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The Being Trilogy #2
Intimate Beings
They are here among us . . . Far from home, gifted with special abilities, hunted for their powers. And they are desperate to find their other, the one who completes them . . . before it's too late . . . When you least expect it, love finds you . . . Lately, Claire Edwards feels like she's floundering. A ho-hum teaching job, a string of terrible dates, nights spent with only Netflix and bizarre dreams of spaceships for company . . . life isn't working out the way she hoped. But Claire has an extraordinary secret ability-she can go anywhere at all, just by wishing it. And if the intensely attractive man who suddenly materializes in her car one day is any indication, Claire's not the only one . . . Ever since Darl James learned of his true origins, he has been searching for his partner and life mate, the one whose gift will complement and complete his own. Now that he's found Claire, he vows to never lose her again, or their soul-searing, sensual connection. But keeping her safe won't be easy when they've been marked for destruction by an evil, power-hungry race. A fierce battle is brewing, one that will test Claire and Darl's new bond to the limit, and decide the future of all their kind . . . Praise For The Novels Of Jessica Inclan "A magical, mystical tale, one you won't soon forget". -Amanda Ashley on Reason to Believe
283 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
437 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Barksdale Inclán
48 books462 followersJessica Barksdale Inclán's sixteenth novel, What the Moon Did, and her first short story collection, Trick of the Porch Light, were published in 2023. Her novels include Her Daughter’s Eyes, The Play's the Thing, and The Burning Hour.
A Pushcart Prize and Best-of-the-Net nominee, her short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming in the The Sun, Salt Hill Journal, Tahoma Review, and So to Speak. Her work has been recognized and honored by The Sewanee Review, The Wigleaf, The North American Review, and The Ocotillo Review
She taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California and continues to teach novel writing online for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
For more information, go to: http://www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
A Pushcart Prize and Best-of-the-Net nominee, her short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming in the The Sun, Salt Hill Journal, Tahoma Review, and So to Speak. Her work has been recognized and honored by The Sewanee Review, The Wigleaf, The North American Review, and The Ocotillo Review
She taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California and continues to teach novel writing online for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
For more information, go to: http://www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 9, 2008
Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Oct08
The concept of one perfect ‘other’ for each person is a theme that has certainly been big lately. In most of the paranormals which are flooding the market these days, there’s a concept of lifemate, other, mate, the ‘one’, etc and the paranormal creatures can smell, sniff, ‘know’, recognize, dream, etc that one individual meant for them. In Jessica Inclan’s latest, “Intimate Beings”, this theme is taken to a new and interesting level with the concept of a ‘twin’. A twin is your other half, and they have the nature and powers to ‘complete’ their respective twin. Do you think the huge popularity of paranormals these days is partially due to this true romantic dream of meeting the one true love that’s meant for you? Just something to think on.
Claire is a woman lost. She’s never quite been able to fit in and she’s known since she was a lonely only child that she’s not normal. If she concentrates on a place, she can physically go there…which would be really cool if it weren’t for the fact that she can’t get back home! She must use planes, trains, or automobiles to get back home and that kind of kills the thrill, not to mention the bank account. Then one day she hears a voice, from nowhere and no one. But instead of being insane, the voice somehow assembles into a body…of a really hot guy that Claire is instantly attracted to. Of course, he’s apparently the insane one because he’s telling her that he’s her twin! That’s just weird, not to mention kind of creepy with her being so attracted to him.
Darl (short for Darling!) knows that Claire is having a hard time believing what he’s telling her. But he also KNOWS that this is right. Their relationship is everything he’s been missing his entire life. Since his fellow aliens (!) found him and told him why he’s always been different, he’s felt the longing to find his twin, the one to complete him and make his ability to physically go home from anywhere complete. Now that he’s found Claire and convinced her to join their struggle, they will always be together…until they’re separated when the asteroid safe house is destroyed. Now both of them are searching for the other while being chased by evil aliens.
