Publishing Date: October 2011
Page Count: 307
Source: Sent to me by the author
Format: E-Book
Description of goodreads.com:
A love that refuses to die...
"As I watched him vanish into a soft mist that faded away, i knew that he was no ordinary spirit... I knew that he was a dangerous entity that could be in some corner of another realm planning his revenge, but I also knew that I was hopelessly in love with him."
When Becca moves into her ancestral home in Corydon, Indiana, her life takes a puzzling and thrilling turn when she meets the ghost haunting the halls. As the seductive spirit lures her closer and closer, she learns about her own past and starts to understand that some mistakes are meant to last.
Becca McAllister has always been different from other girls her age. Never part of the "in crowd", Becca never really fit in anywhere. When her mother dies and her father moves them to the small town of Corydon, Indiana, Becca didn't expect things to change.
But things do change when Becca accidentally makes contact with a one hundred and sixty year old ghost, Alastor Sinclair, that haunts the halls of her new home.
To Becca, Alastor is a seductive spirit that seems to see straight into her soul. To Alastor, Becca is what he has waited a century for--A second chance.
But the closer they get, the more Becca realizes that this isn't the first time she and Alastor have known each other. Worse still, is she the one responsible for his death so long ago? And if so, did he come back for love or revenge?
Review:
I really wanted to like Spiritus more than i did, but there was one key thing that i just couldn't get past. There was a lot that i liked, but i was just haunted by that one aspect the entire time. I thought maybe it was happening for a reason and that there was going to be a twist at the end, but the twist never happened. I think if it would have ended differently then i would have liked it a lot more, and ill expand on that later in the spoilers section.
I'll first talk about the positive stuff, because there was a lot. I really liked Becca's character. Since i am known as Becca with my family i found it interesting to read about someone with the same name as me, and i am very happy that i did end up liking her character a lot. I loved that she didn't care what other people thought about her and that she was very level headed. Most things that would bother other people easily slipped off her shoulder. I also liked that stuck up for herself. She didn't let people push her around and stated her point of view. It was very easy to relate to Becca, emotionally. There is a part in the book where she is completely heart broken, and i felt like i was going through the same thing with her. I really liked the part that her new friends played into the story. In most novels they introduce the friends, the guy shows up, the girl becomes distant from her friends, and the friends just fade into the background, but it was not at all like that in Spiritus. Becca's friends paid attention, and they could tell that something was up. Instead of just getting mad at her and ignoring her, they bugged her to tell them what was going on and stuck by her as a shoulder she could always lean on. I really liked that. Lastly, i loved Jonah's character. I loved that he was the most popular guy and that girls drooled all over him. I didn't like how he ended up acting at the dance, though, i wish he would have just stayed suave.
Now, im sure you are probably thinking, "With all those positive things how could one negative be so bad"? Well, i will tell you what kind of negative could ruin a story and that negative is called Alastor Sinclair. I did not like Alastor at all. He was extremely controlling, ill-tempered, and even slightly sexist. I understand that he came from a different time period, but still it was just unacceptable. I know that there was once a time when i probably would have just accepted this kind of behavior, like back when i first read Twilight because now i can see that Edward was a very controlling guy, but now that i am reading all these YA novels where the woman is strong and independent i just get so turned off by too controlling of men. I understand that some guys want to be the "protector" and "alpha dog" but Alastor took it to a completely different level. I think if he would of have more positive sides to him as well, instead of just telling Becca what to do constantly and going into huge fits of rage where even Becca thinks she is about to get physically hurt, i would have been ok with it, but that never happened. He always stayed negative.
*SPOILER SECTION*
I, honestly, thought that since Alastor was so controlling and manipulative and just negative that the story was going to turn out being that Alastor was negative and just there for Revenge on Becca and that Jonah would come and save her in the end and they would live happily ever after, but that didn't happen. I was praying that that was going to be the case, but it wasn't. Another scenario could have been that Burnett could have made it where Becca already had a crush on Jonah and then Alastor showed up saying he was her husband and then things turned out the way they did, instead of feelings for both happening at the same time. The last scenario that i can think of that would have made me like this more is if in the ending Burnett would have just ended it when Jonah and Becca hug, and then maybe put in an excerpt to book two where Becca sees Alastor's eyes in the background, because then i would have ended it with being hopeful for Becca's future rather than hating her and Alastor. I just hate that when she FINALLY gave up Alastor she cried her eyes out over him and begged him to just come back that he didn't, and when she finally moved on and decided to take a chance on Jonah now that Alastor all of a sudden appears. He just can't let her be happy. It's if he can't have her no one will, and i do not agree with that. That is called an abusive relationship.
*SPOILER OVER*
Overall:
There were a lot of things that i really liked about Spiritus, but the fact that i HATED Alastor i just couldn't stay positive about the book. Alastor was too controlling and too violent for me to ever get past and accept. I do not condone abusive relationships and i just couldn't get past his terrible character to cherish this book the way it should be. With that being said, if it would have ended differently or if Becca woke up and realized how Alastor was and got rid of him i would have liked this novel a lot more, but that just didn't happen. I wish it could have ended differently. Although, i didn't like that one aspect of the book i don't discourage Burnett at all. She is an amazing writer and she had me hooked the whole time reading. Her writing style is very brilliant and keeps you reading to find out what is going to happen next. Again, i wish that one negative wasn't in there, but it was, and maybe the series will take a turn in my favor =]
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 3/5
