Lying Season (Experiment in Terror)

It's official. I'm obsessed with Karina Halle's writing. Newly released books that were recently delivered to my Kindle (that I've waited over a year to come out) have remained unread to make room for book after book by Karina Halle. I'm BLOWN away! Her writing is just...Wow!Perry, being the glutton for punishment that she is, finds herself agreeing to stay with Dex and guess who else for a week? Oh, yeah, Jen... who he is STILL WITH! Apparently, there is a haunted mental institution in Seattle near where Dex lives that him and Perry are going to be checking out.It pained my heart so much when Perry is offerred some hard-to-hear advice from her Uncle Al (from Darkhouse) on why he thinks she should go to Seattle and knowingly put herself in the position to have her heart destroyed:"You've got this hole in your heart, Perry. I can see it on your face. You're so beautiful, bella, you really are, but you look so...sad. You've got this hole, I can see it and it is bleeding out slowly. It's clotted only by hope. This hope, based on maybes and what ifs, is killing you. This pin is small and it moves quietly. You need a knife. Get over it. Face the finality of it all and move on."Not only has Dex NOT broken up with Jenn despite the growing intensity of him and Perry's relationship, Dex has moved into another apartment with Jenn AND gotten a dog!!! (aptly named 'Fat Rabbit').... What the .. ?!The hateful comments Perry is still receiving from "Anonymous" on the blog, now coupled with being in the presence of Dex's pin-up-worthy girlfriend Jenn, is taking it's toll on Perry's confidence. Not to mention a copycat show with a bigger budget that threatens to derail their so far, short-lived success.Of course, there were all sorts of awkward moments involving Perry, Dex and Jenn....and I felt actual pain at times reading some of these moments. Like this one:'OK. So the cutesy couple bickering pained me and the fact that, right in front of me, just two feet away, he had his arm around her and was staring at her with a, well, not disgusted look on his face, that absolutely hurt. I mean, hurt like a hot, poison-tinged knife was going through my stomach. But I was going to get through this. I had to. Right? RIGHT?!I looked away. I had to or else I would have kept staring at them, mouth open, looking lovelorn and stupid. I looked down at the carpet."Nice carpet," I remarked. Like an idiot. There was silence for a moment."Perry's very observant," Dex finally said to Jenn and out of the corner of my eye I could see him kiss her on her skinny cheekbone.I wished the carpet would swallow me whole.'And then there are really sweet moments when Dex totally redeems himself, like this one:"I want you to stay with me," he said. "And that's the problem. Every time you leave me, I need you a little bit more."And then I died laughing at moments like this, when Jenn makes a fool of herself while attempting to ward off an 'intruder,' obviously having the smarts of a tic tac:'I scampered up just as Fat Rabbit's barking form came shooting out from the bedroom, followed by Jenn, who was waving around a curling iron like a weapon.'And then, there are times when it is clear Jenn provides no real competition for Perry when it comes to Dex. Perry struggles to figure out why they're even still together. They make an AWFUL couple, despite the fact that they have a couple cheesy moments..."How did you two even start going out?" I asked, thinking out loud, not really wanting an answer.He shrugged again and wiped his chin quickly. "Honestly? She was hot, good in bed, and a bit of a b*%#-h."Ouch. I could see he was telling the truth. It was a very guy thing to say, but it still stung. I covered it up, though, and raised my brow at him."Was a bit of a b*%#-h?"Perry finds herself surprisingly making friends with Jenn's Wine Babes co-star, Rebecca, who isn't as big a fan of Jenn as Perry would have thought. Who is also very close friends with Dex. And who also secretly rooting for Perry and Dex. I lived for the whole girls night thing, when Rebecca came over and made Perry into the hidden sex goddess she's always been capable of being but was too modest to flaunt.Rebecca is also surprisingly smart and perceptive (basically, the complete opposite of her Wine Babes co-star, Jenn). It is confirmed that others are not oblivious to the obvious 'spark' between Dex and Perry:"It's obvious to me. And that's because I'm intuitive and can...see a lot. It's obvious if you know what you are looking for. It's in the glances you give each other, and the glances you don't give each other. It's in how you speak to each other and what you don't say."Lying Season is more about the 'personal' demons that plague both Perry and Dex. They both have a haunting past with dark, crippling secrets that refuse to remain burried, no matter how hard they've tried over the years. There is a stigma associated with mental illness - and the notion that if you take enough drugs (whether legal or illegal), all your problems will disappear. But putting a bandaid on the problem never makes it go away. If anything, it always comes back tenfold."There are ghosts, oh yes, there are ghosts and they all live here. Because people with mental illness are haunted by ghosts every day. But these are ghosts inside their heads. Ghosts created by chemical imbalances and strengthened through memory. Everyone has ghosts that follow them throughout their lives. Ghosts of the past they wish they'd left behind, ghosts of love they once turned down, ghosts of regret and ghosts of loss. Ghosts of guilt. We all have them. I do. Roundtree does. You both do. And if you don't deal with your demons, they will haunt you for the rest of your life."The relationship, not to mention mounting sexual tension, between Perry and Dex, comes to a head and Perry is faced with a difficult decision:'And suddenly I saw my life branching into two separate paths, depending on what my answer was. I could play it safe and lie. Protect my heart and protect my pride. Protect my relationship with him and the future of us working together. Or I could be honest. I could finally admit to him how I really felt. Tell him and hope for the best. For the small chance that he happened to feel the same.'My heart hurt after this one. Witnessing Perry reach for something that was seemingly forever just out of her grasp was heart-wrenching, yet at times, so achingly sweet, it was just what I needed to keep reading. My chest ached and still does just rehashing my feelings over Lying Season..... I hated Dex. I loved him. I felt sorry for both him and Perry. I wanted to smack Jenn around a time or two and by the end of this book, I'm convinced I had more adrenaline running through me than Charlie Sheen in the throes of a hooker-infested coke binge!What are you waiting for!??! READ IT!!!!!