This was a very strange story. There is quite a bit of spiritualism included which struck me as rather bizarre when combined with paranormal and science fiction elements. All of them put together made it difficult for me to understand what the author intended with her writing. Was this meant for entertainment? Knowledge? Spiritual uplifting? I still don’t know and that bugs me. So call me shallow, but all that thinking turned me right off the book. I don’t know if I should call it a romance or a mystery or action or suspense or a science fiction something. In any event, "Intimate Beings" by Jessica Inclan was just too strange for these old brain cells.
The concept of one perfect ‘other’ for each person is a theme that has certainly been big lately. In most of the paranormals which are flooding the market these days, there’s a concept of lifemate, other, mate, the ‘one’, etc and the paranormal creatures can smell, sniff, ‘know’, recognize, dream, etc that one individual meant for them. In Jessica Inclan’s latest, “Intimate Beings”, this theme is taken to a new and interesting level with the concept of a ‘twin’. A twin is your other half, and they have the nature and powers to ‘complete’ their respective twin. Do you think the huge popularity of paranormals these days is partially due to this true romantic dream of meeting the one true love that’s meant for you? Just something to think on.
Claire is a woman lost. She’s never quite been able to fit in and she’s known since she was a lonely only child that she’s not normal. If she concentrates on a place, she can physically go there…which would be really cool if it weren’t for the fact that she can’t get back home! She must use planes, trains, or automobiles to get back home and that kind of kills the thrill, not to mention the bank account. Then one day she hears a voice, from nowhere and no one. But instead of being insane, the voice somehow assembles into a body…of a really hot guy that Claire is instantly attracted to. Of course, he’s apparently the insane one because he’s telling her that he’s her twin! That’s just weird, not to mention kind of creepy with her being so attracted to him.
Darl (short for Darling!) knows that Claire is having a hard time believing what he’s telling her. But he also KNOWS that this is right. Their relationship is everything he’s been missing his entire life. Since his fellow aliens (!) found him and told him why he’s always been different, he’s felt the longing to find his twin, the one to complete him and make his ability to physically go home from anywhere complete. Now that he’s found Claire and convinced her to join their struggle, they will always be together…until they’re separated when the asteroid safe house is destroyed. Now both of them are searching for the other while being chased by evil aliens.
This was a very strange story. There is quite a bit of spiritualism included which struck me as rather bizarre when combined with paranormal and science fiction elements. All of them put together made it difficult for me to understand what the author intended with her writing. Was this meant for entertainment? Knowledge? Spiritual uplifting? I still don’t know and that bugs me. So call me shallow, but all that thinking turned me right off the book. I don’t know if I should call it a romance or a mystery or action or suspense or a science fiction something. In any event, "Intimate Beings" by Jessica Inclan was just too strange for these old brain cells.
October 5, 2011
3.5 stars!!!
I won this from the Goodreads.com First Reads program.
This is a Sci-Fi romance featuring people with amazing powers and a secret they don't even know, aliens who want to wipe out a race of other aliens and a short battle.
Darl, short for Darling, is a high school football coach with an interesting power he keeps hidden. Adopted as a baby, his siblings have been jealous of their mom's affection for him.
Claire misses her adopted mother who died somewhat recently. She has always had a power she's kept hidden. Her life has been so blah for so long, she struggles to not use the power. As a kindergarten teacher, she knows there must be more to life and something has been missing from hers.
Darl and Claire meet and the chemistry is immediate since they are soulmates. They complete each other. The heat level for this is a 2 of 4. He tells her things about herself she struggles to dismiss. However, there is something they have to do, people they have to help, before they can settle into just being with each other.
This has a good, imaginative story line which I liked. But the character of Claire got on my nerves a bit with all her angsty 'poor me, let me off this ride' thoughts which slowed the story down for me. Which is unfortunate because otherwise, Claire is a strong, loving character.
Even though this is the second in the trilogy, it is a stand alone story and I didn't feel I missed anything by not having read the first book yet. But I do believe I will go back and read the other books in this series.
I won this from the Goodreads.com First Reads program.
This is a Sci-Fi romance featuring people with amazing powers and a secret they don't even know, aliens who want to wipe out a race of other aliens and a short battle.
Darl, short for Darling, is a high school football coach with an interesting power he keeps hidden. Adopted as a baby, his siblings have been jealous of their mom's affection for him.
