REVIEW: The Medium Path by Elizabeth Davies

The Medium Path
by Elizabeth Davies

Publisher: Romance Beckons
Page Count: 250
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Format: Kindle

How got: free copy from author

First attention getter: liked the first book

Synopsis:

From GoodReads:
Ruby died nearly one hundred years ago. She saw spirits of the dead when she was alive, and now she is dead she has become a guide who helps ghosts pass on. When ghosts start being taken by darkness instead of the light, Ruby is forced to seek help from a handsome and unwilling medium, who awakens emotions she never knew she had.

My Thoughts:
Star Rating - 3

I was given the opportunity to read/review this book by the author; I had done the same with the first book in this series. I really enjoyed that exploration of her unique supernatural system and intriguing storyline. Davies meets those expectations again in this sequel. Yet, this second volume didn’t have the same magic as the first.

The author’s distinctive take on the world of ghosts with its spirit guides, how crossing over into the light works, the different levels of ghost power, and mediums makes for a unique mix. I found it interesting to tell the story through a spirit guide as the main storyteller this time rather than the medium like in the first volume.

The reader gets more of an in-depth view of what being a spirit guide entails and the various pitfalls of that position. To constantly be exposed to the rapture of crossing into the light to hardly ever get the chance to do so oneself just tears at the heart of the reader as well as the spirit guide.

Spirits being taken by darkness, a stealer of souls on the loose, and a young woman who died young and in tragic circumstances trying to find equilibrium as a spirit guide keeps the reader engaged. From scene to scene, I was always eager to find out what was going to happen next. The author went to some truly individual, unexplored realms as she spins a suspenseful story.

Yet, for all that strength, this book seemed to lack the draw that the first had for me after finishing. I loved the first, maybe it was being exposed to the unique supernatural system, forbidden romance, characters, and historical setting all for the first time.

However, this time round, I found the ending to be almost anti-climactic. Though definitely suspenseful with characters fighting for their lives/afterlives and not always succeeding, I found myself a bit hollow after finishing. I couldn’t care less what ultimately happens to them after finishing and almost didn’t care during that finale, either.

I think a big part of this might be attributed the characterization that the main character starts to display in the last third of the book. She starts to display a callousness and self-interest that was very off-putting. She seemed willing to throw her fellow spirits under the bus to obtain her own goals. Maybe it was the circumstances in which she was existing at the time, an influence from outside herself may have played a part. I don’t know if that was what the author was trying to portray or not. Once she started acting the way she did, though, I lost all empathy I had for her and couldn’t care less what happened to her.

Despite a strong storytelling skill and a special take on ghosts, I found this book to be a sub-par follow-up to the first. I was intrigued enough by the story to finish the book; some of the secondary characters were actually pretty strong. Yet, how the main character changed in that last part and some of her motivations turned me off big time. The ending was somewhat lack luster in my opinion and not what I was craving at all. So this follow-up to the original might work for another reader, but I wasn’t as in love with it as the first.

Note: Book received for free from author in exchange for honest review.