Review: Tommy Nightmare by J.L. Bryan

Spoiler Alert!! If you haven’t read Jenny Pox, the first book in The Paranormals Trilogy, I would hold off on reading this review.

“While Fallen Oak recovers from the Jenny pox, someone new is hunting Jenny. Like Jenny, Ashleigh Goodling belonged to a pair of opposites with powers that mirror each other. Now Jenny and Seth must face the opposite of love...”

In Tommy Nightmare, we discover that Jenny, Seth and Ashleigh aren’t the only people with powers. In fact, there are quite a few more people. When we’re introduced to Tommy in the first chapter of the book, he’s an innocent foster child, unaware of his abilities when an awful accident occurs. As traumatizing as this is for Tommy, J.L. Bryan makes this scene and many others just as cringing as he did in Jenny Pox. Growing older, Tommy sees a T.V. interview of Ashleigh Goodling, Jenny’s arch enemy, and suddenly he’s feeling this pull to Ashleigh that he cannot get enough of.

On the other spectrum of things, Fallen Oak is a mess and forensics are everywhere trying to figure out what the heck happened to all these people. Meanwhile, Jenny is having constant flashbacks of her past lives as she continues to fight, accept and understand her abilities as more than hopefully a destructive weapon.

I was impressed once again with all of the unexpected places that J.L. Bryan took Tommy Nightmare. My only disappointment with this book was Jenny’s relationship with her father. You see throughout Jenny Pox that they’re close, not only due to being  father/ daughter but because that’s the only real human contact she has, but it’s as if that connection is disengaged. It’s sad, because I feel like much more could have been done with that bond. I was also surprised how small of a roll that Tommy actually played in the book. The beginning opens up with him and he is the start of a huge chain of events, but he isn’t the main storyline. This isn't noted as bad thing about the book, just simply an observation.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book as J.L. Bryan is definitely not afraid to put his characters through hell and back all for our pleasure and reading excitement. Tommy Nightmare proved to be a very worthy sequel to Jenny Pox.

My rating for this book:

Tommy Nightmare is the second book in The Paranormals Trilogy.

Note: J.L. Bryan recommends readers be 18 years or older.

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period.  He also studied screenwriting at UCLA.  He is the author of five novels and one short-story collection.  He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories.  His goal is to provide highly original fiction like you won’t find anywhere else.  He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, as well as some dogs, cats, and domestic plants. You can follow him here:
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Review: Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

“Jenny's touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague. She can't control her power, so she devotes her life to avoiding contact with other people in her small Southern town. Her senior year of high school, she meets the one boy she can touch...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the horrific power inside her to survive his devious, manipulative girlfriend, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.”

I had first heard of J.L. Bryan from Amanda Hocking when she mentioned him on her blog. Looking at the description I was instantly curious to see where this went. The book didn’t disappoint either.

Jenny Morton is a terrified young girl who keeps to herself, but not because she has to. What else can you do when you know you have the ability to kill someone by one simple touch? Wear long sleeves, jeans, gloves and everything to keep as much of your body hidden as possible to do the things you have to do such as school. Until the day Jenny meets somebody who can touch her and not get hurt: Seth. The possibilities whirl in Jenny’s mind until she realizes that not only is Seth dating Ashleigh, but that they both have their own secrets and Ashleigh’s intentions may not be as innocent as Seth’s…

This book is a terrific twist on the paranormal genre. You have the high school drama, the sweet romance, family business obligations, super powers, and just enough horror. The characters are captivating, each unique and with specific purpose. The ending, though it takes a different tone than the rest of the book, will take you on an unexpected turn that will have you reeling in anticipation to read Tommy Nightmare. Though Jenny Pox was a bit of a slow read for me, it was definitely worth the time. But I do feel obligated to mention that there are a couple of slightly gruesome sexual scenes as well as a lot of religious manipulation.

My rating for this book:

Jenny Pox is the first book in The Paranormals Trilogy.

Note: J.L. Bryan recommends readers be 18 years or older.

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period.  He also studied screenwriting at UCLA.  He is the author of five novels and one short-story collection.  He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories.  His goal is to provide highly original fiction like you won’t find anywhere else.  He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, as well as some dogs, cats, and domestic plants. You can follow him here:
Blog       Facebook       Twitter          Website