Claire misses her adopted mother who died somewhat recently. She has always had a power she's kept hidden. Her life has been so blah for so long, she struggles to not use the power. As a kindergarten teacher, she knows there must be more to life and something has been missing from hers.
Darl and Claire meet and the chemistry is immediate since they are soulmates. They complete each other. The heat level for this is a 2 of 4. He tells her things about herself she struggles to dismiss. However, there is something they have to do, people they have to help, before they can settle into just being with each other.
This has a good, imaginative story line which I liked. But the character of Claire got on my nerves a bit with all her angsty 'poor me, let me off this ride' thoughts which slowed the story down for me. Which is unfortunate because otherwise, Claire is a strong, loving character.
Even though this is the second in the trilogy, it is a stand alone story and I didn't feel I missed anything by not having read the first book yet. But I do believe I will go back and read the other books in this series.
June 7, 2011
Well, Jessica Inclán, a very dear author that has several books already published internationally (both mass market and indie), sent me a copy of her book Intimate Beings, that is the sequel of Being With Him (review here). Except that she sent me both a copy of her original book and the one that was published in Brazil.
As I mentioned on my Being With Him review, the brazilian version is 100 pages shorter and I was really afraid they ruined the book. But it wasn't as bad as I thought.
I'll start with the diferences between the two of them to get it over with and be able to talk about the book as a whole. On "De Corpo e Alma" (that's the brazilian version and it means "with body and soul"), everything seems a bit rushes - it seems like things happen without a second thought, not considering, without noticing things like "hey we're on a different planet", "hey, they're not trying to kill us anymore" and things like that, because several paragraphs were left out - specially those where the characters were thinking about their lives, about how much they changed, etc. Some little things weren't really clear on De Corpo e Alma, I believe small sentences were cut off that didn't seem to make much difference but they did and you ended up not really knowing who's part of a group, who came, who's leaving. These things don't ruin the book as a whole, the portuguese version is actually quite satisfactory - if you read the first one, something the publisher completelly ignored by not publishing Being With Him here.
Now, about the story and the book itself. Intimate Beings starts a little after the time where Being With Him leaves us. The "Abandoned Ones" were rescued from Upsilia and Mila and Edan are on the Safehouse.
We start by meeting Claire, who is, as we soon find out but it's a bit obvious, Sophie, Mila and Edan's sister and Darl's twin/double. Actually that was something they lost on the translation: Darl is short for Darling, so the guy is named Darling, which is cute, but in Portuguese they just cut off the reference to that, since they couldn't traslate it, aparently, or thought it wasn't important.
Claire can go anywhere in the world she wants, just by wanting it, Darl can go back home just by wanting it, anytime, and, of coure, they're both Cygirians.
Right at the beggining, Darl meets Claire and they get together, after all, the attraction between doubles is irresistible... The story is very similar to the first book (and almost any book, if you think about it) "they meet, something sets them apart, they struggle to be together, they get together again, fight against something and win", but, of course, all books, some a bit more, some a bit less, follow this script, so you can't hold that against it.
I really liked seeing again some of the characters from Being With Him, with more lines and scenes than on the first one, I really enjoyed some more explanations about The Source and some descriptions of how the doubles "magic" works, specially Claire's thing, near the ending.
Something I really missed was more explanations about the Cygirians themselves, after all, if they were on the Source, they could've looked for their families there, ask about what happened, how was their civilization, among other things. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, The Beautiful Being and find out more about Edan, because he seems so sacred, so perfect that I think it will be REALLY interesting to see him meeting his twin and melting all over her and with her.
We FINALLY see Cygirians acting as a group and we understand the huge amout of lost cygirians around - thousands! - what, now, really gives an idea of size and that they really need a place to stay and can't just be around there, they are many and need to get together.
As I mentioned on my Being With Him review, the brazilian version is 100 pages shorter and I was really afraid they ruined the book. But it wasn't as bad as I thought.
