Rating: 2.25 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
The war left Lawrence Davis with a bum leg and enough pain for a dozen lifetimes. Yet he finds himself looking forward to returning to the ranch left to him by his deceased father. The rest of his family hates the place and fled the property many years before, but Lawrence hopes to find some peace and quiet there. But almost as soon as he arrives, Lawrence begins to experience horrific nightmares. These rapidly evolve into terrifying physical attacks from an enemy he cannot see.
Elijah Mallory isn’t anyone’s idea of a hero. As an incubus, he routinely feeds off human lust for self-preservation. He is drawn to Lawrence and, in return for being allowed to feed, he promises to take care of the entity that seems bent upon destroying the weary veteran. But Elijah quickly discovers that something far more dangerous than a simple ghost plagues Lawrence and his family home. Ranch hand Billy Johnson joins the other men to save Lawrence from being destroyed.
The Possession of Lawrence Eugene Davis is not particularly original or well developed, but nor is it a terrible read. The plot is simple and fairly straightforward. The pacing is good, yet there isn’t much depth to either the character development or to the overall storyline. I felt like I was left reading half a story and this had nothing to do with its short length. Rather it seemed as though there might have been real potential that was never fully explored.
Lawrence and Elijah are fairly interesting creations. They aren’t given much fleshing out, but this doesn’t prevent them from being intriguing. Lawrence is survivor of World War I and, despite his lingering injuries, he comes off as a man who is determined to continue living his life. Elijah is mysterious, seemingly coming from nowhere, and while he described as more human than demon, he still offers the reader the allure of something dangerous. Both of these characters needed more of everything to make them seem fully dimensional though. Billy Johnson, who is supposedly an equal part of the trio, is a complete non-entity. He ‘s barely more than a cardboard cut out and offers very little to the overall story.
Given the possible potential of The Possession of Lawrence Eugene Davis, it was disappointing to find that it never really went anywhere. The denouement was predictable and despite being told otherwise, there was never the sensation that any of the characters were in true danger. There was no tension or suspension of disbelief and as a result the whole thing felt a little boring. This said, the chemistry being Elijah and Lawrence, while limited, is the novel’s bright spite and saved the reading of it from become an exercise in endurance.
I can’t really say that The Possession of Lawrence Eugene Davis was a good book, but nor was it wholly unreadable. Instead it was an interesting concept that was left desperately needing further development. Lawrence and Elijah are the highlights of the novel and had enough chemistry to hold my interest, but Billy was left almost as an afterthought. I can’t recommend this one to anyone that isn’t absolutely a diehard paranormal romance fan.
