Improbables by Jonathan Charles Bruce
Abigail Wren’s new life fresh out of college is dull, even with her (almost) dream job at the local newspaper. The only real excitement she can get is found between the pages of an endless stream of paranormal romance novels she can’t help but love. Then, on a snowy night in December, Abigail catches a glimpse of what could only be described as a werewolf. Enamored with the possibility, her investigation leads her to discover a paranormal population-improbables-harmoniously living in the midst of humanity. Between making eyes at a perpetually grumpy werewolf and hanging out with a vampire with a lust for life (and liquor), Abigail’s life takes a shaky step out of the ordinary and into the fantastic. Just outside of the sleepy town of Whitewater, however, a force of rage is building. Born of hate and delusion, a living cataclysm threatens to devour everyone in its path-human or improbable.
Author’s Bio
Author of Washed Hands and Project Northwoods, Jonathan Bruce began writing what amounted to terrible Star Trek: The Next Generation fan fiction when he was four… provided that you accept that “forcing other people to write what he said” is the same thing as “writing”. Although the original manuscripts are lost (or perhaps destroyed), we can rest assured that his prose has improved significantly since then. After high school, he began writing and directing plays which gradually improved depending on whom you ask. He discovered his love of a good fight scene after writing a Dracula knock-off which took a 19th century classic and made it less about Victorian yearning and 300% more about stabbing things in the jugular.
He has a Master’s Degree in History, thanks largely to his thesis focusing on MUSIC, a Milwaukee-based school desegregation campaign during the 1960’s. He also enjoys discussing/making fun of pop culture of the 20th century and reading books of a non-historical nature. In his off moments, you can catch him writing for fun or making inane movies about nothing in particular. He also occasionally provides work for Twenty Four Pages a Second, a pretty keen website you should totally check out.
My Review
4 stars
Abigail has just finished school with a journalism degree and has moved to the small town of Whitewater. Abigail has always found paranormal romance stories to fit the best with her and discovers there is more to Whitewater than first appears. Those creatures from her stories are alive, along with many others, and live alongside humans and call themselves Improbables. The Improbables live a quiet life but there are others outside of Whitewater that want nothing more than to remove them from the world. Abigail is going to get more than she planned on just by knowing about the Improbables.
I love the paranormal and some romance stories are good without being over the top and that is why I loved Improbables. Abigail is a strong woman that doesn’t need saving. She is very accepting of the Improbables which I think I would have been too after reading so many paranormal stories.
I liked the different creatures and others that you have not heard of, I really would to have learned more about those. I also liked the satirical look at the other paranormal romances on the market. I was laughing away at that.
The only thing that I had a problem with is that the book drug the first half. It took a while to get to the story then it took off. Beyond that I really enjoyed the book and hope that it might be a series. I would love to follow along to the difference characters.
I received Improbables from Ari at Candid Book Reviews for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
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