THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER - Leanna Renee Hieber
Dorchester Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-8439-6296-3
September 2009
Paranormal Romance

England - 1867 and 1888

Six children are chosen to be The Guard in Victorian London. A beautiful goddess tells them that they are to protect the city from the supernatural and to await a sign, a portal, and the seventh person who will arrive to help them fight a war that they must win. Each Guard has a unique talent that will become more and more important as the war looms.

The appointed leader of The Guard is Alexi Rychman, a serious man who has taken his task very seriously. When they become adults, The Guard opens a private school within the walls of an ancient abandoned compound, naming it the Athens Academy. The Headmistress is Rebecca, also one of the Guard; Alexi is a professor, and they and the rest of the London-based group await the portal, and the seventh member.

Shy Percy Parker arrives at the Athens Academy after growing up in a convent. Her timidity is understandable for she has a ghostly white complexion, snowy colored hair, and strange, icy blue eyes. Wrapped in layers of clothes to hide herself from the stares of strangers, Percy is hoping that, at eighteen, she can finally contemplate a life in the real world. But she does have some odd details to her life. Percy sees ghosts, and she’s had ongoing visions of a portal and horrid creatures that seem to be part of it. Can Percy ever lead a normal life?

Out in the real London world, Jack the Ripper is wreaking havoc, and members of The Guard are wondering if the Ripper is a sign of the war that is coming between the dark and the light? The arrival of yet another woman who befriends members of The Guard have them wondering if she is the seventh person, or could it be Percy? Each Guard has his or her own theory, but are any of them right? And if they don’t figure it out soon, will they be too late to stop the coming war?

Part fantasy, part thriller, part mythology, and with touches of romance, THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER is an amazing, beautifully written novel. I couldn’t put it down! It’s an intriguing premise, but the characters are what make the story, especially the tortured Percy and equally angst-ridden Alexi. Percy just wants to fit in, but with her special skills and looks, it’s nearly impossible. Alexi has put his life on hold, taking his assignment as a young man to lead The Guard very seriously. He is looking for the goddess who instructed the children years ago, and he’s not going to give up until she comes back to him.

This terrific book is the first of The Strangely Beautiful series. For a really different type of entertainment, I highly recommend THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER. It is as beautiful as the title claims!

Jani Brooks