspects of life-cooking meals and raising a puppy-contrast effectively with the unseen realm of psyche. The novel traces the faintly glowing outline of the return of magic as it occurs in the daily life of the psychologist and her devoted partner. As the one unravels, the other shines through. Gimpel uses her knowledge and insights into the workings of psyche to hint at what might be gained as our familiar way of life crumbles away and is lost.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AubrieNH
Posted March 16, 2011
Lara McInnis is a psychologist with a psychic gift. Although she's kept her gift hidden, she uses it to help understand her patients. She excels at her job until one pair of patients block her insight. This couple has big problems, and she can't see the danger lurking behind the husband's belligerent demeanor. Her involvement with them sets her on a roller coaster ride of horrors, and she must fight her way out of it to survive.
Meanwhile, the price of oil is going up. The city has major power outages, and riots have broken out in other parts of the country. Lara, her boyfriend, and her psychology student have all had the same dream signifying something precarious about the earth. Lara must consult a psychic to determine the meaning behind the dream.
With multiple threats brewing, Psyche's Prophecy builds up with intense suspense, keeping me from putting it down. The paranormal aspect of it is very interesting, and the characters are so well developed they seemed like real people. I especially enjoyed the deepening relationship between Lara and her boyfriend, Trev. They learn to trust in each other, and their love pulls them through the hardships they face. Ann Gimpel uses her own expertise as a psychologist to make this story believable. Her prose flows in beautiful sentences, making it fun and easy to read.
jes6ica
Posted March 15, 2011
I was lucky enough to get the chance to read this book early, and so enjoyed it. It gives such a believable glimpse into a world (our own world) where our fossil fuels are disappearing, and the chaos that that brings to the lives of two ordinary yet extraordinary people in their quest to keep going despite things falling down around their ears. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 13, 2011
In a style that blends in hints of Ray Bradbury and Stephen Donaldson, this contemporary fantasy "eco-thriller" set in Seattle and surroundings could be taking place next week or in the next 20, 50 or100 years. Author Ann Gimpel lets the reader slip easily inside the heads of the main characters. Lara and Trevor--a very real couple with all its flaws and imperfections--and Gimpel's background in psychology gives us a rare understanding of what they're thinking and feeling. When Lara and Trevor, and the world around them, are struck by crisis after crisis (power outages, oil shortage, and a stalker who tries to break into their home and murder them), they turn to a magical, powerful old druid woman, whose abilities slot into our world just as naturally as the trees that make up her house. With her help, they begin to see a way forward, but it will prove to be a long road with much struggle and sorrow along the way. I loved the very clear sense I got that the characters could be real people, and the mysticism that enters the story is so enticing that I just wanted more. This was, for me, a true page-turner.
Jessica Augustsson, M.A.
Overview
Classically trained at the Jung Institute in Zurich, Doctor Lara McInnis has a special gift that helps her with her patients. Born with "the sight" she can read auras, while flirting with a somewhat elusive ability to foretell...