Review: Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key, Book #1)

by Jen DeLuca

Release Date: August 13, 2024

2024 Berkley

ARC Paperback; 352 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593641217

ASIN:B0CN8KY134

Audiobook: B0CPTFL3TC

Genre: Fiction / Romance / Paranormal

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.

 

My Thoughts

Haunted Ever After is the first book in a new series, Boneyard Key, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. But was there anything different about this story that you haven't read in previous books? No, there wasn't. You have the woman who buys a haunted house, meets a man who at first appears to be grumpy for reasons we will discover, they connect on a personal level, work together to discover why her house is being haunted, and you get my point. However, I did enjoy their banter and their connection and definitely enjoyed the paranormal aspect of this story even if it was quite predictable.

Both Cassie and Nick are charming characters even if somewhat stereotypical; Cassie is the newbie having moved to the small town to escape the fact her friends were moving on with their families and their lives while she felt stuck and Nick is the stereotypical grumpy man having been ditched by his long-time girlfriend and knows everyone in town.  Despite this, I felt the connection between the two of them and was glad there was no major drama and angst involved in this story other than the usual stuff that comes up when two people don't quite know each other.  Cassie is very skeptical at first, but I understood this as I would be as well. However, what I never understand in any of these books is why people don't do RESEARCH to find out more about their houses when weird stuff starts happening.  You live in an old house where everything says scared them as a kid and you just brush it off.  

The beginning of the novel actually starts quite well, with witty and engaging dialogue and I was enjoying myself quite a bit. I always like the atmosphere of a small town and enjoy meeting quirky characters and this seemed like it was going this way. However, the middle of the book was quite repetitive and although I enjoyed the research, I did feel like both the characters and the paranormal aspects were not developed, which meant the ending felt rushed and disconnected from the rest of the story, leaping into more of a romance section.  Because I felt the author wasn't quite sure how to focus on the paranormal elements or the romance without compromising either, it felt like neither were developed causing the novel to slow down considerably and I just felt compelled to finish it quickly.

Verdict

Haunted Ever After had a lot of good things going for it, but lack of character and plot development in the middle of the book slowed it down considerably leaving the ending feeling diminished and not quite as interesting as it could have been.  However, the overall story was charming, and there were a lot of intriguing characters, ones I expect to see in future books.  Overall, the book starts rather strongly, has a great premise, but struggles to keep that charm going for the entire book. But there was enough in there to keep me intrigued enough to look forward to seeing what comes next. 

 

Review: Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline by Paul Cooper

Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline

by Paul Cooper

Release Date: July 23, 2024

2024 Hanover Square Press

Ebook ARC: 785 Pages

ISBN: 978-1335013415

ASIN: B0CPYPXTYS

Audiobook: B0CSLVQK87

Genre: Non-fiction / World History

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

Based on the podcast with over 100 million downloads, Fall of Civilizations brilliantly explores how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they tipped over into collapse.

Across the centuries, we journey from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara in Asia and Songhai in West Africa; from Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztecs of Central America; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. With meticulous research, breathtaking insight and dazzling, empathic storytelling, historian and novelist Paul Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these ancient civilizations, and asks what it might have felt like for a person alive at the time to witness the end of their world.

 

My Thoughts

Fall of Civilizations is an interesting read for history buffs, one that goes into detail but doesn't overwhelm the reader and forces them to look up every other name and place for more information. The writing style is logical, and focuses on societies that rose and for various reasons, fell from power, sometimes with little memory they existed. I have always been fascinated by these societies so when I came across this author's podcast a few years ago, I was instantly drawn to the stories and I was glad to see a book written based on some of his podcasts. Because each podcast episode is lengthy, I knew going into this book the information would not be as in-depth and I was fine with that.

 

This book focuses on several distinct civilizations, from the Sumerian Empire to the Aztec Empire to Easter Island, and each one was interesting in its own way. The cultures range from ancient to more modern, but the author sticks to a similar approach for each civilization, moving from the culture of the people and why and how they settles where they did, how they grew in power including the kings/empires, the agriculture and other important things that made up that culture, the reasons why the culture grew to importance, and the possible reasons for its decline.  The impact of other cultures around these civilizations was never ignored and the author would also include notable achievements by each culture as well, such as the invention of writing, mathematics, agriculture, arts, painting, poetry, etc... Because the author uses many different sources, there are many different interpretations for events and he definitely goes out of his way to explore the different thoughts and ideas that exist with the archaeological world, often leaving it up to the reader to think for themselves. And while the sources were extremely comprehensive, I know there are other thoughts to some of the events that were not mentioned in this book that are worth exploring, but that is why history is so much fun to study.  I did appreciate the focus of the book as it didn't meander all over the place with questionable theories and this and that. I may not necessarily agree with everything in the book, but the reading experience was enjoyable nonetheless. And I have to give a particular shoutout to the Sumerian and Easter Island sections as they were superbly done.

The writing style was engaging, and his use of a variety of sources was fascinating, some of which I intend to read as this book made me excited to explore more within this topic, even if I have a huge grasp already. That is what is great about a book like this: it's meant to teach and educate, yes, but more than that, it's meant to excite the mind into exploring more and this is definitely what it has done for me. Even if you have a lot of knowledge about the rise and fall of civilizations, or you have little knowledge, I think there is something for everyone in this book.