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Tess Lamar #1

The Spirit Tree

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Tessa, a southern girl with a crazy family and a brand new college degree, wants nothing more than for her life to start. When her uncle dies unexpectedly, she inherits more than his old truck. Lifetimes of family secrets unravel and nothing will ever be the same. After learning that she is not only a Fire Bird, but also half Nunnehi—the Cherokee equivalent to a fairy—Tessa is forced to fight for her life. Good thing she was raised by two tough southern ladies.

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtdMq...

300 pages, Unknown Binding

First published July 12, 2016

291 people are currently reading
373 people want to read

About the author

Kathryn M. Hearst

43 books290 followers
Kathryn M. Hearst is a southern girl with a love of the dark and strange. She has been a story teller her entire life, as a child she took people watching to new heights by creating back stories of complete strangers. Kate lives in North Carolina with her chocolate lab, Jolene; and two rescue pups, Jagger and Roxanne. She is a self-proclaimed nerd, raising a nerdling.

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5 stars
237 (41%)
4 stars
186 (32%)
3 stars
112 (19%)
2 stars
28 (4%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah Elizabeth.
5,002 reviews1,411 followers
February 1, 2017
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Kindle Scout.)

This started out okay, but I just couldn’t keep track of the plot.

Tessa was an okay character, and she seemed to care deeply for her family. I did feel sorry for her with regards to the way her mother treated her though.

The storyline in this started out okay, with Tessa going to visit her great-uncle in the hospital who was dying after a heart attack, we then got an attack on Tessa with loads of snakes and wolves at her aunt and uncle’s house, and a strange event where the wolf Tessa shot turned into a naked man. The plot just lost me after that though, and I struggled to get through the rest of the book. Not sure if this was just me, but I really didn’t enjoy this book.



5 out of 10
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,220 reviews2,340 followers
July 19, 2017
The Spirit Tree by Kathryn M Hearst is a Kindle Scout book and a pretty good one at that. It has a Native American story tale to it. A teen girl learns secrets, some she may not want to know, that she is more than she ever dreamed. She is half Fire Bird and half fairy (or the Native American version). It is a coming of age story in a strange way, with the help of others, and learning and excepting herself.
Profile Image for Shomeret.
1,128 reviews259 followers
May 22, 2017
The Spirit Tree by Kathryn M. Hearst was a Kindle Scout nominee of mine that was published last year. I received a free copy in return for my nomination. I didn't find the time to review it in 2016. I nominated The Spirit Tree because the central character turns out to be a figure out of Cherokee legend. This is not a spoiler. The revelation that protagonist Tessa Lamar is a Nunnehi is included in the description. I need to point out that I knew nothing about the Nunnehi before reading this book. So I had to do some research in preparation for this review.

I have to say that this book breaks with my history of amazing Kindle Scout nominees. It's the first of those nominees that I've read which I now regret nominating. That's a pretty strong statement, but it's an honest reflection of my opinion and I stand by it.

Let me say that this isn't about the quality of the writing. Judged as a piece of fiction, The Spirit Tree is competently written. I would probably have given it three stars on Goodreads if I hadn't started to feel very uncomfortable with Hearst's portrayal of the Cherokee.

This isn't about minor inaccuracies. My most important objection is that the author seems to imply that there are very few Cherokees left in existence. One example is a meeting in which a small group of Cherokee elders gather around a single campfire to select the shaman for the entire Cherokee community. The worst misconception that is perpetrated in popular films and literature dealing with Native Americans is that there are very few of them left. Some even imply that they all died out in the 19th century. This means that European Americans don't need to be concerned about the needs of contemporary Native communities or violations of their rights.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I really wish that Hearst hadn't decided to write about mythical beings that are regarded as sacred by the Cherokee. Most paranormal entities in the romance and fantasy genres deal with monsters that aren't regarded as sacred such as vampires and werewolves. Hearst probably didn't intend to offend. She just wanted to have a different kind of paranormal creature that would stand out.

For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...







Profile Image for Sadie Forsythe.
Author 1 book287 followers
September 21, 2017
Pretty good. I liked the characters, Bryson was especially wonderful and I liked that Tessa had a backbone. The writing was smooth, as was the narration in the audio version. Mostly I liked it, but I had a few gripes.

I'm not down with the pointless love triangle. There was no need for it, but more importantly, it meant I never really felt the actual romance in the story. Sure, Tessa chose one man over another and we're told why, but the whole thing was just too diluted by there being two men.

Similarly, the secondary mystery (or maybe primary, it did come first) was solved too easily and then just disappeared from the plot in favor of another one. So there too, having two mysteries meant neither was strong enough on its own. Plus, it made the book feel awful long.

