by K. C. Tansley
Synopsis:
Kat Preston doesn’t believe in ghosts. Not because she’s never seen one, but because she saw one too many. Refusing to believe is the only way to protect herself from the ghost that tried to steal her life. Kat’s disbelief keeps her safe until her junior year at McTernan Academy, when a research project for an eccentric teacher takes her to a tiny, private island off the coast of Connecticut.
The site of a grisly mystery, the Isle of Acacia is no place for a girl who ignores ghosts, but the ghosts leave Kat little choice. Accompanied by her research partner, Evan Kingsley, she investigates the disappearance of Cassie Mallory and Sebastian Radcliffe on their wedding night in 1886. Evan’s scientific approach to everything leaves Kat on her own to confront a host of unbelievables: ancestral curses, powerful spells, and her strange connection to the ghosts that haunt Castle Creighton.
But that’s all before Kat’s yanked through a magic portal and Evan follows her. When the two of them awaken 129 years in the past with their souls trapped inside the bodies of two wedding guests, everything changes. Together, Kat and Evan race to stop the wedding-night murders and find a way back to their own time—and their own bodies—before their souls slip away forever.
My Thoughts:
*** I Received a copy through Netgalley in Exchange for an Honest Review***
I gave this book 3.5 stars. It was fun and interesting. Not very surprising, but it still brings you on a great adventure with likeable characters.
The story was a bit slow in the beginning, there was nothing that really screamed out to me. I put this off for a few days, but I really wanted to get to the ARC of the second book soon so I decided to put it on my priority reads list. It mostly started out with me reading it for about 5 minutes every day when I would bring my dog to the park, but I did get very captivated by the story about 36% in.
The writing wasn't overly complicated to read. This novel didn't have anything complex that I really needed to have my full attention on the whole time I was reading, so I had no problems following along.
I wish the author was a bit more clear on the protagonist's age. I can't tell if she's in college or if she's a senior in a private school or something about to go to university. I know at the very beginning she was very worried about her GPA being lowered by Evan, her TA, but are there even TA's in high school? I never had any that's for sure. I'm really not sure about her age.
As for Evan, he completely grew on me. He started out as the hot yet Satan-esque TA in Kat's class who seemed to be out to ruin her life, but then when we spent more time with him he really wasn't bad at all. I honestly don't know how he went from being so awful to being actually sweet at times. He made a complete one eighty during the book and I really want to see more of him in the next book.
As for the plot itself, it was exciting and managed to capture my attention seamlessly. There is something about the mix of mystery and anything that's paranormal that just brings certain books to life. Now, I love real life mysteries and mysteries in TV shows and movies, but the mystery genre is one that I have a lot of problems with in books. I usually have a hard time getting into them if they aren't Agatha Christie or Stephen King, so the added magical element adds something to the plot that you can't find in a normal mystery novel.
This book also tugs at the heartstrings at times and that just gave more life to the story. I feel like when a book can make you feel those things then it is doing a good job. Books with sad scenes that can bring out your own emotions can't be bad books. Unless they are feelings of hatred towards the book, then it can be bad, but this wasn't one of those books.
Overall, I'm excited to read the next book and see what improvements that the author has made. I'm sure there will be a lot more world building and action to come.
Thank you so much for this fantastic review. I'm the same way about paranormal and mystery mixes. :)
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