I am so in love with this book in the series. There's so much creepy and scary stuff but for me as awesome as that was it's the nuclear explosion of events between all of the characters that had my heart beating too fast. No, don't go reading into what I just said bc Karina Halle still puts it into a shaker and mixes the heck out of it, and sews it back together into a masterpiece. Excuse me, I'm off to read the next book immediately!

Lying Season by Karina HalleGoodreads Description:Ama­teur ghost-hunter Perry Palomino has bat­tled ghosts, fought off skin­walk­ers and skirted the fine line between life and death. But can she sur­vive bunk­ing down in Seat­tle for a week with her partner (and man she secretly loves) Dex and his perfect girl­friend, Jennifer? And can she do so while being tor­mented by a mali­cious spirit from Dex's increas­ingly shady past? With love and life in the bal­ance, Perry must dis­cover the truth among the lies or risk los­ing every­thing she's ever cared about.As my 'Experiment in Terror' week comes to a close.....What did I think?Three words: O.M.G.<---yes that's three ;-)For just a second, look at that cover. I mean.....really look at it. How freaking creepy is that?! When I picked this up, I had no idea what I was getting into. The cover seriously freaked me out. I mean....whoa *shivers*...This book picks up right where 'Dead Sky Morning 'leaves off. This time the suspense and tension are a lot higher in this book.Perry and Dex go inspect a haunted mental institution. How creepy is that?! Not only does Perry have to be in close proximity with her love interest Dex, but she also has to put up with his hot, overtly sweet girlfriend Jenn.Talk about awkward right? You have no idea....I think one of the best parts of this book is watching Perry grow up and get some real confidence. I know Dex has a lot to do with that but it's great that it's not just Dex. It's really herself.One of the other best parts is Dex tells Perry more about his past. Dex is so complicated. Argh! But I love him so! He still holds the title to one of my most favorite characters. You love him, yet you want to punch him right in the face. ;-) Which makes him all the more special to me. So complicated... *swoons*We get introduced to a couple new characters in this book. One of whom I fell completely in love with. Rebecca. Oh man she is just so awesome. Oh just a breath of fresh air that Perry needs.Things get real in this. I mean really 'real. In every way. For the last half hour that I was reading this, my eyes must have been bugging out and my mouth in a constant shock formation. I stayed up until 3 am finishing this.And oooooohhhhh the ending. Left me with soooooo many unanswered questions. Everything was left in the open and I'm so anxious to get to the next book.On a side/personal note:I really did enjoy this series thoroughly. Not only do I think the author is brilliant but she is wicked cool. I've gotten to talk to her on Twitter and she has to be one of 'the' coolest chicks out there.Whenever I read a book, I always talk about it to my fiancee. I love how he indulges me and acts interested...Even though I know he'd rather be playing video games. What really Robby's (my fiancee) attention is when I mentioned the bands that Perry talks about in the books. 'Slayer, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom...' those are ALL bands that Robby and I listen to. It surprised Robby that a chick listens to these bands because they're pretty underground.I asked Karina about it and she's was a music journalist and got to meet Mike Patton and has met Dave Lombardo a couple of times. It's actually really cool. Robby was also impressed. ;-)As I was talking about the series, Robby dragged this out:Notice the name....hahaIt was really cool that she talked to me. LOL I know that sounds lame but it always means a lot to me when an author (one of my favs) actually acknowledges me. You know? It's awesome. So I want to say a special thank you to Karina. You are one wicked cool chick!!I encourage you to read this series. For real. The series is awesome and so is the author.Favorite Quotes:"It's not magic Perry. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever known and before you say anything, you've always been that way to me."

