Author: CJ Archer
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Source Kindle Ebook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 paws.
Charlie is your average 13 year old boy living on the streets. He steals to survive until he gets caught and arrested. Only..Charlie has some secrets, one he is actually an 18 year old girl. Two...she can speak to and control the dead: she is a necromancer. Her father banished her from his home when she first commanded her mother's spirit five years ago, she lived on the streets in disguise since. When she is arrested she stirs the pot when she begs a spirit to help her escape the clutches of the other prisoners allowing her to escape jail altogether. Now There are people looking for her a mysterious doctor and Lincoln Fitzroy the head of a secret organization. But why do these people want her and what will they do with her once they find out she is a girl and in deed the last necromancer?
I have read other books by C.J Archer, and loved the writing style enough to need to check out this novel as well. This is the first book in a series and yes, I already bought the second book in the series. I liked that Charlie was a little flawed in that she didn't trust anyone, was constantly denying who she was and even falling for someone older than her. Having flawed characters make them easier to relate to, making the book more enjoyable to read. I have read a lot of other books with the main characters having a variety of powers, but this is the first that I have read about a necromancer, and I like what Archer did with it. Granted there was literary artistic creativity with the doctor character (I don't want to give it away). I know some people didn't like how it was done, but I was excited once I figured out who this mysterious person was and what he wanted her for. It is set in Victorian London and makes references to some events that have happened around the time such as the Ripper murders, which I thought was a nice touch bringing the real into the fantasy.
The story does take a while to develop to the climatic point of who the person is and finding him. Most of the time Charlie is trapped in a manor with not much to do other than read and play cards with two other characters. I wanted a little more from Gus and Seth, I think I liked their characters more than I like Lincoln. There is too much we still don't know about him/felt too mysterious. I also wasn't sure about the potential love interest between Charlie and Lincoln because of the age. Now I know age makes no different, but it's hard to read a book of an 18 year old girl falling in love with her 30 year old kidnapper. I actually shipped her with Seth, and would love to see that happen, something different from the normal go to of lead female falls for lead male. Or better yet, have her not want to get mixed up with a man until she learns about her powers and how to defend herself against people out to find her. Shake things up a bit, sure it's YA but does every girl in a YA novel need to be rescued by a man?!
There were a few things about Lincoln I was not okay with such as him "teaching" her a lesson by dropping her off in the middle of Whitechapel to fend for herself. While she was used to being on the streets she did so under the guise of a boy, now she was all gussied up like a respectable lady and almost gets raped. I admit I almost stopped reading right there, but low and behold Lincoln comes to her rescue and kills them man. I find it hard to believe that is a good way to prove to someone that you would not harm them or to encourage them to help you. And of course Charlie goes with it because she's so frazzled and see him as her knight in shining armor.
I liked the thrill of finding the doctor, but I would have liked Charlie to have been in on it a little more, or the use of her necromancy powers to be more in the story other than in the beginning and towards the end. I wanted more from that which is why this book got the 3.5 paw rating. There was a lot of waiting around for something to happen, but I understand the need to build a little bit of a backstory within the first book of a series. I wanted Charlie to be a stronger character, but she does come off as being weak and unable to defend herself (but then how did she survive on the streets for so long?)
It was a good enough story, kept me wanting more up til then end and made me want to buy the next book in the series, even if there are a few loop holes in the story itself. I tried not to overthink those holes. I am interested to see where the story takes us and what is in store for Charlie, Seth, Gus and Lincoln. I recommend it for those who enjoy fantasy, paranormal, supernatural kind of stories.
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