Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Number of Pages: 324

Publication Date: March 3, 2016

Rating: 

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Eighteen-year-old Gracyn Pierce has decided to live with her half-sister, Becca, while her mom takes a new job in Russia. Moving from city life in Maryland to small town life in Sedgewick has proven to be drastically different. In many ways, this can be a fresh start for Gracyn. Making new friends. Living the country life. Having cute boys interested in her.

However, in other ways things are not so great. Horses, which deeply frightens Gracyn, live on the land. Her next door neighbor is accused of the murder that took place two years prior. The strangest of all is when unusual, and unexplainable, things begin to happen to Gracyn. The question lies – will Gracyn continue on the path to a great college or will the untold secrets prevent her from pursuing her dream?

I will admit, the cover drew me in. It’s beautiful and I love that there is a clear connection between Gracyn and a horse (later we learn she is named Gypsy). It’s sweet and inviting.

Towards the beginning of the novel, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy reading it. For one main reason, I felt Gracyn’s thoughts were very repetitive. She seemed to be constantly worried about what her new guy interest would think of  her if he finds out that she was smart. Since he was in a rock band, it worried her that he would lose interest quickly. This could easily be explained by this character’s age and immaturity level. Then, there were times when her worries were repeated several times. However, even with this, Gracyn is a likable character, along with her sister, Becca.

The story began to pick up once the next door neighbor, Lucian, came into play. His character, though can be creepy at times, is alluring. There was something about him that had me hooked, and I loved reading every scene that he was included. Though never committed to the crime, many believe Lucian had murdered his own sister. With this, the author cleverly adds an air of mystery to the text since the case still has not been solved even though two years has passed.

Though Ms. Royston did give several hints along the way, the reader doesn’t truly find out what makes Gracyn so different from her peers until towards the end of the book. I liked the slow buildup because so often the protagonists in paranormal reads are thrown into an unnatural world towards the beginning. Sometimes, it feels too rushed for me. I preferred getting to know Gracyn some before being introduced to her uniqueness.

I received this eBook from OnlineBookClub in exchange for an honest review.