There were also a few TSTL moments in which Tessa threw herself into danger and had to be rescued. I got tired of her apologizing to Bryson for endangering herself.

Lastly, I'm a bit iffy with the use of Native American mythology in the plot. I'm not screaming appropriation or anything, but there were several occasions where I kind of had to side-eye the book.

On a broader, genre level, I have to ask why young women in such books are never raised to know their own heritage, such that some man (or men) have to step in and teach them amidst a crisis. This is practically a constant in fantasy and I'm ALWAYS confused by parents/guardians who raise their wards without teaching them the basics of their powers. I mean, if you're a shifter or have magic, shouldn't learning about them be as expected as, say, teaching a young girl about the period she'll have one day? Why do they NEVER do this? Why?

Despite my few complaints, the book is worth a read and I'll be happy to read more of Hearst's writing, but it wasn't perfect.
Profile Image for Maggie.
Author 41 books404 followers
July 30, 2016
A journey of self-discovery with a paranormal twist.

An unusual young woman comes into her own upon the death of her beloved grandfather. A police detective becomes an ally, but when her life is threatened, her tribe assigns her a bodyguard. Her protector is hot but committed to protecting her from the normal and paranormal attacks on her life. Mistakes are made as she tests her fledgling wings, but the bone-deep teachings she learned from her grandfather stand her in good stead to weather the storms of life.

Another entertaining read from Kindle Scout.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews133 followers
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February 3, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/3/2019)! 🎁
Profile Image for Lyn Mckenzie.
874 reviews16 followers
December 9, 2025
I won this paperback in a competition from the author and i am unbelievably glad that i did as this is a truly stunning book, i was so so impressed with this book, right from the first page i was hooked. Everything about this book blew me away!

The storyline is so imaginative and so creative and this is what i fell in love with about this book first, the feel of the storyline and how it made me feel while i was reading it. There were so many aspects of this story that interested me especially inner workings of the tribe and how two people within this book connect on such a high level to each other, i smiled so much during certain parts of this book!

I loved reading about Tessa, she has a definate high level of inner strength and that is shown throughout this book through many events and situations that she goes through and is still able to get up in the morning. Another thing i loved was how she was raised by two strong woman and i believe that is why Tessa is as strong as she is and she can get through anything in her life because of the love that she has around her. When we first meet Aaron i loved his character and his personlity, seeing the strong and protective man with a quick smile and a sense for justice but the moment that Bryson came into the book i was on team Bryson. There Is something so completely magical about him, he has a feeling of safety and security about him as well as him being pretty unknown, we learn the kind of man he is along with Tessa but i could read about him all day!!!

I can't wait to read more of this series and to be honest to just read more of this author's work, i am so so impressed by the standard of writing this author has, she pulled me into her world and I am definitely a forever fan of her work!!!
Profile Image for D.L. Osment.
Author 4 books5 followers
July 5, 2016
I am a fan of Kathryn M. Hearst's books The Spirit Tree by Kathryn M. Hearst and I was overjoyed to read the first chapter of this book and nominate it for publication by Kindle Scout. When it was finally made available to me, I read it at my first opportunity. If it weren't for a terrible slave driver named sleep, I would have finished it in one sitting. Tessa Lamar is a hot (she looks like Jessica Rabbit), young psychologist who loses her beloved Uncle Charlie, the man who raised her, only to find herself. Turn out Tessa is Nunnehi, the Cherokee Version of fairy. She discovers she is a "shifter" - able to shift from human to firebird, her animal spirit. Suddenly, her life is turned upside down and a lot of people want her. An evil conjuror is trying to steal her magic, her mother wants her to exploit her new gifts at a psychic shop, and, oh, poor girl, two handsome men are after her. Bryson, another Nunnehi shifter, believes she is his destined mate, but Aaron, "Detective Blue Eyes", believes he has a claim on her. Not only did I enjoy Tessa's adventures, I was blown away by Hearst's evocative descriptions of what it would be like to be a bird and fly and her great fight scenes. Little details like how difficult it would be for a bird to shut the window the human just opened bring mind-boggling reality to this fantasy. The plot is driven both by Tessa's search for two kidnapped children and her need to protect herself. All the characters are complex and compelling. I want Gram Mae to invite me to dinner and serve me some potato salad and sweet tea.
Profile Image for Karen.
503 reviews21 followers
July 20, 2016
I received a copy of this book through Kindle Scout.


An interesting easy to read story that flowed relatively well. I think part of what kept me from giving this book more stars was that the focus of the book wasn't what I was hoping it would be. I was excited to read a book about Tessa and her newly discovered abilities. Instead the focus turned from Tessa's new self discovery into her draw/obsession towards two different guys and the interactions between the three of them. I would have been fine with that too, but the book took something that was a significant change in Tessa's life and put it to the wayside for these love interests.