I'll start with the diferences between the two of them to get it over with and be able to talk about the book as a whole. On "De Corpo e Alma" (that's the brazilian version and it means "with body and soul"), everything seems a bit rushes - it seems like things happen without a second thought, not considering, without noticing things like "hey we're on a different planet", "hey, they're not trying to kill us anymore" and things like that, because several paragraphs were left out - specially those where the characters were thinking about their lives, about how much they changed, etc. Some little things weren't really clear on De Corpo e Alma, I believe small sentences were cut off that didn't seem to make much difference but they did and you ended up not really knowing who's part of a group, who came, who's leaving. These things don't ruin the book as a whole, the portuguese version is actually quite satisfactory - if you read the first one, something the publisher completelly ignored by not publishing Being With Him here.
Now, about the story and the book itself. Intimate Beings starts a little after the time where Being With Him leaves us. The "Abandoned Ones" were rescued from Upsilia and Mila and Edan are on the Safehouse.
We start by meeting Claire, who is, as we soon find out but it's a bit obvious, Sophie, Mila and Edan's sister and Darl's twin/double. Actually that was something they lost on the translation: Darl is short for Darling, so the guy is named Darling, which is cute, but in Portuguese they just cut off the reference to that, since they couldn't traslate it, aparently, or thought it wasn't important.
Claire can go anywhere in the world she wants, just by wanting it, Darl can go back home just by wanting it, anytime, and, of coure, they're both Cygirians.
Right at the beggining, Darl meets Claire and they get together, after all, the attraction between doubles is irresistible... The story is very similar to the first book (and almost any book, if you think about it) "they meet, something sets them apart, they struggle to be together, they get together again, fight against something and win", but, of course, all books, some a bit more, some a bit less, follow this script, so you can't hold that against it.
I really liked seeing again some of the characters from Being With Him, with more lines and scenes than on the first one, I really enjoyed some more explanations about The Source and some descriptions of how the doubles "magic" works, specially Claire's thing, near the ending.
Something I really missed was more explanations about the Cygirians themselves, after all, if they were on the Source, they could've looked for their families there, ask about what happened, how was their civilization, among other things. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, The Beautiful Being and find out more about Edan, because he seems so sacred, so perfect that I think it will be REALLY interesting to see him meeting his twin and melting all over her and with her.
We FINALLY see Cygirians acting as a group and we understand the huge amout of lost cygirians around - thousands! - what, now, really gives an idea of size and that they really need a place to stay and can't just be around there, they are many and need to get together.
October 8, 2008
Intimate Beings by Jessica Inclan
Oversize paperback release date September 30, 2008
3 1/2 stars
Intimate Beings is the 2nd in the 3 part trilogy by amazing author Jessica Inclan. Claire Edwards is a beautiful teacher who has never fit in. She's never had a serious relationship and wonders if there's something wrong with her. Part of the reason is because Claire has a strange talent: She can think of a place and instantly transported there! The problem, however, is that she can't transport herself back. To add to her troubles she thinks she must be going crazy when a handsome man suddenly appears in her car.
But Darl James knows Claire. In fact, he has been hunting for her existence every since he discovered he had a twin. Twins are perfect mates, who have complementary powers. While Claire has the ability to transport herself anywhere she wants, Darl can only transport himself home. But having these abilities is dangerous as both are quickly on the run from those intenting on either killing or exploiting their talents.
The world that Jessica Inclan has built is fascinating and worth returning to, however, the author's nonstop action is difficult to follow for readers not familiar with her first book. What I found special about her first book is that I loved discovering each character's special ability and the complimentary power of their twin. There was a real feeling that the twins belonged together. I did not get this sense of connection and tension between the two main characters as I did with the first book. The early development of the characters relationship seemed somewhat rushed and there was some time where they were separated. While the characters separation is important to the storyline, I wanted to savor their exploration of each other!
The author introduces many couples and leaves tantalizing glimpses of their talents. Since this series will end with the next book I am disappointed the secondary characters will not have their own stories!
Reviewed by Steph at Bookaholics Romance Book Club
Oversize paperback release date September 30, 2008
3 1/2 stars
Intimate Beings is the 2nd in the 3 part trilogy by amazing author Jessica Inclan. Claire Edwards is a beautiful teacher who has never fit in. She's never had a serious relationship and wonders if there's something wrong with her. Part of the reason is because Claire has a strange talent: She can think of a place and instantly transported there! The problem, however, is that she can't transport herself back. To add to her troubles she thinks she must be going crazy when a handsome man suddenly appears in her car.
