Book Blurb:
When Allie’s best friend dares their group to play a game in a cemetery—something she calls “witching”—Allie never expects what it might mean for her. When she plays, she doesn’t just find bodies, she summons their souls. But one soul wants more than Allie is willing to give.
And the boy next door could be the key to saving her.
Cody Burkhart. Straight from Montana, cowboy hat wearing, and smoking hot, he’s just the thing to help Allie become “normal” again after the death of her mother. And as her newly appointed Guardian, he’s also just the thing to help Allie ward off the vengeful spirit who’s after her soul. Except Cody has his own demons to slay that keep him closed off. But as the full moon approaches, so does their only chance to break the curse, and Cody will have to make the biggest sacrifice of all.
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Mandy was right; moonlight made it easier to see, but the uneasy feeling in my stomach intensified as I moved toward that grouping of headstones. They were crooked and uneven. Like the ground beneath them settled a long time ago but never actually stopped settling.
The damp air made it harder to breathe.
“All right, what do I do with these things?” Derek took one of the L-shaped wires from his sister.
An involuntary shiver crept up my back as I recalled how cold those things were.
“Hold it like this.” Nell held the smaller section of the wire in her hand, letting the larger section point straight out in front of her. “One in each hand.” She gave Derek the other one. “Now, loosen your grip so they’re free to move when they want to, and start walking.”
Derek examined his metal rods. “You’re saying they’ll move on their own?”
“Yep.”
“No way.” Derek shook his head and tried to hand the hanger back.
“You scared?” Nell’s smile was evident in her voice.
“No.”
“Good.” Nell pointed toward the graves. “When you’re over an actual body, you’ll see the two points converge.” She held her arms in front of her as if they were the metal coat hangers. Then she folded them and her fingertips nearly touched. “If one side still sways—” she demonstrated by moving her right hand a little, “—then you’ve most likely hit a female.”
“You can’t possibly tell that.” Mandy’s voice was as breathless as I felt.
Nell simply shrugged. “We’ll let the tombstones tell us afterward.”
Did she have any fears? Was I the only one covered in a chill that seemed to cling to my soul? Maybe Mom’s death had altered me in this area, too. Death wasn’t this far-off elusive thing that I never thought about anymore. Death was real. Always present in my thoughts because of the hole it had left in my heart.
Derek tried to hand his sister the rods. “Maybe you should go first and show us.”
Nell made chicken noises.
Derek shifted his shoulders like he was preparing to shoot a free throw. “I just don’t want to mess up.”
Hunter groaned until Derek started walking. At first, nothing happened. Then, as he walked past the headstone, to the other side, the metal rods twitched toward him.
“Whoa.” He stopped.
Imaginary centipedes raced across my skin.
“Keep going,” Nell whispered.
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My Review:
5 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Ghosts, Heart, Heart-Wrenching, Mystery, Romance, Scary, Supernatural, Suspense, Teen, Witches--
Allie finds herself at the cemetery with her friends, a harmless dare to use a metal coat hanger to go Witching for the dead. Everyone takes their turn, enjoying the spooky element, but when Allie has her turn, something seems off and Allie hears a voice crying out for her to help. None of her friend heard the call, so Allie figures it was her imagination, but when strange things keep happening to her, there may not be an easy answer. Lucky for Allie, she has a new neighbor who may just be the person willing to help her discover the truth.
I have been so lucky recently in my book choices since I have enjoyed pretty much every book I have read and this is no exception. I love the cover and the synopsis was alluring and mysterious enough that I knew I was going to read this story at the first opportunity I got. I really loved this story and was instantly sucked into Allie's world, right from the moment she was wondering the cemetery with her friends. The story had so many elements and twists and turns I was not sure where the story would end up but the ride was so worth it. Expect a completely new type of ghost story, one that was slightly reminiscent of the stuff I grew up on by Mary Downing Hahn, with creepy ghosts and lies but in a much more adult way that grabbed me and refused to let go.
I had no idea the level of feels that the story would draw out of me! I expected some ghosty stuff and probably some scary encounters, but the fact the story places such a big emphasis on loss and the feelings of grief felt so real that I was swept up in them. This was not your average ghost story, but instead a large portion of the book dealt with overcoming loss, be it a person or a physical attribute, and how to figure out how to keep going. I was completely caught off guard by the intensity of the emotions that Allie feels that S.D. made me feel right along with her, at one point I had to put the book down because I was in public and I was not super interested in being teary-eyed around strangers. It made perfect sense why Allie would be drawn to the idea of communicating with the dead, and her struggle to make the right choice for everyone was painful. And since we are on the topic of emotions, the fear that S.D. brought to the table was impressive. Each encounter Allie had with the spirits raised goosebumps on my arms and had me on the edge of my seat for fear of what would happen. The story was creepy and that filled me with joy because I am a sucker for a good scare. The whole ghost limb thing was awesome! I can't say much in case of spoiling anything, but bravo to S.D., super cool idea and I loved how you executed it!
So let's spend a second and talk about how freaking romantic this story was! We start the book with Allie and her ex having an awkward talking about him for sure being her ex and then she meets Cody and is drawn to everything about him. But then here comes the ex to ruin the love and I was super concerned that I was going to encounter a love triangle- but don't worry, no love triangle present in this story. I could not have been happier with how the romance progressed, with Cody and Allie becoming friends, and then good friends before anything romantic occurred- no insta-love here, instead a slow developing bond between two people who got to know each other before romance was even an option. Every encounter was full of tension and character development, as well as personal healing- the two were able to help each other becomes the people they were suppose to be. It was dreamy, no lie, and spoke to my inner romantic.
Summoner was the perfect blend of spooky, mysterious and romantic and I loved it. S.D. ended the book in the best possible way, seriously I could not ask for more, but I kinda sorta wish there was more, be it another book or even an extra chapter because it is really hard to part from Allie and Cody. This story was even better than my high expectations and I am pretty sure I will force everyone I know to read it because there is a little bit of something for everyone wrapped in the pages. This was my first book by S.D. Grimm, but for certain it will not be my last. Lesson learned: just say no when anyone asks you to go Witching.
I received this title for review purposes.
Author Bio:
S. D. Grimm’s first love in writing is young adult fantasy and science fiction, which is to be expected from someone who looks up to heroes like Captain America and Wonder Woman, has been sorted into Gryffindor, identifies as rebel scum, and loves elevensies as much as afternoon tea. Her patronus is a red Voltron lion, her spirit animal is Toothless, and she totally has a superpower. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency, her office is anywhere she can curl up with her laptop and at least one large-sized dog, and you can learn more about her upcoming novels at
www.sdgrimm.com
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