Review: Ever Near by: Melissa MacVicar

Ever Near (#1) by: Melissa MacVicar (2013)

200 Pages

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Genre: Young Adult/Supernatural

Source: I received a free copy of this book from the author and publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!!

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Love is ever near. But trouble is never far.

Nantucket Island is haunted, but only sixteen-year-old Jade Irving knows it. Ignoring the disturbing spirits isn’t an option, because one dwells in the enormous historic home she shares with her newly blended family. Jade is finding it more and more difficult to explain away Lacey’s ghostly, anguished tantrums, especially with Charlie, her gorgeous, almost step-brother, living right across the hall.

When a power-hungry ghost hunter tracks down Jade and blackmails her, Jade’s secret teeters on the edge of exposure, and her entire future hangs in the balance. If anyone finds out Jade can talk to ghosts, her life will be forever changed.

Can she save herself, free Lacey, and hang on to her tenuous connection with Charlie? Or will everything she ever wanted slip through her fingers?

My Review

Quick Summary: I had a lot of mixed feelings when I first started reading Ever Near, but in the end it was a darn good ghost story.

The setting was great. I’ve never been to Nantucket but I got a good feel about it thanks to the descriptive writing about beaches, interesting buildings, etc. that the author did a great job at providing.

I found the main character Jade to be very much a typical teenage girl, but with the slight problem of seeing ghosts and having to keep it a secret since she was ten, because of her fear that people would think she was crazy if anyone ever found out. I also thought Charlie, her soon to be step-brother, was a very sweet boy. The only problem I had at first, was how uncomfortable it was for me to read about Jade and Charlie’s relationship. I understand that they are in no way blood related, but it was a little weird that they were a couple, even if they were super cute. I also really liked all the other minor characters and their relationships with Jade, including her mother and best friend. I actually wish there was even more bestfriendness in the book.

Now let’s talk about the ghosts. They were not friendly in this book. They were pretty much spirits in pain that were mostly down right creepy/scary. I found the author’s take on ghosts interesting, especially Jade and her discovery on how/why exactly she can see them. Jade is dealing with one major ghost in particular in Ever Near, one that just so happens to live in her new house. I liked Jade’s story and the ghost’s story, except for one thing, Jade never had to dig very deep/hard to find out about the ghost that is haunting her new house. I wanted a scene where she takes a big trip to the local library looking through microfilm strips and such for a great reveal about who the ghost was, but we didn’t get that. It was the one thing that bothered me the most in this novel. I wanted a bigger reveal on who the ghost was.

The Bottom Line: Ever Near is a solid read. I am sure I will be reading the second book.