But Darl James knows Claire. In fact, he has been hunting for her existence every since he discovered he had a twin. Twins are perfect mates, who have complementary powers. While Claire has the ability to transport herself anywhere she wants, Darl can only transport himself home. But having these abilities is dangerous as both are quickly on the run from those intenting on either killing or exploiting their talents.
The world that Jessica Inclan has built is fascinating and worth returning to, however, the author's nonstop action is difficult to follow for readers not familiar with her first book. What I found special about her first book is that I loved discovering each character's special ability and the complimentary power of their twin. There was a real feeling that the twins belonged together. I did not get this sense of connection and tension between the two main characters as I did with the first book. The early development of the characters relationship seemed somewhat rushed and there was some time where they were separated. While the characters separation is important to the storyline, I wanted to savor their exploration of each other!
The author introduces many couples and leaves tantalizing glimpses of their talents. Since this series will end with the next book I am disappointed the secondary characters will not have their own stories!
Reviewed by Steph at Bookaholics Romance Book Club
May 11, 2012
This book was given to me by a friend. I classify the book as a Science Fiction Romance. This is the first book I have read by the author. Though it is the second book of a trilogy, it read well as a stand-alone.
In my opinion there are numerous characters and galactic beings to allow for many more books.
I should mention that this book does contain mature sexual content, but it is not just a Romance.
There is plenty of action. An entire race of humanoid beings are being targeted for destruction. These beings, which appear to be ordinary humans have extremely interesting and individually unique powers for which there is a predestined mate that has the exact opposite power. Once these couples find each other, they are linked forever.
I enjoyed what I believed to be the concept of Heaven in this series, known as the Source. On Earth many hope to go to Heaven, or the Source, or Paradise. On one of the "Intimate Beings'" enemy planets, the inhabitants are able to send others to the Source as punishment. For humans and "Intimate Beings" the source is Heaven or Paradise, certainly not a punishment. Paranormal, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi Romance lovers should enjoy this book.
In my opinion there are numerous characters and galactic beings to allow for many more books.
I should mention that this book does contain mature sexual content, but it is not just a Romance.
There is plenty of action. An entire race of humanoid beings are being targeted for destruction. These beings, which appear to be ordinary humans have extremely interesting and individually unique powers for which there is a predestined mate that has the exact opposite power. Once these couples find each other, they are linked forever.
I enjoyed what I believed to be the concept of Heaven in this series, known as the Source. On Earth many hope to go to Heaven, or the Source, or Paradise. On one of the "Intimate Beings'" enemy planets, the inhabitants are able to send others to the Source as punishment. For humans and "Intimate Beings" the source is Heaven or Paradise, certainly not a punishment. Paranormal, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi Romance lovers should enjoy this book.
September 21, 2011
I won this book so first I'd like to say thank you! I was looking forward to this book because it was a romance and those books are my favorite. I liked the book, it was a lot of sci-fi with romance, and although Darl and Claire were the main characters, the romance was okay I thought the sci fi story was a lot better thats what I really got into and wanted to know more about, find out more about the source, and the nebs and what happened to the cygirians, and more about why the upsilians think it's right to fry people on the street. Romance is the best when it has some build up, and there was very little of that with this story but I thought it was a pretty good read. Oh and as soon as Edan was introduced, I wanted to read his story. He was mysterious, and the women who were flocked around him because of how handsome he was, then he seemed funny, and unable to find his twin..definitely a story for me.
September 24, 2012
This story has a lot to do with trust. Each of us must trust that others will be there for us, to catch us when we fall, to watch our backs for those who wish to harm us, for our well being. The closeness of two beings who are meant to be together as one. Ying/yang. That these two who were destined to meet and become as one is a beautiful thing. I loved the new world and that the group of reunited mates are able to carve an new existence for themselves while bonding as a unit...VERY well done Ms. Inclan. Brava! (I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads).
November 25, 2011
I got this book in a free giveaway. I kind of groaned at the cover because my first thought was that it was going to be some crappy romance novel. I was pleasantly surprised. Forget vampires and werewolves. Lets try something new. Jessica Barksdale Inclan has put a new twist on the science fiction and paranormal romance genres.
