Special Offers: Book 1 of the Coursodon Dimension Series Paperback – February 10, 2012

Special Offers by ML RyanHailey Parrish lived in a one-bedroom guesthouse that was quickly becoming overtaken by her paperback collection. So, in an effort to conserve space, she impulsively purchased a Kindle to help her conserve room. The Kindle included “Special Offers,” meaning she saved money by allowing it to show ads while charging. Hailey was a chinchilla milker, which paid pretty well, but she still didn’t see the point in senselessly wasting money.When the Kindle finally arrived, she immediately downloaded a free classic book so she could try her new device out; when she prepared to read the book, she felt a strange surge of something akin to static electricity course throughout her body. While she thought this odd, she thought no more of it as she began to read. She felt kind of sick for the next couple of days, but was feeling a bit better by Monday, in time to go back to chinchilla milking.Shortly thereafter, she began to hear a voice in her head – not HER voice, but a man’s voice. After a rather interesting conversation, Hailey discovered she was playing host to the spirit of a Coursodon man, a person from a magical alternative dimension whose body had been killed, but who had managed to divert his living spirit into her Kindle. The man’s name was Sebastian Kess.Soon, Sebastian’s friend, Alex, appeared on Hailey’s doorstep. Hailey, Alex, and Sebastian began working to find a way to get Sebastian out of Hailey and back into his own (hopefully salvageable) body.M.L. Ryan created a story based upon a very fresh and extremely provocative premise. With the introduction of an alternate dimension and modern technology, an amazing adventure was born. The characters were all very interesting, with each possessing very specific personalities. Hailey was an exceptionally brave, snarky, and engrossing character. She rolled with the punches – and there were many.Sebastian was known as a womanizer, thus it was interesting for him to be stuck in a woman’s body. The descriptions of man’s experiences inside a woman (literally inside and not in a sexual nature) were often amusing, and sometimes enlightening.Alex was one of those heroes every woman wishes existed in the real world. He was patient, loving, a good friend to both Hailey and Sebastian, a great listener, and loyal to both.As demonstrated in Special Offers, M.L. Ryan has the ability to create a tale that wraps the reader in wonder. This author has created a story that is funny, touching, sad, and simply enjoyable to read. Special Offers is written in such an enthralling manner that before the reader realizes what happens, all the pages are gone. That is the saddest part of the book – when there are no more pages to turn. On the bright side, there are more books in this series to read.I rate Special Offers 4 brilliant stars out of 5 stars!I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed within this review are my own.

Eeeeh.I'm writing this, having gone through about half the book so far, but I'm still not entirely sure I want to continue. I picked this up in the first place because that description makes it sound pretty amazing. Finally, a paranormal romance novel that features a lot of wit and banter with a multidimensional and actually funny female protagonist! And if that's what this book had, I'd absolutely love it.Except ... it sort of doesn't. A lot of the wit is carried by Hailey's spiritual "roommate." Any wit that Hailey herself puts forward is more geared towards complaining about her situation, rather than making intelligent comments about the world around her. And MY, Hailey complains. She spends the first third of the book either doing that or giving us a rather straightforward and almost detached account of her day-to-day life. (There was at least one solid paragraph talking about how she was flip-flopping between going to the store or making a burrito, and I only bring this up as an example because this is probably one of the more interesting, memorable things she's said. And also, it's a paragraph about how she has to decide whether or not to make a burrito.)Beyond that, the novel's pretty standard in terms of paranormal romance. Ordinary girl lives her ordinary life, ordinary girl complains about ordinary life, something magical stumbles into ordinary girl's life, and ordinary girl spends the rest of the novel struggling to grasp both the supernatural forces around her and the fact that her boyfriend-slash-knight-in-shining is magical. Even the adjectives Hailey uses to describe Alex's abs feel like something I've read before.Still, I'm giving this three stars, not only because I have to admit that Sebastian DID add something to the book but also because if you're into paranormal romance ... it's actually one of the better ones out there. Stylistically, it's not bad, and if you're a fan of the paranormal romance formula, it DOES have everything you would want. Maybe even more, if you're looking for something with a snarky main character in addition to the usual trappings. (No, really. Sebastian MAKES this book. Probably obviously, given the premise.) And I also admit that its worldbuilding when it comes to Coursodon and its people was actually kinda interesting and unexpectedly well thought-out. So in a way, it really IS a more intelligent paranormal romance than the norm, and it's worth reading if you're looking for something that falls in line with stuff you're already a fan of. But if you're like me, who's gotten a little bit jaded when it comes to her magical boyfriend lit and wants something new and different, with an intelligent protagonist who can deal out as many sharp-tongued blows as her magical friends, this is probably not going to live up to the hype its description generates.

What if that nifty new Kindle you've just purchased comes with not only special offer screen savers, but something even more special? How about an inhabitant from the Coursodon Dimension, a parallel dimension of beings with magic powers? This one, who goes by the human alias of Sebastian, is even more special than most of his species since he tracks down miscreant aliens in our dimension who use their powers in ways contrary to the laws of Coursodon. When Hailey turns on her new Kindle for the first time, its resident alien finds a new home, co-habiting in Hailey's body.The premise of an alternate dimension is a mainstay of science fiction, as is the premise of magic-capable aliens is to fantasy. The new twist to this story is the use of a Kindle as the delivery system for the alien. The resulting search to recover the alien's body, held captive by one of the Coursodon bad guys, becomes the basis for the rest of the book.A large portion of the book is taken up with Hailey, her hilariously silly job, her friends and co-workers as they party and hit the night spots, and a huge dose of romantic byplay between Hailey and Alex, another of the magical Coursodon who is helping with the search for Sebastian's body. The best way to approach this book is as a light comedy with romantic and fantasy elements with some secret agent stuff thrown in, rather than as either a serious fantasy or romance. Taken as a comedy, you'll be free to get all of the laughs out of it that are easy to find and sprinkled throughout the book.Recommended for those who want some alternate dimensional laughs or who enjoy off-the-wall fantasy romances.

I hadn't really any preconceived ideas about this book, so went in with an open mind. Have to be honest I was ready to give up after a really short space if time, the book just hadn't hooked me and the writing style did not appeal. However as some one had taken the trouble to write I felt I dhould give it a fair go. Glad I did, enjoyed it in the end and the characters grew on me. Will probably buy the next book.

I absolutely loved this book from the first page. I know when I am going to enjoy a story if the characters draw me in and I can't wait to see what happens next. The heroine is a feisty, no nonsense, seen it all before divorcee, who hasnt dated in ages. She is in a job that she enjoys but which is the same scenario every day and has a life that is just ticking over. Then she meets our hero! Tall, blonde, blue-eyed and from another dimension. Let the adventure begin!

I have never read anything like this before, it was so original....getting pretty much possessed from a being from another dimension via a kindle! Sounds ridiculous but is actually really good,cant recommend highly enough. I am definitely going to get book 2

A fun alien (or are they if they are from the same world but a different dimension?) Romance story that ends on a cliff hanger I can't wait to read the next book

I like quirky stories and a being from another dimension travelling into a body via a kindle is indeed quirky!! I like protagonists especially ones who are not so clean living that they do not have fun!! I hope the others in the series are as good!! Good story!!