Rating: 3š
Hereās a book I wanted to like and rate much higher than I eventually did. And it came after much thought, dissecting the book until I realized what exactly kept bothering me about the narrative and the characters.
The plot, some of the issues:
š¹Some major elements treated like minor aspects: Jay, the locket, spirit appearances, different townspeople.
š¹Some sections made no sense except that it was part of the series. Why was the Carnival of Mysteries involved? The boy made an appearance but it wasnāt explained. The main characters went there but it didnāt make much of an impact on the story except for a fight scene that could have happened outside anyway.
š¹That Carnival is supposed to have a protective effect. Didnāt have much of one . Carnival isnāt a well layered in element.
Characters:
š¹The main characters have no chemistry imo. Immediately jump into sex with no relationship.
š¹One mc is actively plotting to steal money from the other if he can find it. š¹This continues until almost 47%. Even knowing that the other person is in financial trouble.
š¹This same MC has anger management issues, and a āself firstāapproach that Sky thinks the reader should find connectable. Not for this reader.
Even with supplying a sad back history of rejection for Wade, his shady behavior and intentions just make him cringe worthy rather than a good character to invest our emotional energy in.
Eli on the other hand is a well conceived character. Haunted, his memory jumbled, in financial stress, with a beloved cat in tow, heās so beautifully written that he almost makes the story. Eli and his ghost.
The ghost too is poignancy itself. A ghost named Jay. And this entire thread is both a great one and an excellent example of how Skyās story went wrong.
We get bits of Jay. But heās so much of the heart of the story, why not more. Jayās the past and itās present. Sky starts and stops with Jayās voice, and his history, making it a muddle instead of a clearly defined bridge between Eli and his own troubles. Even the locket of the title is a element thatās not used to fullest. The author trots out a tiny bit at the end of the book, and then it becomes a item that made me ask more questions about the ending than it answers.
Really, whereās Rob been all this time? Howād that spirit get vanquished? Spoiler alert šØ A group of men, not just one, trespass and commit arson, and one gets off with a tap on the wrist? Thatās satisfying?
Another thing that really made me think about the choices made here. Over and over.
When I thought it through, one character I liked, one character , Jay, whose potential I thought was wasted, and a feline character I liked, wasnāt enough to raise the rating higher than a 3. Too many issues,too muddy a plot, too unbalanced a relationship.
Too bad there is some things that are horrifically interesting. But the way in which the story is written dims the lights on the best this book has to offer.
Carnival of Mysteries series:
ā Crow’s Fate by Kim Fieldingā¤ļø
ā Step Right Up by L.A. Witt
ā Magic Burning by Kaje Harper ā¤ļø
ā Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr
ā Go For The Company by Ander C. Larkā¤ļø
ā Roustabout by Morgan Briceā¤ļø
ā Assassin by Accident by E.J. Russellā¤ļø
ā¦ Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis – Sept 13
ā The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray by Kayleigh Sky
ā¦ Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth Silver – September 20
ā¦ You Can Do Magic by R.L. Merrill – September 27
ā¦ Sting in the Tail by TA Moore – October 4
ā¦ Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella – October 25
Buy Link :
The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray: Carnival of Mysteries
Blurb:
Donāt look. It isnāt there.
On the day Eli almost drowned in Coup dāOeil Lake, a boy pulled him to shore and took him to a carnival. Nobody saw the boy or the carnivalānot the lights, not the crowds, not the rides. So Eli kept quiet and ignored what heād seen. Heās good at ignoring things nowā¦
Except for the shadows.
Those he canāt ignore.
One step from homelessness and flirting with assault and battery every time somebody pisses him off makes the caretaker gig on out-of-the-way Greenwood Glen a safe place for Wade to cool his jets for a while. All he has to do is take care of a ramshackle house nobody lives in. Easy peasy.
At first.
The house was quiet until the prickly Elijah Gray returned home with his fluffy cat and woke something up.
Something dark and mysteriousā¦ and deadly.
The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ameās Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world itās on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains a lonely artist who sees ghosts, a fuzzy black cat, a disgruntled caretaker, and a guaranteed HEA.
NOTE: Expect some dark āhorrorā scenes, but Gus the cat will be living a very long and very happy life.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 