May 3, 2022
É a versão bodice-ripper de Os Legados de Lorien, de Pittacus Lore. Nunca ouviu falar? Eu vou dar uma mão...
"Na série Os Legados de Lorien, o planeta Lorien foi destruído pelos mogadorianos — um grupo de habitantes de um outro planeta, que queriam conquistar Lorien —, e seus habitantes foram dizimados. Somente nove crianças e seus guardiões sobreviveram e exilaram-se na Terra. As crianças são a Garde de Lorien: o grupo de lorienos dotados de poderes sobre-humanos, os Legados, e responsável pela proteção de sua raça. Os mogadorianos, porém, seguiram até a Terra para caçá-los, e três já foram encontrados." - Texto retirado da Wikipédia.
Agora vamos adaptar para o livro em questão...
"No livro De Corpo e Alma, o planeta dos Cygirians foi destruído pelos Neballats, um grupo que conquistou o planeta e dizimou seus habitantes. Um grupo de crianças sobreviveu ao se exilar na Terra e em planetas vizinhos. As crianças, agora adultos, possuem poderes extraordinários quando juntos aos seus "gêmeos" - almas gêmeas - e serão responsáveis pela proteção de sua raça. Os Neballats, porém, os seguiram até a Terra para caçá-los e alguns já foram exterminados."
Agora, adicione um pouco de softporn e você tem De Corpo e Alma por Jessica Inclán.
"Na série Os Legados de Lorien, o planeta Lorien foi destruído pelos mogadorianos — um grupo de habitantes de um outro planeta, que queriam conquistar Lorien —, e seus habitantes foram dizimados. Somente nove crianças e seus guardiões sobreviveram e exilaram-se na Terra. As crianças são a Garde de Lorien: o grupo de lorienos dotados de poderes sobre-humanos, os Legados, e responsável pela proteção de sua raça. Os mogadorianos, porém, seguiram até a Terra para caçá-los, e três já foram encontrados." - Texto retirado da Wikipédia.
Agora vamos adaptar para o livro em questão...
"No livro De Corpo e Alma, o planeta dos Cygirians foi destruído pelos Neballats, um grupo que conquistou o planeta e dizimou seus habitantes. Um grupo de crianças sobreviveu ao se exilar na Terra e em planetas vizinhos. As crianças, agora adultos, possuem poderes extraordinários quando juntos aos seus "gêmeos" - almas gêmeas - e serão responsáveis pela proteção de sua raça. Os Neballats, porém, os seguiram até a Terra para caçá-los e alguns já foram exterminados."
Agora, adicione um pouco de softporn e você tem De Corpo e Alma por Jessica Inclán.
April 27, 2012
Claire Edwards’ life is locked in a boring stream of day to day living. Her teaching job isn’t terrible but it’s terribly unfulfilling. Her love life is likewise entirely bland. She’s also haunted by strange dreams about spaceships and has to hide her amazing ability to teleport anywhere instantly. Then she meets Darl James who claims not only to be an alien but also her life mate and complement. She can’t deny the soul deep attraction she feels for him. Their species is marked for extermination by an evil empire though; can their new bond survive the battles to come?
Jessica Inclán’s Intimate Beings sounded like a light weight sci-fi romance novel from the blurb, and that’s what I was looking for when I asked to review it. It’s a bit more than that though, yes the entire book is based around Claire and Darl getting together but the “boy loses girl” section of the book would have made an awesome book on its own. These two aren’t just pining after each other while they’re apart; they’re trying to help save their entire race from the very beings that destroyed their parents’ generation. Claire is connecting with a people she’s just found out she’s a part of and finding family she never dreamed she had. It’s kind of action-y, which was great.
I’m going to admit that as a generality I don’t like destined love as the focus romance of a book. It jolts me out of my reader immersion that this person who just happens to be perfect for the main character comes out of nowhere, tells the main character that they’re meant to be, and everything is sunshine and hot sex. Intimate Beings gets around this for the most part. No, I didn’t like the destined aspect of Darl and Claire getting together but at least they could stand on their own as characters. Neither fell totally apart when away from the other. I was a bit on the fence about some of the side characters, but they got good development for the most part and contributed to the story. There were also a few parts that really dragged on a bit longer than it felt like they should have, these were few and mostly forgivable but did take away some from my reading.
