Blog Tour: Whisper by Heather Hildenbrand

Whisper by Heather Hildenbrand

New Adult Paranormal Fantasy

The Cherokee believe when a person dies, their soul is reborn. Life is repeated. An endless cycle of lessons to be learned, love to be found, destiny to be fulfilled. For the past six months, in every flower, every bird, I’ve imagined my parents, relieved of their human forms.

Now, after five months at the Skye View Wellness Center, it was summer. A time for parties and friends, but that’s the last thing I want to do. So when my best friend Erin convinces me to attend a bonfire at Eagle Point, I can’t handle the crowd full of sympathetic stares or drunken class clowns who would use my tragedy as a way into my heart – or my pants. The solitude of the woods offers an escape, until I stumble upon a boy, unconscious and bleeding, his pockets stuffed not with identification but with poetry illustrating the beauty of dying. I’ve seen enough death. I will not leave this boy’s side.

Even after he wakes, when the only thing he can remember are visions of events that haven’t happened yet…  

Excerpt:

I still couldn’t believe Dad’s good news. Months and months of research. Unceasing energy
and determination. I hadn’t allowed myself the belief that it wouldn’t work. There was too much
at stake for the animals. Especially Dolly. And now she was coming home to live with me
instead of that nasty excuse for a trainer. I’d won!

I ate standing up. The microwave never cooked evenly so the outside edges were hotter than
the middle. I didn’t care. I was starved. I didn’t even bother to chew until the fifth bite.

Footsteps in the hall behind me signaled Tinker must be off the phone. I waited for him to
pick up our previous conversation, or tell me about some part of his day that I’d missed while
stuck inside the walls of learning. But there was only silence. I turned and found him standing in
the kitchen doorway, his hands limp at his sides and the most confused expression I’d ever seen
on his face.

“Tinker?”

No answer.

He stared at a spot on the wood-planked wall that bordered the breakfast nook. My eyes
followed his and I found a tiny cross-stitched plaque that read “Home Is Where the Heart Is” in
blue thread. Grandma had sewn it years before I’d been born.

“Tinker?” I repeated. “Who was on the phone?”

“A friend of mine, lives down by Port Creek.” His voice was distant, hollow.

I hadn’t been worried until the moment our eyes locked. When they did, it felt like a tidal
wave rushing up to meet me. Suddenly, I knew that whatever he was about to say would be very,
very bad.

“Whisper …”

The doorbell rang, its chime echoing through the otherwise still house. I stared back at
Tinker. Something final rested in his eyes. The only time I’d ever seen him look like that …

“I’ll get it,” I said around the lump in my throat.

I tossed the spaghetti aside and went to the door, sliding carefully by Tinker on my way. I
didn’t want to touch him. It was something about the energy he gave off, and I knew if I touched
him it would infect me. He didn’t move to follow.

I pulled open the door and found a man in a dark uniform staring back at me. The shiny
silver buttons on his shirt matched a gleaming badge on his belt loop. His hat was big enough
that, had it been yellow, this could’ve been a scene from Curious George Goes to Colorado.

“Ms. Whisper Grant?” he asked. His thin lips arched into a frown when he spoke.

“Yes?” I said. Tinker came up behind me. I felt his hand come down heavily onto my
shoulder.

“I’m State Trooper Nelson. This is Hefley.” He gestured to another man off to the side, who
I hadn’t even noticed, on the porch but away from the light of the door. His expression matched
the first man’s. If they were going for gentle or caring, the twist in their lip ruined it.

Nelson consulted a single sheet of paper attached to the clipboard he held. “Says here your
birthday was three weeks ago. You’re eighteen now. Is that correct?” he asked without looking
up.

“Correct,” I confirmed. “Can I help you?” I asked. I felt the spray of another approaching
wave and braced myself.

“Guess that makes you the official emergency contact.” He sighed like he’d hoped for a
different answer. “I’m afraid I have some bad news. There was an accident. On the bridge near
Port Creek. A pickup truck went over the embankment. The vehicle was registered to a Shawn
and Anna Grant. They are your parents, I believe? A man at the scene said he knew you, gave us
your address.”

Tinker’s hand squeezed into my shoulder.

That’s the last thing I remember of that night.

In fact, much of the next few weeks and months that followed is still a blur. Including the
night I downed a pill bottle full of Xanax and went to sleep. Even after five months at Skye
View, I still can’t remember it all. Over time, it’s become easier to cope with the missing pockets
of time. To cope with the numbing sadness, the raging anger, the quiet desperation that came out
of that moment of loss. But I’m still not me.

Tinker said I lost myself. He said it’s what animals do when the pain of loss is too much to bear.
He said one day, I’ll find myself again. A new me, a version who is able to live despite the loss
I’ve suffered. I told him that sounds like something Grandma would say. He said he learned it
from her, and he’s learning to find himself again, too.

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My Review:

Heather Hildenbrand is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are well written, with great story lines and believable characters. This book is no different.

Whisper drew me in from the beginning and pushed many emotional buttons for me. It is a story about love and loss, and about trying to get over that loss. It brings in some suspense to keep you on your toes, along with the question of reincarnation.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys an emotional read with a few twists that keep you engaged. I sat down and read it all the way through without putting it down once. I was thoroughly pleased with the book and will probably read it again soon.

About the Author:

Author of Across the Galaxy, Whisper, and the Dirty Blood series. I write, read, and fuss at my kids. Oh, and I do laundry, lots of laundry. I’m pretty good at it, too. Sometimes I even read WHILE doing laundry – and fussing at my kids. I’m a multi-tasker.

For more information on my books, release dates, or just general stalker material, um, I mean FAN material, visit my website. www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com. I love hearing from readers!

Likes and dislikes? I love vintage tees, hate socks with sandals, and if my house was on fire the one thing I’d grab is my Amazon Fire TV! (oh yeah, I’m a fan of puns.)

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