Thank you so much to Berkley for the free copy of this book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now!

I immediately wanted to read this after seeing the cover and reading the synopsis and seeing gothic horror - SOLD. And let me tell you, it is hard to believe that this is the author's DEBUT novel! It was so well written and all the characters were well thought out. The ending kind of leaves you on a cliff hanger and there was just one small (kind of big) storyline that we never fully got closure on. I may re-read the last chapter just incase I missed it the first time around as I was eagerly reading it.

"It's the living you need to be scared of. Haints can't hurt you, but maybe they can tell you some things you want to know."

There were a lot of characters in this and I thought I was going to have a hard time remember who was who but I ended up being okay. Jemma is our female lead who travels from Chicago to New Orleans for a new start to her life. She had had a rough few years and even rougher recent weeks and thought this would be a fresh start. What she doesn't know is the chaos she is about to thrust into - whew! She learns she was asked to come to their home as they feel she will be the one to break the curse. See the family around bound to their home.

There is a lot that happens throughout the course of this book and it kept me wanting more each chapter. The set up of the premise and the hows & whys were probably the slowest parts of the book. I could totally see this book be done as limited series (hello Jordan Peele) as I think if done correctly, could be done so well that it would be really creepy on screen. Jemma is surrounded by ghosts and they communicate with her and when she arrives at this home, she is overwhelmed by these spirits and the mystery that she is so desperate to solve.

I absolutely loved Jemma. In the beginning of the book she is this broken woman and by the end she was such a badass! She grew throughout her time in New Orleans which gave her the strength to travel at the end to find out where she exactly belongs. I really liked one of the quotes towards the end, "All her life, she'd looked ot other people for acceptance, for love. She'd thought that if she were only pretty enough, smart enough, or something else enough, the would love her." No Jemma, you are perfect just as you are!!

I am trying to be vague in all the things that are revealed in the book as that would take away the fun in reading. You will root for Jemma, you will get invested in the side characters (love me some Magdalene & Fosette), you will dislike most of the Duchon family and your heart will break for others.

I paired my reading with the audio and Chanté McCormick knocked it out of the park!! She had a lot of characters that she needed to embodied and did it flawlessly. Credit to the author & narrator, when I would listen as I did chores, I felt like I could still capture all that was happening with no issue. I do not believe I ever listened to her before but I would listen to other books narrated by her.

I know we are heading into the holiday season, but if you are looking for a book to put you into the fall/Halloween spirit - I highly recommend this one!