Over all, Intimate Beings was enjoyable and I would go back and read the first book in the trilogy. I could have used a little less of the destined love aspect, but it plays into the series and was generally down played after the initial introductions. I’m giving Intimate Beings a four out of five.
Jessica Inclán’s Intimate Beings sounded like a light weight sci-fi romance novel from the blurb, and that’s what I was looking for when I asked to review it. It’s a bit more than that though, yes the entire book is based around Claire and Darl getting together but the “boy loses girl” section of the book would have made an awesome book on its own. These two aren’t just pining after each other while they’re apart; they’re trying to help save their entire race from the very beings that destroyed their parents’ generation. Claire is connecting with a people she’s just found out she’s a part of and finding family she never dreamed she had. It’s kind of action-y, which was great.
I’m going to admit that as a generality I don’t like destined love as the focus romance of a book. It jolts me out of my reader immersion that this person who just happens to be perfect for the main character comes out of nowhere, tells the main character that they’re meant to be, and everything is sunshine and hot sex. Intimate Beings gets around this for the most part. No, I didn’t like the destined aspect of Darl and Claire getting together but at least they could stand on their own as characters. Neither fell totally apart when away from the other. I was a bit on the fence about some of the side characters, but they got good development for the most part and contributed to the story. There were also a few parts that really dragged on a bit longer than it felt like they should have, these were few and mostly forgivable but did take away some from my reading.
Over all, Intimate Beings was enjoyable and I would go back and read the first book in the trilogy. I could have used a little less of the destined love aspect, but it plays into the series and was generally down played after the initial introductions. I’m giving Intimate Beings a four out of five.
March 22, 2014
I had such a major reaction to this book. I put it in the category of major potential but bad execution. I'll admit half way through the book it got so much better. So what I like was the idea that we are all one. Slightly mystical and new age-ish but definitely a decently articulate concept (at least it was later in the book). I think that the intensity that it wanted came later as a result of new age-yness. I think that the jacket copy was misleading. I expected drama and intensity, not hokeyness and aliens. It wasn't the aliens. I wish that I could explain better what didn't work for me in this book. The author didn't treat the scifi/fantasy elements of the book with respect. I think that initially it was a tool to use to show the extent of soulmate connectedness between the heroine and the hero. It wasn't until later that the author tries to flesh out who the aliens actually are. That's it! I personally needed more explanation of who the aliens where and why the are bonded and less hokey isn't-it-weird-that-I-can-suddenly-appear-in-your-car stuff. So is this book a total loss? No I think that some of my issues could be solved if I had read the books in the series in order. Maybe there is more explanation in the earlier book than in this one. The author's plot's appeal to me and maybe in the future I will give her work another try because I really seriously liked the second half of the book. It was worth reading just for the second half.
March 23, 2024
Jessica Barksdale Inclán is a new author to me and I was pretty glad when she got in touch with me about being interviewed and having her latest Second Romance series books reviewed by me. I'm a bit late in posting this review but it's better late than never and I really enjoyed reading the first book
Being with Him
so much and this series got really good with the second book
Intimate Beings
. This is a paranormal romance that I didn't at first really understand completely in the being of the first novel but I really got into towards the end and then the beginning of the second novel. So from my review of the first novel you can say that I was very anxious to read more about Milla, Garrick and her brother Eden and her sister Sophia who she only just found out she had. I was glad that she found her brother but now they had to find their sister Sophia who could be anywhere on Earth.
The heroine of this book is Claire Edwards but she's also known as Sophia when she was a young child on the other planet. She has the ability to go anywhere on Earth as long as she knows what the place looks like before she thinks about going there and is there.
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The heroine of this book is Claire Edwards but she's also known as Sophia when she was a young child on the other planet. She has the ability to go anywhere on Earth as long as she knows what the place looks like before she thinks about going there and is there.
