Thanks Netgalley and Cathrina Constantine for the electronic ARC! I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a paranormal young adult novel that has an innovative plot, but had a few things I felt could use more explanation. There were also some characters I felt that weren’t really needed as they didn’t add to the plot. However, I really enjoyed the fresh take on a haunted house and enjoyed the story within a story portion of the book.

Plot Synopsis:

Nora has visions of horrific things. Things that lurk in the shadows and feast on bones. After moving with her mother into an old farmhouse, Nora discovers a blank journal that fills itself with an ominous warning. A cursed beast is coming for her and time is running out. When the blood moon rises, so shall the beast.

Local teen, Rebel, has his own trepidations about the house. His parents, both paranormal scientists, were investigating it when they died under mysterious circumstances. His growing feelings for Nora motivate him to battle the ghosts of his past, if it means keeping her safe.

Allies to turn to enemies. Fiction turns to fact. The past and the present collide. All in an epic battle to claim unfathomable power. Can Nora unlock the secrets buried within the farmhouse in time to save herself and those dear to her from a grisly fate?

Review:

This book starts with Nora and her mother Claire relocating to Willow Grove from Buffalo, New York after Claire’s divorce from her husband. They move into what some would call charming, but most would call dilapidated farm house in the middle of nowhere. Is the house in serious need of some TLC? Yes, and also maybe an exorcist.

The beginning of the book was a little jumbled for me. I thought a lot of the exposition in the second chapter should have been in the first. I got confused and thought Claire was Nora’s sister and not her mother, so I started the book thinking they were a family of three not two. We’re quickly introduced to the fact that Nora can see supernatural entities, though this power has only ever gotten her trips to her local shrink. At this new house in Willow Grove she can sense something sinister. Her Spidey sense pays off when she finds a journal hidden in the attic under a floorboard. The journal proves to be a smart plot device that I really enjoyed throughout the story.

Within a day of arriving, they go to the local dinner and meet Rebel, the love interest for Nora. I had a few qualms with this. Instant attraction is easy to come by, but they seemed instantly in love and for no reason. I thought for sure there was going to be a prophecy or magic binding them together, but no such luck. Rebel has agreed to bring some friends to help clean the attic at Nora’s new home. This promise is quickly followed up by a visit the next day by Rebel and his football friends. As they clean the attic, Rebel stumbles across the spot that Nora found the journal and finds a dagger. The two hide it from the other boys and later engage in a super passionate kiss.

From here the story really develops the supernatural plot introducing sorcerers, gods, nymphs, and magic. However, I felt that the author could have easily omitted unnecessary side characters like Nora’s friends from Buffalo, in order to better develop the magic and main characters. It was difficult to understand what certain things meant, like what did it mean when someone was “innocent”? Were they a virgin or just not an asshole? Overall I liked this book, I found it to be a good supernatural tale.