Erica Waters

Shady Grove wants nothing more than to be a good enough musician to play in a bluegrass band with her friends, and she wishes her daddy’s fiddle hadn’t drown in the lake with him 5 years ago. It was a special instrument that, when played just right, could call the dead, and there’s a good chance Shady would be able to use it since she already can sense the ghosts all around her in her daddy’s childhood home and in the woods surrounding it. That seems an impossible dream, though, show more until her stepdad is murdered and her brother is blamed. It’s then that the ghosts start calling her to find her daddy’s fiddle, and she’s determined to do just that so she can use it to find out who really committed the crime. But there’s a reason her family hid the fiddle and lied to her about it – the cost of playing it is higher than she can imagine…

This YA novel has it all: bisexual bluegrass-playing teens, multiple murder mysteries, a fiddle that can raise the dead, and spooky atmosphere for miles. What more could you possibly need in a fall read?! I adored it. show less

Tara Boone fought for a place at Corbin College hoping to get into the esteemed Magni Viri academic society which provides a full scholarship. However, Tara isn't accepted and is muddling through college with two jobs and a more practical academic track. When one of Magni Viri's star pupils, Meridith Brown dies unexpectedly, Tara is offered her spot. Tara readily accepts, with tuition and board fully covered, Tara no longer has to work and gets to move into Denfeld Hall with the rest of the show more Magni Viri students. Now, with an automatic friend group and a semi-creepy initiation ceremony, Tara finally feels accepted. She also has a lot more time to work on her writing. Tara begins writing in the middle of the night, in a haze, she barely remembers what she wrote; if it wasn't in her own handwriting, she wouldn't believe it. The writing also seems a lot more like Meredith's writing than her own. Tara begins to believe that she is being haunted by Meredith's ghost and is being forced to finish her story. As Tara learns more about Magni Viri and its members, she discovers something more disturbing about its membership and decides she must free herself from its grasp.

All That Consumes Us is an atmospheric, gothic story set within a college secret society. I was pulled in by the mystery of Magni Viri and their consistency in producing outstanding students. Tara's character is at a point where she is desperate while being resourceful and diligent, making her a perfect target for Magni Viri's deeds. The writing builds the tension slowly as a student dies and Tara finally finds her place and her goals begin to seem realistic, but things simply don't seem right with the students of Magni Viri, their accomplishments or the novella Tara is writing. As Tara continues in Magni Viri, obsession seems to overtake her and she is not herself. The feeling of wanting what you can't have along with slipping from reality permeates Tara as well as Denfield Hall. The quote "...some of the dead don't sleep. They don't rest. They rise up from their graves to steal hours from the living," summarizes the atmosphere. I was really interested in the story that Tara was writing and would have loved to have more history behind that as well as the beginning of Magni Viri. I would have also loved to see some of Tara's writing when she wasn't under the influence and how she infused the emotions she experienced into her craft. Overall, a queer, gothic, ghostly coming of age story with amazing characters.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

If my personal rules allowed me to take away stars when characters make boneheaded choices that make me shout at the pages, this book would be a four-star instead of five. But I don't let myself do that, because good characters aren't perfect or all-knowing, so I just suffered and shouted.

This was overall a very good book, and the ending had me breathless, waiting to see whether the wonderful found family of students would be successful in overcoming the "haunting" problem (ahem) that hung show more over them. I absolutely loved the character of Mr. Hanks, Tara's janitorial supervisor at the start of the story, and I was so scared that when she briefly went to stay with him and his sister, the ghost of Isabella would have her hurt one or both of them. Thankfully, that never happened.

I will say that, having actually been a music composition major like Wren, seeing their obsessive amount of practicing and unhealthy amount of time spent in the practice rooms, and knowing I was meant to find that disturbing, I found myself chuckling a little instead. I knew plenty of colleagues like that, and no spirit possession was required to have them essentially living in the Creative Arts Center, practicing all night and surviving on energy drinks and caffeine pills. But I did love Wren quite a bit. Probably my favorite character. show less

This was a highly anticipated read for me this year, and it did not disappoint! First things first. The cover. Absolutely frickin’ gorgeous. It captures the story’s intrigue and grit without being overwhelming or childish. I was swooning the moment I set eyes on it.

Secondly – the story itself. Ghost Wood Song is Erica Waters’ debut novel, classified as a young adult fantasy with LGBT elements. Couple that with an interesting book summary, and you get high expectations from me, show more myself, and I. Waters took my expectations, blew them out of the water and sent them to outer space, I was that impressed with this book.

Shady Grove is the main character in this story, a teenager who, like her deceased father, can summon ghosts with his fiddle. This inevitably leads to trouble down the road, but she must use these skills to help try to clear the name of her brother, who’s gotten himself into a spot of “accused of murder” issues. This is an incredibly atmospheric and gritty book, the haunting lyricism of the story winding a suspenseful and compelling tale that you just. can’t. put. down.

No matter how much we like each other, sometimes it’s not enough to want to be together.

The book is filled with nostalgia, music, and teenage angst that feels relevant and real, and doesn’t consume the story or become Shady’s identity. Waters drops solid advice and words of wisdom to the reader, which is relevant to ALL ages and made the book feel universal at times. That was probably my second favorite part of the book – the teenage elements were never the main focus of the story. They were introduced naturally, and pulled the reader along without taking away from the main plot.

Bluegrass lyrics are almost always about death, loss, and unrequited love, but the music – the noise we make with our banjos and our fiddles – is joyful. The dead are always with us, even after their ghosts move on, but it’s the life pulsing through our veins that makes the music.

My most favorite part of the story though was how central music was. As a musician myself, I was utterly absorbed in how thoroughly music was integrated into the lives of each character; it moved the plot forward in the best way, and it reignited my love of bluegrass with a fierce passion. Coupled with the lyrical nature of the storytelling and the vivid depictions of the environment, and it transported me directly into the story.

When it comes down to it, this was a solid book with a dynamic cast and imaginative setting. I would 100% recommend this to anyone interested in ghosts, music, and Southern Gothic themes.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less