Customer Reviews

Shaking Off the Dust

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply Romance Reviews, SRR GRADE: A+

Shaking Off the Dust is Rhianna Samuels first novel and I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future. This was an amazing read. I hung on every word, feeling every emotion right along with the characters.

Hannah didn't want to attend Tom Mercurio's funeral, she hated him when he was alive and felt it was hypocritical to be there for this, and when she was almost hit by lightning and inhaled his ashes during the ceremony she knew she was in trouble. Coming to in the arms of Tom's sexy best friend, Takeshi Shimodo, was more than she could handle.

At first Hannah thought Takeshi was a dream, no one could be that beautiful in real life but he was one hundred percent male. And when Tom appears to Hannah in the hospital she believes she's hallucinating. Eventually Tom proves to her that he's real - or as real as a ghost can be, but can she convince Takeshi that she's not crazy and get his help?

Hannah is not your usual female lead, she is in her mid-thirties, she thinks she's dumpy and definitely not drop dead sexy and can't figure out why is Takeshi attracted to her.

Even with having to deal with the ghosts, terrorists and drug cartels Hannah never looses her wry sense of humor. I loved her - she is strong, soft, caring, loving and totally believable. Takeshi is every woman's dream of the perfect man, always there to take care of Hannah no matter what! That he is drop dead gorgeous doesn't hurt either. This story is heart wrenching and laugh out loud hysterical! The characters seem so real they could be your friends and you can't help but fall in love with all them and feel their pain.

By the time you finish Shaking Off the Dust you'll feel like you ran a marathon. The roadblocks these two have to go through to be together are around every corner. But I wouldn't part with one word. I found myself laughing out loud at some of Hannah's antics and teary eyed on more than one page. It is one of the best books I've read in a while and I highly recommend it. Shaking Off the Dust is be one of those books that you can read over and over never tiring of the story or the characters. Rhianna Samuels has delivered everything you could ask for and much much more.

~Reviewed by Lynda

One of the best books I have read this year.
I cannot wait for Ms. Samuels to publish another book. I would love to read Enrique's story. The supporting characters in the story were great and all of them deserve to have their story told. Take a bow Ms. Samuels, you are going to be on my auto buy list. I wish I could give you 10 stars. GREAT BOOK!

This book was excellent. It was original and well written. The whole story was plausible unlike many paranormal romances that seem like they could never really happen and thus do not make the main character some one I can relate to.

I loved Hanna and that she was a real woman with real world problems. The main characters were all well written and fully realized.

The only negative I could find to the book is that it was lacking a tiny spark that could have made it perfect. It dragged a bit in places where the tempo got off. The characters and fascinating story made up for that but still. I was left at the end feeling like I still did not know exactly what happened. I wanted a little more of the ending. I wanted to see where life took Hanna a bit more without all the stress and craziness of the suspenseful storyline. The wrap up felt abbreviated to me.

A friend recommended Shaking Off the Dust and I am so glad I picked up a copy! I enjoyed every word Rhianna Samuels' wrote and look forward to reading more! Shaking off the Dust was an amazing story and I loved it!

Tom Mercurio wasn't someone Hannah cared for, but when he dies, she attends his funeral. The saying that you could be hit by lightning for a lie nearly becomes a reality when Hannah is almost hit by lightning and inhales Tom's ashes. She wakes in the arms of sexy Takeshi Shimodo and life begins to become a wild ride.

Hannah believes Takeshi is nothing more than a fantasy, but matters take a turn for the worse when she begins to be haunted by Tom's spirit. How can she convince a virile male that she's not destined for the insane asylum and ask for his help in solving Tom's murder?

Ms. Samuels' writing is stunning--her characters are believable and enchanting. I loved Hannah's snarky sense of humor, and her strength. The hero,Takeshi, is the knight in shining armor, always at her side and determined to help her. Besides the page searing sex, the story is an exciting ride filled with laughter, suspense, drama, intrigue, and murder.

This book was an enjoyable read full of ghostly encounters, romance, and terrorist plots. A few things did detract from the story, namely: Hannah's wavering pessimistic attitude which seemed out of character, and the rushed ending of the book. But overall I did enjoy the interaction between the main characters Hannah, Takeshi, and Tom the ghost.

This is an amazing read!One of my favourite books and I absolutely recomend it.A great love story,funny and sexy.I loved Hannah and Takeshi but I also loved the supporting characters.Good job!

I have read this book at least 5 times. Every time it becomes more profound.
I love the interaction between the main/supporting characters.

i hope she will continue to write.

Ms. Samuels created funny and sexy characters in a great read! I love the supporting characters as well and would love to see what will happen with Enrique! Please follow through with a second in the series. Well done!

I enjoyed this book and I am someone who does not usually read romance novels. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I bought this e-book quite a while back. To be honest, I kept passing it over on my e-reader. Not that I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, but because many of my favorite established authors were releasing books and I felt I just had to read those first. Well, I'll never pass over one of Ms. Samuel's books again.

Ms. Samuels has created an extremely likable and admirable female lead in Hannah, and Takeshi is just yummy! I could not put the book down and not one word was wasted. I laughed out loud and cried my heart out. The book touched me on so many levels. I am so pleased to see that the book will be out in paperback soon. It is much too good to be an e-book only. I recommend this book to those who love romance, suspense, or paranormal. It is the very best of all three. I definitely hope that Ms. Samuels has some other books coming my way soon. Good Reading!!!