ARC Review: A Magic Dark and Bright

She meant to help a ghost…not unleash a curse.

Amelia Dupree hasn’t seen the Woman in White since the night her brother died.

The ghost seems to have disappeared from the woods surrounding Asylum, Pennsylvania—that is, until Charlie Blue moves into the creepy old MacAllister House next door. Amelia can’t help liking him, even though she spent her childhood thinking his grandmother was a witch. And she definitely can’t ignore the connection between his arrival and the Woman in White’s return.

Then Amelia learns that the Woman in White is a prisoner, trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead. Devastated by the idea that her brother could be suffering a similar fate, Amelia decides to do whatever it takes to help the Woman in White find peace–and Charlie agrees to help her.

But when Amelia’s classmates start to drown in the Susquehanna River, one right after another, rumors swirl as people begin to connect the timing of Charlie’s arrival with the unexplained deaths. As Charlie and Amelia uncover the dark history of Asylum, they realize they may have unleashed an unspeakable evil. One they have to stop before everything they love is destroyed.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the start of this book, it was engaging and inviting, but it just got a little mixed up and confused as I kept reading. It was like the author could not decide the genre or storyline and mixed a few up and hoped for the best. Well it didn’t quite work.

I saw on other reviews that people did not like the insta-love in this, but I didn’t find it too bad. I think with the ages it kind of worked it was slow enough that the start was just attraction.

The characters were good but not sure they all work together. It’s hard to see Amelia ever dating Ben. I also think the adults were a little over protective of names for the teenagers especially since I cannot see why.

I think I would try the author again but not sure I would read the second book in this series.

3 stars out of 5

ARC Review: A Gift of Ghosts

Akira Malone believes in the scientific method, evolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. And ghosts.

All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth—she can see and communicate with spirits. As far as she’s concerned, though, her ability is a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters are simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.

Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.

But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s similar to the ghost whisperer, but not enough to make it boring. It had a lot of extra and exciting parts. The idea of everyone in the town having unique talents and accepting each others quirks, reminded me a lot of Eureka. It was a really nice touch to an exciting book.

It was good to learn with Akira about ghosts, for she did not know that much and she was learning along the way.

I really enjoyed how Akira was not the only one with talents, it was good to see others put theirs to good use. There were some interesting and unique talents.

The story was well written and beautiful. I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.