Texas Gothic

Amy Goodnight is the gatekeeper between the normal world and her family's supernatural, kitchen-witch lifestyle. All she wants is a normal existence...or at least that's what she tells herself. So when she goes to house-sit for her Aunt Hyacinth for the summer with her sister Phin (Delphinium!) she's not expecting anything too out of the ordinary. First she's accosted verbally by Ben McCullough, a boy about her age who is part of a family with a 'ghost' problem who resents her family's hocus pocus. Then a spirit attaches itself to her and wants her to find what happened to him. Plus, there's a dig site where Ben's family was building a bridge and multiple human remains have been found. Add that to threatening notes, slashed tires, and show more hot makeout sessions alternating with verbal blowouts with Ben. Mix it all together and Amy is in for one helluva summer! I truly enjoyed this book. I'm not completely in love with it because it just didn't connect with my heart the same way it did with my funny-bone, but I do like the twists and turns that keep you going and the snarky sense of humor shared by Amy and the author. Also, Phin is a wonderful supporting character, good-hearted and genius smarts, but totally commonsense and human interaction clueless. I really enjoyed the surprise visit by their cousin Daisy, who has a connection to spirits of the dead. It makes for some fun times. Plus, all the college kids from the dig site were a really great addition to the narrative and added to the flavor of the book. I really liked how Clement-Moore drew from actual historical events and places in Texas. Amaryllis 'Amy' Goodnight was a self-sufficient, likeable heroine who was in search of her own purpose in life and the place she fits into her family AND into the rest of the world. It was really awesome to tag along for the ride as she figured it out. Overall a very enjoyable read and definitely worth the time spent. I would recommend this to people who don't mind a heroine who is an older teenager (Amy is newly a high school graduate), a fast-paced story and fun characters who keep you hooked. This book is a true slice of Southern sweet potato pie and you should only dig in if you're not afraid of calories!

VERDICT: 4/5 Stars

*No money was exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.* show less

I tend to adore books that take place in my home state. I don't even know the area that Texas Gothic takes place in but it's in Texas so it was definitely worth a shot. I also met Rosemary Clement-Moore, and she's fabulous. :D The description had me at witch, and I love books that involve them.



Amy is an intelligent, level-headed girl. She tries her best to be normal, but it's not easy at Goodnight Farm. She's attracted the attention of a ghost, and she's not happy about it. Ben is the hottie next door. He and Amy clash because he refuses to believe in any sort of magic. Although I found this frustrating since Amy is trying to be as normal as possible, but whatevs. :P I admire Ben because he's strong when his family needs him. The show more author has done a magnificent job of creating characters. Each one is full of depth, and could easily have their own spinoff stories.

I loved the family dynamic. Phin and Amy are sisters. Phin is older, although less mature in many ways. Phin doesn't know how to socialize with people, and had me giggling throughout the book. It reminded me a lot of how my siblings and I behave around each other.

The pacing was great, and nothing felt rushed. Just when you think things will be calm, the ghost decides to strike. There are quite a few twists. Events take place that I wasn't expecting at all.

Texas Gothic was a fun ghost story. I recommend for those that like a lot of sarcasm in their MC.

Great, Fun, Light! show less

4Q 4P

'Texas Gothic' is a YA paranormal mystery/romance that is no where even close to the wildly popular 'Twilight' franchise, and that's a really good thing. Main character Amy (short for Amaryllis) Goodnight is the only "normal" member of her family of psychics and kitchen witches. Her sister Phin (Delphinium) is a brilliant chemistry/physics double major using the scientific method and her lab equipment to suss out paranormal activities. When the two of them watch over their aunt Hyacinth's (sensing a theme here?) farm for the summer, they get caught up in a haunting of a terrifying and personal nature. All the while, Phin is starting to get close to archaeologist Mark, and Amy is spending her time fighting with a brusque yet very show more attractive rancher named Ben. This book certainly lays the romance on, but Amy and Phin are far from boy-crazy girls or empty shells of characters; they're tough, smart, and self-aware and this is their mystery to solve. If they find love along the way, that's just a bonus. Well-written, with a good female voice and a great sense of humor in the narration, I think this book has just the right mix of romance, mystery, family drama, humor and horror to appeal to a wide range of readers. show less

17-year-old Amy Goodnight is the "normal" one among her family of witches, or so she claims, as the narrator of this sassy, supernatural romance. (How normal, though, when she’s caught outside in her underwear yelling at a cow?) Amy and her sister are caring for their aunt’s herb farm when Amy unwittingly attracts a powerful ghost, whose appearance coincides with the discovery of human remains at the neighboring ranch. She also attracts the attention of 19-year-old Ben McCulloch, her acerbic ranch neighbor who doesn't believe in spells, ghosts, or anything paranormal. But suspicions are raised and soon everyone in town is talking about the accidents and the strange lights and sounds coming from the site where Ben’s family is show more trying to build a bridge. Is it the “Mad Monk”, a local legend, or is Amy’s ghost somehow involved? Part mystery and romance, with a dash of forensics, history and humor, this fast-paced ghost story gains a lot from its rich Texas setting and distinctive cast of characters. A fun read for middle school and older. Suggest this along with “The Ghosts of Ashbury High” by Jaclyn Moriarty for another original look at gothic ghost stories or Maureen Johnson's "The Name of the Star" for similar voice and paranormal setting. show less

What is with this tiny synopsis? It doesn't begin to encompass what goes on in this crazy, wonderful, creepy, mysterious book! I've had high hopes for this one since discovering it's beautiful cover and hearing that it would be about witches, ghosts, and cowboys---and it did not let me down. Some highlights:

One of the best first lines I've seen in a long time:
"The goat was in the tree again. " (pg. 1)

One of the most spot-on explanations of the appeal of cowboys:
"It wasn't just that he was muscular and tan, with broad shoulders and big, long-fingered hands. It was that I'd seen him ride that horse, and I knew his brawn wasn't just for show. There was something practical and capable about that strength that made my insides flutter in an show more extremely galling way." (pg. 80).

