Cas E. Crowe

This really kept me on the edge of my seat and caught me off guard. Some of the moments were a little awkward to read and the relationship between Saige and Jasper was a little cringe at times, but overall I became quickly invested in the story. Saige's family has a dynamic that makes you love to hate them all and the mysteries surrounding the mansion and the family history was jaw-dropping at times. It was also a little more graphic than I expected, creating a visual of the hauntings and all of the things that Saige sees. Definitely worth the read and kept me up past my bedtime at times.… (plus d'informations)

The Four Revenants is the second book in the Wayward Haunt saga, and in this one we see Zaya thrown into hiding, due to events in the first book, with little understanding of where she is or what she needs to do. Unfortunately, she lands right in the middle of enemy territory and learns quite quickly the United League of Dissent, the one group she must avoid at all costs, has seized control of the area and is rounding up recruits to join their cause by any means necessary. This was such a fun, fast-paced novel, and I enjoyed learning more about the political structure of this world as well as more about its history.

I love Zaya's character and it was intriguing to see her develop her necromancy powers in this book. While she is brave and loyal, she is not without her faults, and I definitely enjoyed the little mind-games she plays when she is angry or upset with those around her as it makes her that much more relatable. I definitely would react the same way if I had to tramp through jungle with some of the people with which she was forced to rely on for her survival. She is unquestionably a compelling character. And while I was happy to learn more about some of the other characters, I would have liked a bit more development with regards to them as so much focus was on Zaya that I felt sometimes the others weren't as fully developed. There are a couple of others who have some interesting stories to tell and while I don't necessarily need their POV, it would be nice to learn more about their backgrounds and it would help develop the social system in this world.

This story was action-packed, moving along so quickly you barely had time to take a breath between action scenes. The things that happened were unexpected, and there were so many twists and turns coming at me that I had trouble putting the book down. Descriptions merge so well with the action, and I amused myself trying to guess the names of the cities that were described in this book as this takes place in a far-distant Earth. I like how the author integrates the political system into the story so you figure out what's happening as the characters learn about shifting politics and events that are happening. I don't have it all figured out, but I like learning about new worlds in this way as I find it more interesting. The book is written from Zaya's POV, so you learn about what is happening as she learns about things.

Verdict
The Four Revenants was better than the first book and does not suffer from second book syndrome. The writing is sharp with good character and world development, and moves along at a swift pace. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for suspense, great action with good world development, and believable and relatable characters. Book three was just released and book four will be coming out sometime in 2024.… (plus d'informations)

The Wayward Haunt was a completely different novel from what I expected. To be fair though, I think I just looked at the cover, saw a spooky old castle, and didn't even bother reading the blurb to see what the book was about, thinking this would be another haunted house book. So, imagine my surprise when the main character, Zaya, is a prisoner in a labour camp, on a future Earth that has undergone a catastrophic environmental disaster far in the future? I was like, boy did I ever read this one wrong. Then, I was hooked. I devoured this book, enjoyed the world building, and liked the interactions between the characters.

Zaya was a formidable main character and I enjoyed her tenacity, strength, and daring. But I also liked her vulnerability, something the author built into her character very well without making her seem pitiable. Having lost her parents at a very young age for reasons she can't remember, Zaya struggles with the possibility they may have been dissenters in the centuries-long war destroying her world. Conscripted into a ten-year service for the opposite side, she constantly questions her loyalties and the choices being made for her as well as the loyalties of those around her. Can they be trusted? And as she learns more, she beings to question where to put her own loyalties. This is the kind of emotional struggle I like as I want to see characters deal with difficult decisions and choices as very few things we deal with in life are black and white. Zaya is dealing with multiple traumas and betrayals, so the emotional roller coaster she is on makes her so much more relatable as a character.

The plot itself is definitely a science-fiction dystopian novel, an Earth far in the future, destroyed by cataclysmic events. The science and the magic balanced each other out so you've got the futuristic transport systems and weapons mixed in with lycanthors, magic, and necromancers. And I wasn't too disappointed as we also had the ghosts. Written in rich detail without leading the reader, but allowing the reader to discover the world along with the characters, I enjoyed the world-building and thought it was well done. The balance of fun and clever dialogue with sharp and poignant scenes of death and destruction made this book hard to put down. The author also gave us clever hints built into the prose about Zaya and her family as well as some of the other characters, enough to be tantalizing and making you want to learn more. And personally, I am so glad there was love triangle, no insta-love, or any of those other tropes that destroy this kind of book for me. There is possibly something starting to happen between Jad and Zaya, but at this point we'll have to see where that leads.

Verdict
The Wayward Haunt was a pleasant surprise featuring a dystopian landscape of war, destruction, and darkness, but also magic, mayhem, fantasy, ghosts, friendship, secrets, and betrayal. There is a complex backstory to the main story, and all the threads fit together even if you don't quite understand all of them at this point. Because there are a large amount of characters, only a few of them seem more than one-dimensional, but there are two more books in the series, so we'll see what happens in those books. In the end, this was full of action, fast-paced, and Zaya was a great character to get to know. I definitely recommend this book to those of you who enjoy a mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian fiction.… (plus d'informations)

4.5 stars

Saige has been gone from her childhood home on an island for years, but her brother wants to get married there. The last time Saige was there, she saw her mother kill herself. Saige also “sees” things (i.e. ghosts) and because of this her father had her institutionalized. What the rest of her family doesn’t realize is that Saige really is seeing these things. It’s not all in her head. She is very anxious about returning.

Once there, she finds that her brother’s best friend from when they were younger, Jasper, is also there. He is a musician and will play at the wedding. What the rest of the family doesn’t know is that Saige and Jasper were not only in a relationship, they were engaged until Jasper just up and left without a word.

When Saige starts seeing ghosts again, it seems that Jasper is able to see them, as well, so the two embark on trying to figure out why all the ghosts are there and how to stop them from what appears to be a curse on the house and anyone who marries into the family.

While I feel like I gave a lot away, I don’t really think it’s too much, as so much more goes on in the story. The atmosphere of the book is very very creepy and very well done. The haunted old mansion. A storm that has them trapped. The ghosts are very scary and quite well-described so this book may not be for the squeamish. It was fast-paced. I also really liked the relationship between Saige and Jasper, though (not surprisingly) Saige had a hard time with Jasper, him having abandoned her way back when.… (plus d'informations)