Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Tainted Harvest: A Simone Doucet Series, by E. Denise Billups! I’m a big fan of this author and so very excited for her to have another release, so CONGRATS Denise on another big win!!!

Tainted Harvest: A Simone Doucet Series

Blurb

She escaped servitude for a worse fate. Now she wants everyone to know what happened.

Simone Doucet is searching for a meaningful life. As a travel writer, she’s searched but hasn’t found a purpose yet. She accepts an assignment that takes her to Magnolia Sunrise, a historical bed-and-breakfast on the bluffs of Natchez, Mississippi. Soon, frightful images of a young slave girl, Delphine Randolph, haunt her every evening. Are the dreams related to the assignment? Will she find answers in Natchez?

The first night at the B&B, a ghostly visitation transports Simone to 1863, antebellum Natchez. Through spectral eyes, Simone sees Delphine’s history. Her servitude as a wet nurse to her master’s wife, rape, and forced pregnancies, her daring escape, and early demise inside a Civil War contraband camp known as the Devil’s Punchbowl. Delphine wants everyone to know what happened to her at Magnolia Sunrise and inside the Union soldier’s encampment. She won’t stop haunting Simone until she TELLS HER STORY.

But why has Delphine chosen Simone? Will this awakening bring a new purpose to Simone’s life? Or more untold mysteries to be discovered?

BOOK LINKS

AMAZON USA – https://amzn.to/2TKeGJp

AMAZON UK – https://amzn.to/36fiRjg

MY REVIEW 5 STARS:

What a powerful paranormal story!! One thing that I’ve loved about all of Billups’ books that I’ve read thus far (which is most) is her instant character building. Tainted Harvest is no different, I was hooked and reeled in – right out the gate. I read the entire book in two sittings, and that’s only because I had mommy responsibilities that pulled me away for about an hour in the middle in the book — which, let me tell you, I was worthless at these duties because my head was very much stuck with the unforgettable characters that Billups had planted in my mind.

Simone is a travel writer with quite the story to tell. It’s the first book in a presumably ongoing series and to say that I’m curious about what kind of adventures that Simone may be in store for in the future would be a massive understatement. After the death of Simone’s mother, and a personal trip to France, she’s requested to travel for work without a moment of rest. Although a bit exasperated, she takes the job with gratitude and winds up on a journey that no one could possibly be prepared for.

Natchez Mississippi is an historically rich place with a very dark pastime. Simone finds herself having disturbing dreams, very disturbing, and it turns out she’s been transported in time to witness firsthand the dark pastime that Natchez truly has. You see, in the 1800s there was a woman by the name of Delphine who lived through some of the most horrendous slavery treatment, and died an extremely tragic death. Delphine means to haunt Simone, but only because she wants Simone to tell her story. Simone does just that, and the things she sees in order to do so is absolutely heart wrenching.

E. Denise Billups is a very talented writer, and the bouncing from historic times to the current is flawless. It’s horrible to imagine what American history entails during the Antebellum era, yet it’s even more horrible to ignore it. The people tortured deserve to have their stories told, and although this book is a work of fiction it feels as real as can be. For such a short read, it really packs a punch! Hands down five stars for me and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

AUTHOR BIO

E. Denise Billups is an author with a rare mixture of southern and northern charm. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama, and raised in New York City, where she has worked in finance and as a freelance columnist and currently resides. A multi-genre author of fiction, she has published four novels—Keepers of the Gate: Twilight Ends (Book 1), Kalorama Road, Chasing Victoria, and By Chance. She has also written several supernatural short stories, including Off the Grid, Ravine Lereux: Unearthing A Family Curse, The Playground, and Rebound. As an avid reader of magical realism, mystery, suspense, and supernatural novels, she was greatly influenced by authors in these genres.

Currently, she is working on book two of her trilogy, Twilight Ends, a paranormal historical fiction, and book two of Simone Doucet Series to be released in 2022.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Website: https://edenisebillups.com/

Next Chapter Publishing: https://www.nextchapter.pub

Facebook: @E. Denise Billups

Twitter: @DeniseBillups

Goodreads: @E. Denise Billups

YouTube: @E. Denise Billups