Rating: 3.5 Stars
Publication: May 21st, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Egalley
Diversity: Bi MC & Sapphic Romance
Summary:
With a touch, Lexi can sense how and when someone will die. Some say it’s a gift, but to Lexi it’s a curse, one that keeps her friendless and alone. All that changes when Lexi foresees the violent death of a young woman, Jane, outside a club and Jane doesn’t go to the afterlife quietly. Her ghost remains behind, determined to hunt down her murderer, and she needs Lexi’s help. In life, Jane was everything Lexi is not; outgoing, happy, popular. But in death, all Jane wants is revenge. Lexi will do anything to help Jane, to make up for the fact that she couldn’t save Jane’s life, and to keep this beautiful ghost of a girl by her side for as long as possible.
My Thoughts:
Lexi was a complex main character who starts off with this leave me alone attitude, but eventually starts to let people in. Shes living from meal to meal with little money for even basic necessities. On top of that she has anxiety, and maybe even depression. Her ability to tell how and when someone will die with a single touch has made it painful for her to have any human contact. This has led to a strong sense of isolation and loneliness. She checks herself into a free mental health clinic whenever she needs a break from it all. The ghost doctor who comes to talk to her when shes there was awesome. Her grandfather is the only family she has left and the only person who understands what shes going through since he also has the gift. I liked that we often saw her go to the nursing home to visit him.
I wish her money situation was explained in more detail. She didnt have money to do her laundry, but then ate out so the whole situation wasnt super believable. She works at a club with a group of people with different magical abilities, but her real job is to help unruly ghosts crossover. Its not something she enjoys doing, but she does it out of a sense of duty to the club owner. The owner had this gang boss vibe to him. He offers protection to people with magical abilities, but since we dont get to know him that well I never found out if he only helps them because he makes a profit from it. We do get to know his nephew and he seems to be the second in command despite the owner having a son. I liked the nephew and despite not having any magical abilities I think he would have made a better leader because he really cares about these people.
When people start to disappear around the club Lexi makes contact with the ghost of one of the missing girls and decides to help her track down her killer. Despite not remembering much of her final moments Janes determined to discover what happened before more people go missing. There is a cute slow burn romance between the two, but we dont focus much on it until closer to the end. Besides her being a ghost, the way the relationship developped felt realistic. She also has a gay ghost roommate and I thought that relationship was absolutely precious, especially since ghosts are the only people she can touch without it overwhelming her. The reason why she cant stop the deaths she witnesses when touching someone was really interesting. She throws in some random facts which was a little jarring at first, but I eventually noticed how well it helped showcase her intelligence and potential.
This was an easy read to fly through and exactly what I needed at the time. The writing flows nicely and the murder mystery made for an engaging pace. I found the sense of danger and betrayal very gripping. I was pleasantly surprised that I wasnt able to predict the killers identity. Lexis view California was pretty cynical, but I loved it. I enjoyed seeing it from a different perspective than what the media usually portrays. The magical elements of this world were pretty minimal with some witches, psychics and healers. In some ways the plot and the world felt very similar to many other paranomal mystery books, but the mental health and queer representation really added some depth to it. I think the loneliness caused by having such an ability was portrayed in an authentic way and I loved how it was all resolved with a hopeful and satisfying ending.
*This book was received for an honest review
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