My review of Haunting Beauty by Erin Quinn

About the book:

A mysterious stranger...

Danni Jones believed everything about her past—that she was an unwanted child abandoned by her mother. That she was an outcast set apart by her clairvoyance. That she was alone. Then came the stranger. Dangerously seductive Sean Ballagh appears out of nowhere with a startling story that will challenge everything Danni thought was true.

A lost woman...

He claims that Danni’s family has been searching for her ever since she disappeared twenty years ago. He’s come to bring her home to Ireland. But Danni fears there’s more to his story than he dares to reveal. And the only way to find out is by following Sean back in time, to a forgotten past, to a world where nothing is what it seems.

A terrifying legacy...

Now, in a land where the mystical and the occult are as vivid as the emerald fields, Danni must rewrite history to save her family, to fight a force more evil than she ever imagined, and to reunite with the one man she was destined for—or live forever in time as nothing more than an ethereal memory, a tragic and haunting beauty...

My review:

Whenever I review and rate a book I am focused on several things. The first is whether or not the book makes me think. Haunting Beauty is a bit complex and has some tragic elements to it, so it fits that description for sure. The second is whether or not I want to keep reaching for the book because I'm either curious to know what happens next, or it's simply interesting enough to hold my attention. I kept wanting to read this book. And third, it matters how unique the story is.

This is a time-travel romance where the characters go back several times to witness some things that happen and they either desire learn the truth, or somehow figure out a way to change things if they can. There is folklore, superstition, romance and a sense of impending doom to the story that makes it enthralling. There is some cursing and some sexual content, but it doesn't overpower the book. I enjoyed the fact that most of the book is set in Ireland as well.

The author has a way with words when it comes to descriptive phrases, emotion, and sensual tension. She does a great job with making you care about what happens to the characters and pulling you into the emotion of the story. This book has some sizzling scenes, too.


Haunting Beauty was published by Berkley and was released in 2009.