Oh my god. This book - like the three before it - is SO. GD. GOOD. I think I just got my heart ripped out with that ending... But maybe not. You'd better read it to see if I'm right...

This one runs the gambit for me...creepiness, check. Sadness, check. Secondhand embarrassment, check. Sexual tension, check. Snort laughter, check (2 words - Christmas party). Anger and disappointment, double check.

At this point, I am not sure if I will ever like Perry. She is so volatile and in this book she does some very stupid things even if she thinks they are for the right reasons. We finally get to meet Jenn who is exactly what you would expect. We also get to meet some other characters from Shownet, and I really loved Rebecca. Dex is a complete mess and the fact that he keeps putting Perry in these remarkably tense and occasionally dangerous situations just makes me want to smack him upside the head. He is supposed to be the "adult" in the relationship. Anyway, this book deals a lot more with the romantic side of the story as opposed to the spooky side of things. There are a lot of editorial mistakes that are very annoying. I found the first two books in the series really engrossing but my interest started to slip with the last book and just kept slipping with this one. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

The fourth instalment in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series, 'Lying Season' sees ghost-hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray investigate a supposedly haunted Mental Institute in Dex's hometown of Seattle. Which of course involves Perry staying with Dex and his vile girlfriend Jenn for a week. Cue seriously awkward scenes involving Jenn's atrocious attitude and self-love.We learn a lot more about what makes Dex tick in this novel. Scouring his bookcase for interesting reading material, Perry comes across Dex's stash of meds, hidden in a hollowed out book no less - I love that guy's style, weed goes in an unlocked drawer, medication must be hidden from his girlfriend... Oh Dex you get more complex, the more we get to know you. And more lovable to boot. Finding his various medications prompts Perry to find out more about Dex's mental health (or lack of) and results in a rather dodgy experiment that I don't want to spoil for you all.We see some more of Perry's history in this book as well. Through dream sequences we are introduced to the 'accident' that has only been hinted at until now and we begin to see just how pervasive Perry's ghosts are.And we are introduced to yet another gruesome ghoul. This time, somebody we've heard about before. Remember Abby, Dex's ex? Well we get to see her in the rotting flesh as she haunts Dex's apartment and gets all threatening towards Perry. That girl creeped me out and I'm kinda hoping she makes an appearance in future instalments. I don't think we've seen everything she has to give. Oh and if you love Creepy Clown Lady as much as I do, you'll be happy to know she makes an appearance or two in 'Lying Season'.Overall, I enjoyed this fourth novel in what is turning out to be an awesome series but I was a little disappointed by the lack of scares. I was itching to read this book as soon as I found out it involved a haunted asylum - yeah, I have a thing for creepy old mental institutes. But there just wasn't enough about the hospital to keep me completely pleased. Although the guy in the padded cell was bloody horrible. This books focus was more on the up and down relationship burgeoning between Dex and Perry and for me, that meant it lacked a bit of the gripping, nail-biting tension that the previous books had. But nevertheless it was a bloody brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next one.

Erm what the hell just happened?? It can't end like that!!!Ok so far with the EiT books the story lines have been about the ghost hunts that Dex and Perry have done, with their relationship on the smaller side. This book is a total reversal of that I loved that we were getting to see more of them outside of a ghost hunt, and seeing how the relationship was working, developing. In this book Perry goes to stay with Dex and Jenn so that they can investigate a mental hospital in the area. whilst having to deal with seeing Dex with Jenn, Perry is also stalked by a ghost from Dex's past. it started off creepy, but IMO it wasn't as creepy as the previous book, but you know what that's ok because this book was entirely focused on Dex and Perry themselves. We find out more about each of their pasts in this book than the others put together. I love Perry to pieces and I felt her pain having to watch Dex with Jenn, but Perry why didn't you tell Dex when he asked if you loved him??? This book was definitely angsty! As for Dex, reading this book I actually started to get what all this Dex fever was all about, I've not really been on the whole Dex bandwagon, but boy did this book change my mind, that is until the end!! What the hell Dex?