Rachel Lou

Everett Hallman is a witch, working with his grandfather to investigate the paranormal and help lost souls cross over to the other side. When a mysterious feeling leads him to a local martial arts studio, he's surprised at the amount of power he finds there. It's a place worth investigating. But the source of the power remains unknown to him.
In another surprising twist, Everett learns he is a Bridge Master. Bridge Masters are special witches tasked with guarding the bridges between worlds. They also are the only witches who can freely cross the bridges and enter the spirit world. As a young witch who is still coming into his power, it's just a bit overwhelming.

And he's still trying to figure out what's going on at the martial arts studio. And what exactly is going on with his new friend he met there. Especially since Everett wouldn't mind at all if he became more than just a friend...

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Throw some well-written young adult urban fantasy at me and I'm happy. And this book is exactly that. It's a unique world and story, and I found myself drawn in quite quickly. And there were a few twists that I absolutely did not see coming.

Everett goes through quite a journey in the short span of this book. So many things around him are changing. And he is learning new things about himself. Despite this personal growth and challenge, he holds strong to his purpose, even when it might put him in danger.

I'm not sure if the author has any plans for more, but I wouldn't mind reading another book or two set in this world.

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]… (mer)

With a concept in witchcraft that I have not read about in this form before, ‘The Bridge’ gave me an interesting fantasy/paranormal world that contained more than one surprise. But there is more than great world building to this YA novel – wonderful characters, mysterious events, an action-packed confrontation, and more than one life lesson to be learned. With drama, new discoveries, and unexpected twists, ‘The Bridge’ pulled me in and didn’t let me go until the final page.

Everett is seventeen, bookish, has almost no friends, and is a witch. His parents vanished seven years ago and he now lives with his grandfather (who is also a witch) in a small town, trying to learn how to control his abilities. He is not very powerful, in fact even small spells routinely exhaust him to the point of fainting, but he is a rare Bridge Master, able to send lost souls to the afterlife. I found this whole idea of bridges to different types of afterlife really interesting, and to have witches to help with that was a nice twist. Everett has a jellyfish as a familiar, which is just hilarious, but Buzz (as he names him) has a mind of his own.

Then strange things start happening. First, Everett is drawn to a local martial arts school where he meets Bryce – a very attractive instructor. The strange paranormal residue Everett finds all over the place makes him wonder what’s going on. Then the witch who is supposed to teach him how to be a Bridge Master vanishes, and neither Everett’s grandfather nor the witch sent by the Order to investigate have any idea what’s going on. Or so they say. And as the mystery deepens, Everett’s determination to deal with it by himself increases. Never mind that he knows he is in over his head, just like any teenager I’ve ever met, Everett is not going to ask for help. Nope. Not going to happen. Until it is almost too late and he is in so deep that his life is threatened, his friends are hostages to unimaginable evil, and all of humanity is threatened with subjugation.

Everett has a lot to deal with in this story, and while his need for independence is understandable, it is also very dangerous. It provided me with a wonderful adventure to follow and more than one scary moment! It also enables Everett to understand himself better and put a few events in his life into perspective. Coming of age is hard – and when you’re a witch it can also be dangerous.

If you like stories about witchcraft, spells, and paranormal riddles, if two young men figuring out their world and themselves sound interesting, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful, fantastical, slightly scary, and very imaginative read that might just make you forget the real world around you, then you will probably like this novel.


NOTE: This book was provided by Harmony Ink Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.… (mer)