The characters as a whole were somewhat one dimensional not leaving the reader with a whole lot to grab onto as far as building a living, breathing, colorful character. For me this caused a cookie cutter feel to all the characters, they were too generic. Meaning these characters lack a feeling of individuality, and left me wanting something/anything to have any sort of feelings towards them.

I loved the idea behind this book and I really wanted to love it but I was ultimately left wanting much more than I got. The story did keep me interested and I could see myself reading the next book.
Profile Image for Rosemary Hughes.
4,192 reviews23 followers
September 16, 2017
On the death of her uncle, Tessa finds all the things she had grown up with were wrong. Her uncle was in fact her grandfather, and she was a shifter. Her life for the next few weeks was continously in danger from a shapeshifter who wanted more power, as well as when she was using her psychic powers to help the police in certain enquiries.
It is a story of drama and confusion on the part of Tessa over her feelings for two men, that had just come into her life, as well as the need to grieve, which die to all the life threatening situations, she had not really been able to do.
I listened to the audio rendition and loved the accent of the reader, which was so in tune with the location and characters being portrayed.
Profile Image for Diana.
214 reviews4 followers
July 10, 2018
An easy, enjoyable enough story with an interesting twist on urban fantasy and a pretty cool peak into Cherokee legend. The antagonist scenes and troubles she ran into could have been a bit more exciting for me and more developed to create a bigger novel. The love triangle was ok and kind of funny at times more than romantic or sleazy which I kind of didn't mind, I also appreciated the respect given to her by these guys and the author's ability to not throw Tess straight into intercourse with both of them. That said, I would have kind of loved if there was more than just a tease of them possibly sharing...but that's just me. I might keep my eye out for the next in the series to see if the author takes them to a more interesting level romantically and more with the Cherokee plot line.
Profile Image for Ken.
88 reviews
April 23, 2018
Nice story

The Spirit Tree doesn't really have anything in it an out a "Spirit Tree", it does have a tree, but they hang bottles on it. Nowhere is it named a "Spirit Tree".

Beside that I found this to be a well written novel about everyday people, some with special gifts.

This is a type of Shifter novel, one who's story kept my attention. The characters are good and the story itself is magical.

I highly recommend this novel and I'm looking forward to more stories about Tessa and Bryson.
862 reviews4 followers
February 3, 2019
Wow! I wish I could give 10 stars! Loved, loved it! Great plot, unusual story! Full of danger, drama, mystery, mistakes, laughter, magic, spirits, and snakes, (did I mention the snakes!) Hate snakes! Also betrayal, murder, lies, and kidnapped children! Loved by two good men, how to chose? Dealing with grief, dying, black magic, and shifting, all the rules and secrects that go with it! No pressure, learn the rules, obey the rules, don't get caught, and don't get killed, what's a girl to do? Oh yeah and stay calm so you don't catch anything on fire!
Profile Image for Levia.
1,381 reviews16 followers
February 4, 2019
Very interesting

This was a really good read. I was annoyed with the back and forth between guys, and the fact that everyone treated her like a child incapable of making her own decisions. The ending sort of made up for it, but since I was frustrated with a lot of the book I felt my rating should reflect that. The supernatural element was thrown in there after a bit. I also felt like her best friend was really a horrible friend. Still an interesting read, especially if you enjoy solving mysteries and catching bad guys.
Profile Image for Cynthia.
439 reviews3 followers
February 8, 2019
If your looking for a new author as I was with this one, it will blow you away!

This story while a bit scary, realistically so it is a page turner that you just can not help but keep reading. It has action, steamy sexy scenes and it has a Haunting of ghosts. Wolves oh my.. even some first people of the tribe.

