Review: Who's Your Daddy?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2014
About four months ago, Jade Calhoun’s soul tore in half when the Angel Council tried to remove it entirely and give it to Meri, one of their own. Since then, Jade has been physically weak, has lost her empathic ability and finds it hard to locate her white witch’s spark.During a meeting with the seamstress and the caterer for Jade's upcoming wedding to Kane, the resident ghost at Summer House, Camille, manages to possess Jade’s body. Because Jade’s soul is compromised, the possession is physically total. Jade essentially has the supernatural equivalent of Locked-In Syndrome; she can see and feel what the ghost is doing with her body but she cannot communicate with either the ghost or the outside world. Fortunately, Bea is able to spell away the connection this time. Bea also sends Jade to be with Meri, who has the other half of Jade’s soul. Together, they can fight off the ghost, at least temporarily.To survive without being in constant juxtaposition to Meri, Jade needs a complete repair and healing for her soul. Without it, the ghost will eventually be able to not only possess her body but also her soul itself. The Locked-In Syndrome will become not only permanent but also emotionally unendurable. Jade will cease to exist and Camille will be “alive” again.Unfortunately, this soul repair requires that a minute sliver of the soul of each of her biological parents be transfused into Jade. And that is unfortunate because Jade hasn’t seen her father in seventeen years and her mother refuses to tell her his whereabouts.And thus we have the set-up for one of the tensest and most action-filled entries in this series. Deanna Chase simply does not let the reader rest. One chapter moves directly to the next, mid-action, and the only “slow” scenes are those staged in the bedroom. And the episodes in which the ghost, Camille, possesses Jade are absolutely bone-chilling.As far as character development goes, Jade is still heavily ensconced in fight or flight, with major emphasis on “flight.” She is definitely a run-first-think-later type. And when she does decide to fight, it’s usually a selfish and emotional response, the consequences not thought out at all. And furthermore, she has absolutely no skills in following directions, particularly those intended to save her life from some enemy. You’d think the events of the last eight months would have taught Jade something, but apparently the author feels that keeping her on the edge of TSTL is the way to create sympathy and develop loyal readers.I am currently sitting on the fence as to whether I will proceed with the series past the next novel, which is already in my library. I love Deanna Chase’s writing and the paranormal situations she pens are top-notch. I just do not know how much longer I can tolerate a main protagonist who cannot seem to get out of the “I am a victim” rut and who rarely uses her brain for much more than holding her hair on.