The Ecology of Lonesomeness Review Tour

Blurb:

Kaleb Schwartz isn't interested in the Loch Ness Monster. He'd enough cryptobiological speculation about Bigfoot while studying the Pacific Northwest forests. He's in Scotland's Great Glen to investigate aquatic food webs and nutrients cycles; if he proves there's no food for any creature bigger than a pike, then so much the better.

Jessie McPherson has returned to Loch Ness after finishing university in London, hoping to avoid the obsession with its dark waters she had when younger and first discovered lonesomeness. She knows any relationship with a scientist studying the lake is a bad idea, but something about Kaleb makes her throw caution to the depths.

When Kaleb discovers Jessie's lonesomeness refers not just to the solitude of the loch, he's faced with an ecological problem of monstrous proportions. Can he find a way to satisfy both the man and the scientist inside himself, and do the right thing?

10% of the author's royalties will be donated to WWF, the World Wildlife Fund.

Excerpt:

"What?" she asked. "What're you shakin' your head at?"

He didn't know how to answer. "Just amazed at how words I never used before, back in the States, keep popping into my head, though I've only been here less than a month."

"Oh, aye?" She raised an eyebrow. "What words?"

"Just words. Words you use here that we don't." He tried to evade. Lovely... fancy... He tried to think of another word, but these two kept coming back into his brain like it was caught in a short circuit.

"We're good at getting into your brain," she replied, smiling broadly.

Again he thought of the word lovely as he saw her lovely mouth, her soft, red lips. Christ...

"For sure, you do."

"So, go on.... what words do we always say?"

"Um..." The words would not let him go. It was like Schrödinger's cat again. "Things like 'lovely' and 'fancy'." He said the words in a fake Scottish accent, hoping it would make them sound funny rather than serious, which was how he suddenly thought of them; too serious to say to a girl he hardly knew on a different continent, where he'd only stay a short time. He should leave her to get on with her life.

Jessie chuckled, but seemed to blush deeper as she turned back towards the lake. She'd finished her food and crumpled the wrappers and drank from the bottle of water.

Kaleb was silent too, yet again unsure how to continue the conversation without broaching a subject he was trying to avoid.

Jessie seemed to let the subject drop, staring out at the end of the canal. Then she turned back to Kaleb, peering at him with those blue eyes as if she was seeking to find something in his own.

"Aye. We do use them quite a lot," she said. A smile played around her mouth as she continued, "It's a lovely day. D'you fancy a walk?"

My Review:

4 stars

I liked this story, as it was a fun twist on the Loch Ness monster. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, and I thought he did a particularly good job with his characters. The characters were well written and likable (Arab and Malcolm were two of my particular favorites) and I liked the build up of Kaleb and Jessie’s relationship.

My biggest complaint was the heavy focus on science in the story, which I was not expecting as it was primarily marketed as a romance novel. I don’t have a problem with the science being in the book; I didn’t like that the science would crowd out the romance. This book was supposed to be a romantic novel that featured science, not a scientific novel that featured some romance. And while the science angle was interesting and added to the story, there were times were I felt like I needed a degree in ecology to understand and track what was going on. 

I think this would be a great read for those who like a little romance in their stories, but want more than just the romance. This would also be a great book for those who might not normally like reading romance novels, as it’s a great way to wet your “romance” feet while still reading an interesting suspense/science-y novel.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

November 10: Unabridged Andra's
November 10: Our Families Adventure
November 17: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
November 17: Romorror Fan Girl
November 24: Sharing Links and Wisdom
November 24: LibriAmoriMiei
December 1: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
December 1: Romantic Fanatic

Author Bio and Links:

David is a writer, ecologist and teacher from Dublin, Ireland, now living in Pamplona Spain. He has a degree in environmental biology and doctorate in zoology, specialising in deer biology and is still involved in deer management in his spare time. 



As an avid wildlife enthusiast and ecologist, much of David's non-academic writing, especially poetry, is inspired by wildlife and science. While his stories and novels are contemporary, they often seek to describe the science behind the supernatural or the paranormal.

His novels, Leaving the Pack and Five Days on Ballyboy Beach are available at Tirgearr Publishing. His YA novel, The Soul of Adam Short and Children's novel Peter and the Little People will be published soon by MuseitUP Publishing. He writes erotic romance under the pen name J.D. Martins.

A long-time member of The World Wildlife Fund, David has pledged to donate 10% of his royalties on all his hitherto published books to that charity to aid with protecting endangered species and habitats. 


Book Buy Links:

Tirgearr Publishing     |     Amazon US     |     Amazon UK

Smashwords     |     Apple     |     Kobo     |     Barnes and Noble

Author Links:

Tirgearr Page    |    Website    |    Amazon Author Page    |    Facebook