Leah Erickson

“The Vesper Bell” by Leah Erickson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: YA Coming of Age/Magical Realism. Location: The Caribbean island of St. Aurea. Time: Present.

Cosima (17) lives on an abandoned desert golf course. Every time she touches something, she’s flooded with someone else’s memories. She feels responsible for her childish mother Brooke (36), an unstable, self-involved, emotionally abusive drama queen who rages against authority and fights with her wealthy family. Brooke’s boyfriend Eddie, former teen vampire movie actor (dyed black hair, kohl smudged eyes, chunky rings, leather bracelets), hopes for a 2nd chance at fame.

Brooke moves them to a severely damaged tropical vacation house she inherited. Brooke and Eddie soon discover post-hurricane island life isn’t as idyllic as they imagined. Cosima, as usual, picks up the pieces. She
volunteers at a nursing home where she’s drawn to elderly Adelaide. She switches her volunteering to a local convent where Adelaide lived when she was a pregnant teenager. The Handmaidens of St. Mary are mysterious with a bad reputation, but the ordered life of chores and beekeeping feels like a relief-until Cosima discovers the Handmaidens’ dark past and planned future.

Author Erickson has written a book about a teenager struggling to find her place in a world where she’s been forced to act as the parent for most of her young life. Cosima is relatable even with her ability to see the pasts of others. She just wants to live a normal life.

Cosima is consistent throughout the book, but the focus is not. It shifts from a coming of age in difficult circumstances story to a story about using paranormal gifts to solve a mystery to an almost cartoonish kidnapping where folks are having way too much fun planning it, and then to a bit of a chilling thriller vibe. I don’t know if there is to be a sequel, but I really would like to know what happens next! It’s 3 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Thank you to LibraryThing, Adelaide Books, and Leah Erickson for this ecopy.… (more)

There were parts of this book that I did enjoy, but it was a little too all over the place for me. The storyline that interested me most was the older lady in the nursing home. I liked when Cosima was working there the most and using her powers to understand and see their lives. But wish she would've used that power more often to find out information. It was glazed over a bit too much. I didn't understand what Joe's character had to do with anything. I just felt like this book could've been condensed and more cohesive. The beginning of the book could've been removed all together and start when they get the home that was destroyed from the storms and then maybe flashback to their previous life. I'm not trying to rewrite the story but there just seemed to be a disconnect for me. But at the same time, I do feel like there is a good story here to tell, but gets lost in some of the "extra" that doesn't need to be there. Also, this needs to be proofread. I found a ton of mistakes, but maybe it's because I had the eBook version that was given as an early reviewer.

Overall, it is a good story, but felt a little disjointed and that I read three stories in one. One being the trailer park, second being when she was working at the nursing home and living with her mom and Eddie at the dilapidated home. And then when she was living with the nuns. I still gave it three stars because first, I'm impressed with anyone who can write and finish a book! :) And there are some good bones here.… (more)

This novel started off so strong! I couldn't put it down. About half way through however, the storyline took a bit of a twist and the story just couldn't get it's momentum back. The characters were well described and I really felt terrible for the situation the main character found herself in. There were a few characters that I wanted to know more about but they were not mentioned again. I was left with many questions and there were too many loose ends for my liking. I would like to read other novels by this author to see what else she has to offer since her style of writing is really quite beautiful.… (more)