And the absolute best first-meeting scene of the main character and the love interest. Read it---I almost guarantee you'll agree with me on this point. The scene where they first meet is so awkwardly hilarious.

Texas Gothic was chock full of great characters. Amy is smart, sharp-witted, and downright ballsy at times. She has grown up in her eccentric family of witches and magic and come to a point in her life where she is just grasping on to "normal" with all her might. Her older sister, Phin, is so much more quirky and accepting of their family's eccentricities, but just as intelligent. I loved the family dynamic---along with their cousin, their aunt, and their mom, they were the kind of family I love to read: sometimes they are embarrassing, sometimes they get under each other's skin, but they're always there for each other when it counts. I really liked Ben. He and Amy had no shortage of bickering matches, and some of his judgements seemed a little harsh at first, but there was a lot more to him: protectiveness, integrity, sadness, and sacrifice. It had me constantly rooting for the two of them to take off the boxing gloves and get together! I loved Grandpa Mac! Such a character---some of my favorites scenes were his interactions with Phin.

This is a fun mystery, with the classic feel of a modern Nancy Drew who-done-it. There were clues and suspicions and motives all around! There were some genuinely creepy moments in this one---the kinds that make you check the shadows the next time you walk outside at night. One or two tiny drags in the pacing for me within the first 100 pages, but altogether, a fantastic story. This was, as far as I can tell, a stand-alone book, so I may have to read it again sometimes because I know I will miss these characters! show less

There are two things that Clement-Moore does fantabulously: community and swoony guys. The ranch town in which Amy and Phin are spending their summer is great. It's not the setting, really, that's great; it's the people in it. They make this small town believable. There's the crazy grandad, the close-minded town folk, the local pothead, the nerdy college students, the local "royal" family, and the brooding son of those royals. We don't get to know all of these characters well; this is not a crowded book. And yet, these are not stock characters. Altogether, they are the town. They give the town a feel and a history. They make it a place. The town bar and the community picnics are just where they hang out.

And then there's the guy. Le show more sigh. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have a weakness for rugged folk who wear cowboy hats unironically. But even if that's not your thing, this guy is sooo great. Ben McCulloch, literally the guy next door, is so swoony and angsty and responsible and gentlemanly. I fell for him, and hard, long before Amy figured out why Ben made her feel both frustrated and fluttery at the same time. Mark, one of those nerdy college students, isn't so bad either. His sweet and awkward flirting with Phin is so cute! The best part about both of them, though, is that they are both completely devoid of cheese. There is no heavy-handed romance talk or gazing into one another's eyes.

So the guys and the cast of characters are what made Texas Gothic great for me. Amy and Phin's relationship, the complicated ghost story, the small town rumors and legends, and the ranching drama were all added perks for me. These aspects of the story were just as strong as the ones I loved, and they might be what makes this a great book for you.

Book source: Philly Free Library show less

So, hooray for Texas Gothic! This is how you write paranormal YA, although the focus wasn’t so much on the romance as it was on the actual story.

First of all, I love the Goodnight girls. Amy could be a cousin to Maggie Quinn, as they’re both snarky, level-headed psychic girl detectives with a knack for uncovering trouble, but she steps out in her own in a big way. I like how Amy keeps her ideas for normality in check with her world of the supernatural; while she’s not fond of being sucked into ghost plots and relying on magic, she does find the trappings of the supernatural cozy. She finds a way to reconcile both of these worlds without having abandoned one for the other and it completely works. Her sister Phin tends to agree more show more with the supernatural, but her use of SCIENCE! to enhance and better her dealings with hosts and haunted sites made her one of my favorite characters. I loved it every time Phin went off on a technobabble about how her gadgets worked.

While Amy falls into the trap of the “Slap-slap-kiss” trope with designated love interest Ben, I did like a lot of their interactions and banter with each other. Ben does come off as unapproachable at first, but as the two interact more, he does really care about Amy and about his ranch. The things that were mysterious about him were mysterious for good reason, not to build up useless tension that doesn’t go anywhere. I liked the fact that they were able to work together and be friendly, instead of just bickering until they finally made out.

Also, I loved the UT dig team. The fact that majority of the members, save for the non-anthropology students, are game to let two girls with reputations for being ‘weird’ test out ghost-hunting equipment. They’re a great side cast to the story.

The use of how magic works here draws on traditional spells, but works for Clement-Moore’s personal use for the Goodnights. (She notes that none of the spells were real.) There’s very clear rules about how spells are used, but stand out and they don’t feel like they’ve been copied and pasted from an amateur Wiccan site.

The setting really works too. The big ranch setting, with the number of historical conflicts make Texas a perfect back-drop for a creepy ghost story and the number of legends that Amy picks up on feel like they’ve been ingrained in the local consciousness for some time. The only thing I didn’t like about the main ghost legend essential to the plot—the Mad Monk of the McCulloch Ranch—never got explained fully. And while I liked the use of families with long-lasting grudges, particularly the McCulloch/Kelly feud, it’s never really used beyond setting up the antagonists.

Texas Gothic was the most fun I had reading a book this summer—I had a huge grin on my face the whole time, and I really got into the story. I have nitpicks about the plot, but it didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment. If you haven’t read Rosemary Clement-Moore’s books before, I HIGHLY recommend starting with this. show less