*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Emma Roberts is a sophomore in college, not popular, but very smart. When her roommate drags her to a party, she meets cute Mike Carlson. Unfortunately, before they can fumble their way into a relationship, he drowns in the river on the night of his 21st birthday. Because Emma was there, she feels guilty even though she did her best to stop him from swimming. Since Emma has been seeing ghosts for years, she makes the leap to witchcraft in an attempt to bring Mike back from the dead. And the results are far from what she expects, changing her life forever. But is it for the better or worse?
Emma comes from a rich family but that embarrasses her. Plus, when she was younger and told her mom about the ghost she saw, her mom freaked and told her to never talk about things like that. So, Emma never does and ends up confused and upset about this ability she has. She keeps to herself and reads or studies and has few friends. Ok, no friends except her roommate. That all changes when she reads The Book of Shadows and researches witchcraft in an attempt to bring back from the dead the one boy she falls for. And that’s when things get interesting. But it’s also when the book goes from being cute and at times tragic, to a bit silly and confusing. It’s still an entertaining read, but the pacing in the middle and towards the end become a bit uneven. I also didn’t understand some of the witchcraft effect that happens to Mike and the others. Plus, Mike’s insistence that Emma stop using The Book of Shadows seems kinda weird. I mean, she already saw ghosts and her spells end up being pretty powerful, but I think all Emma needs is someone to teach her how to keep from screwing up when using that power. So, while I believe she should be more careful, I think Mike was overreacting. Anyway, the characters are pretty great and I especially like Officer Walker. The next book in the series sounds like it will be a bit darker, but I look forward to reading it.
3
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