I found it HIGHLY Entertaining and easy to read! The young lady uses witty remarks while trying to forget what her life has become. This is one book you will not want to miss reading.
Profile Image for Darlene.
149 reviews
August 28, 2019
Tess has a college degree, a good job as a mental health therapist and a steady if not annoying boyfriend. When her uncle dies unexpectedly she is heartbroken. He and her aunt raised her having an absent Mother. But suddenly strange things start happening like wolves trying to break into her house and piles of snakes all over. When she shoots a wolf and suddenly a man is laying there she knows something is terribly wrong. Thats when she finds out she is a firebird and a cherokee form of fairy and life will never be the same. Loved this book and cannot wait to read more!
Profile Image for Brandy.
177 reviews12 followers
February 23, 2017
This was something I picked up through Amazon Prime Reading. I'm not sure if it's still available for free through that service. I liked the idea of this more than I liked the actual story. I wanted more about Tess's newly discovered Nunnehi background and her journey through a new world rather than her thoughts about two different hot guys. And that's coming from someone who reads and enjoys a lot of romances. The guys felt flat, and I was much more interested in Tess and her family.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
784 reviews37 followers
September 14, 2017
This is a different sort of romance, with plenty of suspense. The story moves along at a good pace and has a couple of threads: the search for abducted children and the search for the person trying to kill Tessa. Two hunky guys help weave the two storylines together. The writing is good and I liked the characters. I liked the Native American aspect the best; it's always enjoyable to have a bit of culture mixed into stories.
Profile Image for Kasia Burlakoff.
177 reviews16 followers
September 21, 2017
I enjoyed this book very much. It's well written, with interesting and well developed characters. The plot was full of twists and turns, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The relationship between Tessa and her grandmother and aunt Dottie was very touching but fun to read as well. And I loved an addition of a handsome detective.

Tessa's way to discovering her heritage, with addition to some Native American magic was fascinating for me. I'm looking forward to readingBook 2.

Highly recommended
673 reviews4 followers
May 27, 2019
I liked the story and the female main character. She was spunky and yet had problems that she had to face. There was a couple things that made me not like her as well which took it down a star for me to just like not really liked. It was interesting how different cultures was brought into the story. She had to face things and learn new things about herself. It made her grow during the story. Over all worth the read.
Profile Image for Terri West.
2,153 reviews
July 23, 2019
This started out as an interesting read and on the whole I enjoyed it, the story however seemed to waver between romance and the new powers that Tessa has found she has. That's not to say such a story is not doable, just that in this case the paranormal side of things seemed a bit wishy washy and as for the romance, I'm still not sure what is actually transpiring.
The book is written well enough and I will read the next one, I just hope it has a bit more depth.
52 reviews3 followers
March 6, 2021
Surprisingly Different

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, very different from the usual cozy mysteries. The characters are good and go well with each other and I can see them developing further.
The only thing I felt was missing was more backstory on the main characters heritage, may be this will also develop further but it would have been nice to have in the first book. Will continue reading to see how it goes.
Profile Image for Bertha Alicia .
649 reviews58 followers
June 19, 2017
A travel into a new world

Tessa is grieving his grandfather, but at the same time, she is discovering a world she never though may exist and less of all that she is part of it.
Ms Hearst had bring to us a wonderful story about the Cherokee lore mixing it into the life of a modern woman.
I really love this book, (and Aaron!) and can't wait to buy the second one!
Profile Image for Brooke Ashleigh.
222 reviews2 followers
January 28, 2018
I enjoyed this book from chapter one till the end! It involves ghosts, magic, paranormal fantasy, Native American lore (if that's what it is), and romance. Gram Mae and Dottie made me chuckle quite a few times, Tessa's mother, Darlene, made me roll my eyes and literally say aloud "go away!". I can't wait to read the Christmas one!
46 reviews
September 15, 2018
Super annoying because the premise was interesting. Tessa was just way too bratty for me. Also is there a shortage of women around in every fantasy book out there? What is with the love triangles?? Seriously, it is...so annoying. And after reading the reviews for the next two books, I know the problem perpetuates and I also know I won't be reading them.
Profile Image for Lori Gerlisky.
Author 6 books51 followers
June 21, 2019
I haven’t been this drawn into a story in quite awhile!

This was a unique story with a different type of shifter theme. There were in depth plot twists that were unexpected and kept me listening.

The narrator sold the story well. Fantastic job.

Can’t wait to listen to the next book in the series!
Profile Image for Laurel .
1,355 reviews5 followers
April 20, 2022
This was a good read, once this reader figured out where the storyline was going. This book skips a lot of conventional links to different subjects and sometimes I felt I could have had a crystal ball or road map to figure out what exactly was going on. I was rather disappointed at the non ending of this book. Not a cliffhanger, more like the hold button ona telephone.
Profile Image for Monique.
907 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2018
Great story!

I really enjoyed this book! It is a very interesting premise for a series, with fantastic characters and filled with excitement, action and supernatural mixed in with Native American lore. I especially enjoyed the mystical/ mythical aspect.
Profile Image for Dena.
4,455 reviews12 followers
February 15, 2019
Moving on

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the folklore and the characters. This has a lot of pieces to make a beautiful picture. I think the spirit animals and the magic was very intriguing and very enchanting.
Profile Image for Janet Swiftbird.
1,878 reviews6 followers
February 17, 2019
Firebird

Interesting read and storyline, good, strong characters that are unique and intriguing.
Follow Tessa as she finds herself in a tight situation with her job, her magic and two men wanting her attention.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews

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