Tag Archives: ghosts

Restless Spirits

Book Review of Restless Spirits (Spirits #1), by Jordan L. Hawk

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It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally I find a book on my kindle or computer and have no memory of where I got it. Did I buy it and delete the receipt? Did I get it as an Amazon freebie or from Instafreebie? No idea. And Jordan L. Hawk‘s Restless Spirits was one of those books, right up until I went to add the link to her blog to this post and saw that you can get a copy of the book when you sign up for her newsletter. Mystery solved. That is where I got this book! You could do the same.

Description from Goodreads:
After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work. A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner. 

The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming…and determined to get Henry into bed. 

Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns. 

For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives, but their very souls. 

Review:
Another complete success from Jordan L. Hawk. I don’t even know when I bought this book (or maybe picked it up free), no idea. I was just scrolling through my Kindle, saw it and was like, “Oh, a Hawk book. Gotta read that right now.” So, I did and I was happy.

The ghost story is scary, maybe not overly original, but scary. The characters are engaging and I loved the diversity of the cast. Did it feel a little forced? Maybe a bit, I guessed Lizzie’s secret long before it was revealed, for example. But I was still too thrilled to find it to really care. There were not a lot of characters in general and it’s a historical, so the book is a little limited, but one of the main characters is Native American, another Black, a third with secret I won’t spoil, of course two are gay and notably, the book does not gloss over the importance and difficulties of these aspects of their character in the time period.

I did think the final battle felt a little abrupt and the villain obvious. But those are small quibbles with a book that I generally really enjoyed. The writing and editing are marvelous and I can’t wait to pick up the next one in the series.

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

Book Review of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper, by J.L. Bryan

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Ellie JordanI grabbed an e-copy of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper, by J. L. Bryan, when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Ellie Jordan’s job is to catch and remove unwanted ghosts. Part detective, part paranormal exterminator, Ellie operates out of Savannah, Georgia, the most haunted city in the United States. 

When a family contacts her to deal with a disturbing presence in the old mansion they’ve recently purchased, Ellie first believes it to be a typical, by-the-book specter, a residual haunting by a restless spirit. Instead, she finds herself confronting an evil older and more powerful than she’d ever expected, rooted in the house’s long and sordid history of luxury, sin, and murder. The dangerous entity seems particularly interested in her clients’ ten-year-old daughter. 

Soon her own life is in danger, and Ellie must find a way to exorcise the darkness of the house before it can kill her, her clients, or their frightened young child. 

Review:
I was really pleasantly surprised by this one. The narrative style engaged me. The ghost hunting characters were fleshed out enough to be relatable, though admittedly not particularly deep or notable. The mystery, while not hard to figure out, kept me interested and it was creepy as all get-out.

I did find it a little predictable, there was a bit of repetition and the hauntees felt a tad shallow. But for the most part, it was a satisfying read. It’s hard to ask for more than that. In terms of pure entertainment, it’s a win.

The Hundred Secret Senses

Book Review of The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan

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The Hundred Secret Senses

I’m still trying to pare down my physical book shelf. So, I’m getting to a lot of older, traditionally published books that I’ve picked up here and there then let languish. This week it was The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan.

Description from Goodreads:
Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of Southwestern China, Amy Tan’s The Hundred Secret Senses is a tale of American assumptions shaken by Chinese ghosts and broadened with hope. In 1962, five-year-old Olivia meets the half-sister she never knew existed, eighteen-year-old Kwan from China, who sees ghosts with her “yin eyes.” Decades later, Olivia describes her complicated relationship with her sister and her failing marriage, as Kwan reveals her story, sweeping the reader into the splendor and violence of mid-nineteenth century China. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, Tan conjures up a story of the inheritance of love, its secrets and senses, its illusions and truths.

Review:
It’s Amy Tan, so you can expect an emotionally over-involved, unreliable, female narrator/main character, complicated family dynamics, a distant mother and a satisfying but not perfect ending. You can also expect excellent, emotive, descriptive writing. This one holds few surprises.

I did however enjoy it for the most part. I struggled a bit with Simon’s character. He was just as his ex described him, too quick to go with the flow. And as a result, I felt a lot of Olivia’s complaints and fears were legitimate and his unwillingness to stand up for them, or even apparently understand that he should, felt contrived to me. What’s worse, I didn’t feel he deserved Olivia’s compromises in the end.

Similarly, I disliked how much of the turmoil was laid at the feet of Olivia’s own self-doubt. This felt very much like blaming her for her own victimhood. Did she deserve some? Sure, but I felt too much was left to her by dint of Simon’s obliviousness.

Kwan, of course, stood out for me. I adored her. Was she overly cheerful and too forgiving? Yes, but I also saw her reasoning in the end.

All in all, exactly what I would expect from an Amy Tan book. I’m glad to have read it, but now need to clean my palate with something silly and fluffy.

What I’m drinking: Strong black tea with milk. My English relatives are visiting. I think I’m up to four or five cups a day now.