Texas Gothic is a new YA paranormal by Rosemary Clement-Moore.
The Goodnight family is made up of almost entirely of witches. Not scary, broom-wielding, wart-infested witches but positive magic, helpful spells, and the occasional psychic or two. This is Amy Goodnight's upbringing. Only she learned early on that it is not everybody elses. And in order to protect her lovable, crazy, aloof but talented family, she tries to be the "normal" one. She's worked hard to try and give herself an ordinary life.
That's part of the reason why she was so ready to join her sister Phin in helping out her Aunt Hyacinth's farm while she took her first vacation in a long time. So, she's feeding the goats and washing the dogs and enjoying the plain-old-fashioned normal of it all. Except for, of course, long deceased Uncle Burt's gentle ghost continuing to be among them at the farm, the magical protections around the house, and Phin's paranormal experiments.
But then there's a ghost. And he's not as kind and loving as old Uncle Burt. Nope. Of course not. And he's gotten past all of the Goodnight protection spells in order to be in the house with Amy and Phin - which is not good. It means it's more powerful than them all combined. It's focus? Amy.
Go figure. "Normal" just isn't in the Goodnight blood.
So, amongst trading barbs with the frustrating, argumentative, incredibly hot cowboy neighbor, dealing with suspicious residents that aren't so fond of the Goodnight's, and trying to keep Phin from exploding the house while she's testing out one of her mad-scientist ideas, Amy is now saddled with trying to figure out how to get rid of her ghost.
Yeah. "Normal" is out of the window.
So far I have thoroughly enjoyed each book I've read by Rosemary Clement-Moore, so I had high expectations going into Texas Gothic. And happily, I was immediately presented with Rosemary's trademark humor (and dog-loving), not to mention an unusual, funny situation for Amy, in which to meet her. Plus, we get startling, quick revelations about the Goodnight family's abilities and we are off to a raring start!
Texas Gothic is FULL of awesome scenes, one of my favorites being a hilarious escapade involving livestock and cherry underwear. Yeah, you don't get any more details until you read the book. Which you better! But beyond the fun stuff, we also get small, but ominous, occurrences that begin to hint at something bigger and scarier coming - a haunting perhaps?
Clement-Moore is great at creating dynamic characters and really strong, cliche-free chemistry between her love interests. She presents a very human, relatable struggle for Amy between her family loyalty and being true to herself and the desire for fitting in and being normal. As an author, she really brings it all to the table to give us yet another excellent read!
Texas Gothic is creepy and suspenseful, but most of all a fast-paced mystery with expertly crafted supernatural elements. It's sexier, deeper, ghostier Nancy Drew-like fun! It's crackling with tension - both the sexual and the paranormal - and I was glued and totally invested in both the characters and the plot!
Totally awesome, diverting, exciting, and entertaining - I can't wait for even more from Rosemary Clement-Moore!
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