Read rest of Review...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2010
this is book 2 in a series i've never read. i shall not be pressing forward, if only because i didn't find it compelling.
this was obviously a special kind of fantasy of the author's and for this reason i liked it. a great deal of thought was put into souls and soul mates and heaven. more emphasis was put on the blending of minds and souls - quite literally in out of body experiences - rather than good old fashion physical coupling ...although to be fair there was a bit of that too.
the romance was established pretty much immediately, which i never like - i like the climb. the alien thing must have been solidly established in the first book because in this one it was rushed a bit. i dunno.
3 stars
this was obviously a special kind of fantasy of the author's and for this reason i liked it. a great deal of thought was put into souls and soul mates and heaven. more emphasis was put on the blending of minds and souls - quite literally in out of body experiences - rather than good old fashion physical coupling ...although to be fair there was a bit of that too.
the romance was established pretty much immediately, which i never like - i like the climb. the alien thing must have been solidly established in the first book because in this one it was rushed a bit. i dunno.
3 stars
August 1, 2011
Claire Edwards has a teaching job of pre-school children but really feels like there is more out there for her. She has the ability to think of places she wants to be and it happens. Problem she cannot think her way back. Suddenly her life mate appears in her life and he has the ability to think himself home anytime, anywhere. They are made for each other. These two are part of an alien race that were sent away when danger threatened their planet. This is the story of soul mates coming together and the battle they go through with their fellow alien race to save the race from elimination. It was good but I don't know, it did not thrill and excite me. I will read the other books in the series later.
December 26, 2010
Claire Edwards felt like she was floundering, she was not happy with her life as something seemed to be missing and she was having her dream again, the one from her childhood about a spaceship and 2 other children. Then Darl James appeared in her car one day and told her he was her twin, as in partner for life, and that they are from the planet Cygiria. They had been sent to earth by their parents to save them and now it was their turn to group together to find the rest of their counterparts and fight the foe that destroyed their planet.
This story just didn't quite do it for me, there is something lacking in it but I did manage to finish it.
This story just didn't quite do it for me, there is something lacking in it but I did manage to finish it.
September 14, 2011
well..hmm. Let me start by saying I received this book in a giveaway so thank you :) Also, i LOVE her other books. This one, however, didn't keep me. When the story starts I felt involved. As i went on about a quarter way into the book, it lost me. It was confusing at times and almost 'hurried'. I felt the love between Darl and Claire, but the whole idea of the 'Source' and what happened there is VERY confusing. don't want to tell any spoilers..lol I will continue reading Jessicas books, as this is the first one i didnt fall in to.
January 5, 2012
This story was similar to I am number four with some differences. per ex. they have powers, but need their "twin" (mate) to really complete them and their power. It was an okay story, could have cut some of the erotic parts. I found that Darl and Claire being separated had really annoyed me, within the book of their constant whining about being separated. I think the better parts of the story were when she met Mila and the ending. I received this copy free through Goodreads giveaways.
October 5, 2011
Stopped reading on pg 192. Not what I expected, couldn't finish. The story was too repetative of itself, like reading the first chapter of book in the middle of a series over and over, details were repeated so often the book got stale. Thanks for the giveaway but let me know if you want it back, the used book store won't take it cause it looks from the cover like a romance novel (which there really isn't much of).
May 1, 2010
I hate the cover! I know this is petty...but I just hate hate hate that these books seem to be some kind of erotic love story...when really they are utopian and should be portrayed that way on the cover. Just weird.
April 1, 2011
i really couldnt get into this book, there was to much going on...its about aliens from far away lands that are brought to earth to keep safe, they get seperated so they have to use there magic powers to to find each other....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2013
This is a great look at a story of true love. This particular take on true love follows the line that your twin is your other half and the one you belong to. An enchanting tale of love, trust and teleportation.
June 2, 2013
I enjoyed the unique storyline - finding your true love who mirrors you. The space theme was added a unique twist without taking away from the romantic element. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
October 10, 2010
This was ok. I liked the first one better. I was not a fan of the name Darl. I don't know if I'll read the next one. I'm not sure that I care enough about the storyline.
September 9, 2012
Review coming soon.
Want to read
September 11, 2011Won as a First Reads Giveaway book!!
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