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Amelia Temple #1
Beneath Strange Lights
Amelia Temple always knew she was different. Other. But that never stopped her from wanting more-especially her freedom. The Bureau of Extranormal Investigations, the shadowy government agency that has controlled her since birth, is finally allowing Amelia a pass to explore the small surrounding town where she is housed. It's 1954, and she quickly makes friends and begins to learn the rules of this strange society. Apparently, race matters. And girls aren't supposed to date girls. Yet the government looks the other way when it comes to locking kids up from birth and performing experiments on them because they have extra powers-kids like Amelia. Amelia and her new friends soon discover a conspiracy of so-called scientists running a bizarre experiment that threatens to unleash something terrible on her adopted hometown. As they begin to investigate, it becomes clear they must somehow stop the experiment before people die. But to do so, Amelia is forced to rely on what makes her different and decide just how human she wants to be.
Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2020
About the author
Vivian Valentine
2 books8 followersVivian Valentine is a rad trans lady who loves monsters. When she was a child, she found the Crestwood House Monster Series at her local library and it’s all been downhill from there. Now everything she likes is horrible. When not writing, Vivi enjoys card and board games and plotting out more tabletop RPG campaigns than she will ever have time to run. Vivi lives in Virginia Beach with her amazing wife Frankie and their son, as well as an ever-growing collection of action figures.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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March 20, 2024A very entertaining urban fantasy that should be hoovered up by fans of Jordan L Hawk. 1950s US, with a sinister government organisation dealing with otherworldly (tentacular) incursions, a mysterious young lady with unknown powers being held semi captive, a Sinister Secret Occult Organisation, and all the trimmings. Our Nancy Drew team, battling 1950s America as well as the SSOO and the tentacles, ismade up of a young Black woman, a white lesbian, and a part-Lovecraftian-horror trans girl, which is what I call diversity.
Very good fun, enthusiastically paced and with a highly engaging narrative voice. A bit scruffy round the edges at points but fair enough for a first book; I hope there will be more.
Very good fun, enthusiastically paced and with a highly engaging narrative voice. A bit scruffy round the edges at points but fair enough for a first book; I hope there will be more.
June 12, 2023
Someone described this book as Nancy Drew meets Stranger Things, so I bought a copy. Their description was spot on. Definitely a fun read. Looking forward to reading the second one when it comes out later this year.
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April 25, 2024A fun page-turnery mystery with a trans female alien as the MC, who has been raised by the Bureau of Extranormal Investigations, and now (1950s era) subsists on their poor caretaking, having meager meals meted out and being given very little love or social interaction.
The setup may be my favorite thing about this book, as our MC is coming into her blossoming powers and understanding of her identity. As an alien—or whatever she is (we don't quite know)—she's treated with fear, disdain, distrust, you name it. As a trans person, she's treated with fear, disdain... You get the idea. It works great.
Beyond that, it's a basic YA mystery with your standard mix of sweet allies, bad guys, and some misled players who get caught in the machinations of evil doers. While it's fantasy, it was really hard to get behind the fact that at least two of the teenagers were smart enough to understand parallel universes and dimensions beyond the given three, and that one of them was actually called upon by the evildoers to do their evil doing—and without any explanation why. Not even that they were science prodigies.
Still quite enjoyable and I may get around to reading the second in the series.
The setup may be my favorite thing about this book, as our MC is coming into her blossoming powers and understanding of her identity. As an alien—or whatever she is (we don't quite know)—she's treated with fear, disdain, distrust, you name it. As a trans person, she's treated with fear, disdain... You get the idea. It works great.
Beyond that, it's a basic YA mystery with your standard mix of sweet allies, bad guys, and some misled players who get caught in the machinations of evil doers. While it's fantasy, it was really hard to get behind the fact that at least two of the teenagers were smart enough to understand parallel universes and dimensions beyond the given three, and that one of them was actually called upon by the evildoers to do their evil doing—and without any explanation why. Not even that they were science prodigies.
Still quite enjoyable and I may get around to reading the second in the series.
April 1, 2024
Do you enjoy stories in any of these genres?
Eldritch horrors from dimensions man was not meant to explore
Young women being smarter, braver and more resourceful than men give them credit
Outsiders finding their people
Love stories, especially gay and transgender people finding love
Orphans learning who they really are
Time travel
This book has all these and more. It's an intriguing read as we learn more about Amelia and her full nature. Writing the scene where Amelia meets herself must have been tricky, but it makes the point beautifully that she is the same person and she knows that. That's a confusing sentence, I know. Read the book. All will become clear.
I'm looking forward to more adventures with Amelia, Luci and Gloria.
Eldritch horrors from dimensions man was not meant to explore
Young women being smarter, braver and more resourceful than men give them credit
Outsiders finding their people
Love stories, especially gay and transgender people finding love
Orphans learning who they really are
Time travel
This book has all these and more. It's an intriguing read as we learn more about Amelia and her full nature. Writing the scene where Amelia meets herself must have been tricky, but it makes the point beautifully that she is the same person and she knows that. That's a confusing sentence, I know. Read the book. All will become clear.
I'm looking forward to more adventures with Amelia, Luci and Gloria.
January 16, 2024
I was absolutely HOOKED throughout this entire book! Vivian creates a wonderful world with complex characters, an absolutely wonderful plot line and beautiful visuals that ignite the imagination. I cannot wait for the second book!!!
April 22, 2024
This book is like Nancy Drew meets the X-files. Set in the 1950s, the story follow Amelia Temple and her journey of discovering who she is and and what her powers can do. A story of found family and secret societies, we follow Amelia as she discovers what might lie beyond our own dimension.
June 17, 2024
3.5 stars. This was fun and I'm looking forward to Book 2. I was hoping for more detail about past events in Amelia's life but I'm assuming those will be revealed in future installments. I thought all the side characters were well fleshed out and I enjoyed the cult mystery.
October 27, 2023
Really fun read. Looking forward to book two!!
July 1, 2024
This was super fun!
February 18, 2024
An engaging read in the "make Lovecraft toss in his grave" subgenre of cosmic horror historical with a loveable heroine. The romance is quite insta-love, and the secondary characters lack depth, apart maybe from Agent Walsh, but it was fun and and queer, timey-wimey and suitingly eldritch.
July 20, 2023
Please do yourself a favor and meet Amelia Temple, you won't regret it.
February 10, 2024
I really enjoyed this read. It felt like the start of a journey with the character so I really hope we get more!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews