Customer Reviews

Ghost Huntress Book 3: The Reason

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read the first two books in the Ghost Huntress series and was so excited to get my hands on the third. It drew me in from the first sentence (It's not every day you have a premonition of your own freakin' demise.) and kept me intrigued for all 230 pages. Kendall Moorehead, who's earned a spot in my heart as my favorite seventeen year-old ghost huntress, is at it again, investigating the paranormal activity that comes with the rich history of Radisson. This time, however, she's up against one that's not playing around. As if fighting for her life ("It's not your time") isn't enough, Kendall makes discoveries about her roots that change everything she's ever known. Of course, the humor and sass that Marley Gibson is famous for comes shining through on each page, making it a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Seventeen-year-old Kendall Moorehead and her friends have had much success with their ghost hunting. But every time Kendall believes she is getting a handle on her awakened powers, something else pops up. Recently Kendall has had a premonition of her own death. Though she is a bit scared, Kendall refuses to let it stop her from living her life. Jason Tillson, her boyfriend, seems to be more worried about it than she is.

Then the mayor, Donn Shy, asks Kendall to investigate the manor in which she and her stepdaughter live. The stepdaughter, Shelby-Nicole Holt, has been hearing weird footsteps in the attic since they moved in. Emily, Kendall's spirit guide, warns her not to do it. The bitter spirit within the mayor's manor is dangerous.

The investigation is put on a brief hold when tragedy strikes. Taylor, Kendall's best friend and the twin sister of Jason, goes home to find her mother on the floor unconscious. With their mother in the hospital and their future uncertain, Taylor stays with Kendall's family and Jason stays with a buddy until their father can be reached in Alaska. Until their dad can fly down to them (in Georgia), the group will focus on the mayor's ghost problem.

On the side, Kendall and another of her best friends, Celia Nichols, begin researching Emily. The spirit guide would never reveal anything about herself to Kendall and she has decided it is time to learn how, when, and why Emily had died.

**** FOUR STARS! For those who have not read the first two books in the series, you will not find yourself lost. (I know because I did not read them.) The author has done a terrific job of revealing all the characters without too much fuss. However, readers who did read them will see a lot of changes, some of which will affect future stories and the cast of characters. I found this to be an intriguing tale of teen paranormal abilities, ghost hunting, and sleuthing. Anyone, regardless of their age, cannot help but be interested if they keep an open mind. Well done! ****


Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

From the moment I started the Ghost Huntress series I could not put them down. From personal experiance, Marley gives the character not only life, but true to form in an area that many people are unaware of. Kendall is a fascinating teenage girl, that is going thru not only the everyday trials of a teenager, but learning to accept her psychic ability. As I read thru these pages, book after book, I feel as though I am right there with her. Marley is a creative writer and I can't wait for more.Ghost Huntress Book 1: The Awakening

Kendall isn't sure about her life's direction anymore. Two months ago, she had a dream of her death. She isn't sure what to do or who to confide in. She doesn't want to worry her friends or her family, but its hard getting this secret locked inside.

Is she over-obsessing?

Luckily, she has a new ghost hunting case. The mayor of Radisson is having body aches. As Kendall passes the house one day, she notices a ghost peering down from the window.

Kendall and her team check it out and discover this spirit isn't friendly. She's actually quite dangerous. Is Kendall in over her head? Will her dreams become a reality?

A unique series about taking power into your own hands. I love the ghost hunting aspect of this series. This is the third book in the series filled with danger, ghosts, forging friendships, romance, and family drama. Kendall discovers more about herself in this book that turns the series upside down. The hint of danger kept me turning the pages, loving the excitement.

Kendall Moorhead comes to a new chapter in her life. She finally finds out who her guardian spirit is and has to deal with an angry ghost. Next to her paranormal life, Kendall still has to figure out how to live her teenage years and combine the normal and paranormal. Marley Gibson does a great job combining the every day life of Kendall with the special ability she has. Gibson shows the reader, how Kendall's special abilities can not help her through the ups and downs of teenage life. How good friends are the real force behind her. Another great addition to the ongoing series. Hopefully there will be more in the future.

ATTENTION ALL BELIEVERS AND NON-BELIEVERS ALIKE!!!

There are so many reasons I have done book reviews for this series. These books are so captivating, I literally cannot put them down. As some of you may know, many times a book will have a sequel and maybe a third book, but it the third probably wasn't as good as the second or the first. The Reason, however, is the exact opposite. This book is type that will keep you reading until the wee hours of the morning!

This book has LOTS of action, and basically everything that should be put into a good book!

Please read this series! You won't regret it!

I missed Book 2 of Kendall Moorehead's Ghost Huntress saga, but I didn't feel terribly lost reading Book 3. This is because Kendall's voice hasn't changed--witty, wry, girl-power to the ultimate.

Also refereshingly dynamic but still quirky are Kendall's friends: Becca the Goth and former beauty queen who got over some of her issues (apparently) in Book 2 but is still edgy; French-spouting Taylor Tillson, the refreshingly nice popular girl; Kendall's boyfriend and Taylor's brother Jason, who is still mega-overprotective; and uber-cool estoterica and science geek Celia Nichols. Supporting characters like sensitive Loreen Woods and, in particular, Kendall's mother Sarah seem to have their own journeys and arcs. Sarah is somewhat more accepting of Kendall's psychic abilities--Kendall does readings and healing at Loreen's shop, which would have been unthinkable in Book 1.

However, Kendall's inciting incident of seeing her own death upsets her already unconventional world of Radisson, Georgia. And when the mayor--another terrific female character--reports a disturbing haunting in the mayoral residence, Kendall may be on a collision course with death. Plus, deepening mystery surrounds Kendall's suddenly erratic, always overprotective and increasingly nervous spirit guide Emily.

The series' strength remains its characters, as I mentioned. The adults still come off as dimensional individuals who don't have to be rescued by the know-it-all children. And for a series on the paranormal, the books take a groudned approach by explaining that TV ghost huntign shows are not reality, that not everything is paranormal, and, in the words of Fatehr Massimo, that sometimes ghost hunting doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all, even for a psychic--and that a psychic still needs her friends, and has bad moods just liek everyone, especially if said psychic is a teenager.

I really, really do like this series, even though I do have some critisms. The premise is an imaginative one, and the characters are believable.

This book is an improvement on the second book of the series, which did really use way too much language and inappropriate scenes for a book aimed at a grade 6-8 audience. One of the primary arcs of the series gets resolved (finally!), but another large arc opens up for the main character. The language seems to be toned down a bit, although I still feel its a bit old for the under-14s.

The investigations are getting pretty out there, but it IS fiction.

Looking forward to the next books!

Two months ago, Kendall Moorehead had a premonition of her own death. But life seems to be going pretty good. She and Jason are better than ever, and she and her fellow ghost huntresses are getting numerous gigs in and around Radisson.

Their most recent job is at the Mayor's mansion. This just happens to be the most intense hunt they have been on. And this ghost is not a happy one. Kendall and her team have to make her see the light, or Kendall's premonition might become reality.

The third installment in the GHOST HUNTRESS series kept me just as hooked as the first two books. An incident with Jason and Taylor's mother sends her to the hospital, and ends up changing their lives in a major way, as well as Kendall's. Kendall also finds out a huge secret about herself that I didn't see coming, even though the clues were there all along!

I am so excited to see what Kendall will find in the next book!

Reviewed by: Ashley B

Marley Gibson's GHOST HUNTRESS series is clearly catered towards teenaged girls, and there sure are plenty of snogging and references to current fashions and the latest hip songs. But damn if I haven't gotten invested in 17-year-old Kendall Moorehead and friends and the things they get up to in Radisson, Georgia. Me being a guy, maybe it just took some time for me to acclimate to the girly-centric vibe. In the first two novels, Kendall's chatty first person narrative tends to go down with stream of consciousness regularity and that was a bit distracting. This thirder, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON, is the shortest volume and finds our newly awakened psychic more on point with her storytelling. Nearly three months ago (at the end of the second book), Kendall envisioned her own death, and I'm guessing things like that will hone your focus.

But nothing's happened yet, and Kendall is settling back into what passes for her normal life. She's acclimating more and more to her new home in Radisson. She's made really good friends. Romance with her awesome (but overprotective) boyfriend, Jason, is going swimmingly. And other than that one very disturbing premonition, her psychic talents are helping restless ghosts to find their peace and move on. She and her Ghost Huntress crew are doing good things. Life is pretty sweet. But...

Every now and then Kendall gets the jitters, jumps at the slightest noise. It's not helping that her lifelong ghostly guide Emily is keeping mum right now, keeps making obfuscating remarks. Another worry is that, with the popularity of the Ghosthuntress website, the team is finding itself traveling further and further from home base, and this is really eating up gas money. So it's a relief when the next prospective case may keep Kendall and her fellow ghost huntresses local. Seems that Radisson's mayor, Donn Shy, has been suffering excruciating back pains, and no medical source has been able to figure it out. There's just a chance that the mayor's ailment could be related to the haunting of her mansion home. When Mayor Shy asks Kendall for help, the teen ghost huntresses go to work and end up facing off against one of their nastiest spirits yet.

But here's the thing about this series: As malevolent as the featured haunt is, I never got the sense that the stakes would escalate to something that perilous. After all, this series isn't near as dark or textured (or snarky) as, say, Rosemary Clement-Moore's Maggie Quinn: Girl Vs. Evil novels. The ghosts in the two books before had always been more misunderstood or angry, and Kendall had always been able to open a line of discourse and eventually talk them into moving on. Still, the spirit which torments the Mayor and her daughter - and, soon, Kendall - exudes sheer malice and it doesn't think twice of committing violent harm. And tied into all this is that dreadful premonition Kendall received those months ago.

As mentioned, this is a shorter book. So, disappointingly, there's not so much of Kendall and her best friend Celia quoting Shakespeare at each other, and not so much of Loreen's novelty shirts with those funny slogans on 'em ("If you're telekinetic, raise my arms"). But Marley Gibson seems to finally have settled into this series or gotten into her stride or however you want to put it. I think her characterization is richer in GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON. Kendall's supporting cast receives his or her moment (although, okay, I wish we'd seen more of the goth DJ, Becca). In fact, Taylor and her brother Jason get a lot of screen time as tragedy slaps them in the face. The status quo shifts forever, and it's not just because of the fallout to Taylor and Jason's sitch. Something happens to Kendall, and it's a game changer. Maybe my favorite part in this book is her reaction to what she learns and how she responds to her family. In fact, this would've been a solid sendoff for the series, so I'm glad to see the "to be continued" blurb closing out the last page. GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON is a good read, and I appreciate that the writer is trying to do things to keep her series from going stale. And the Ovilus is a pretty neat device.