Surrender (Haunting Emma #3) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 272
Series or Stand Alone: Book 3 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: After a devastating battle at headquarters in New York, the ghostkeeping world is in shambles. When Emma and Bennett return home, they are determined to defeat the wraithmaster, Neos, forever. But it's not going to be easy. Bennett's parents kick him out when they realize he is still using drugs to enhance his powers. Emma is convinced her aunt has come back from the dead to warn her of a new threat. And worst of all, Neos is using wraiths to possess the students at Thatcher Academy. If the ghosts manage to take over the entire school, even Emma won't be strong enough to stop them. But if either she or Bennett sacrifice his or her powers, they might be able to save the ghostkeeping world once and for all-and break the "ghostkeepers lose their powers when they fall in love" curse. The question is: who will be the one to surrender all power? 
Fast-paced and romantic, this conclusion to the Haunting Emma trilogy will thrill readers as it brings the ghostly mystery to a close.


Review:

The third and final installment of the Haunting Emma novels, Surrender, culminates in the battle between ghostkeepers and Neos and his band of evil wraiths. And, go.

More people are dead. Bennett’s parents, AKA the uptight sticks in the mud, are now in charge of Emma, Natalie, and Lukas at the mansion. They kicked Bennett out with the condition that he had to kick his asarum habit—and his attachment to dear Emma (which may or may not have had to do with their walking in on the young couple in a compromising position—JK. It’s because they don’t want their son to lose his powers to her). In the meantime, Emma and the other teen ghostkeepers are placed under the strict tutelage of the Sterns. There’s a lot of tense situations, trying to understand one another, and heart to hearts between everyone that lead up to the major conflict at the end. Emma and Bennett must find a way to destroy Neos before he kills Emma and everyone else.

This one continued in the same vein as the second—the characters and storyline were slightly more developed that they were in the first. I found that more action played out instead of being brushed over by Emma’s narration (as it had been in the first one). I liked Natalie and Lukas still—I thought their relationship was an interesting addition to the series. It would have been easy to use Emma’s and Bennett’s relationship as a deterrent, but I liked that they were going against all the warnings and the example as to why it couldn’t work that existed right in front of them. The back story provided for the two of them made each the most well-established characters, and therefore my favorites. I found that some of the characters were less than well-rounded still (Bennett, this is still me looking at you, though the asarum addiction keeps you off my boring paranormal romantic lead list) but at least some of the characters were well-explored.

The concluding battle was satisfactory and definitely more well done than some of the previous action scenes. Surrender provided for a good conclusion to the Haunting Emma books. I’m still not totally in love with this series, but I’d probably recommend it for younger young adult readers. It’s a different take on the whole paranormal ghost stuff.

Rating: 3 – okay/good. 

Betrayal (Haunting Emma #2) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 288
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive-one a snarky teen
boy, the other a British scholar-Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.
As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

Review:

Betrayal is the second installment in the Haunting Emma series. Due to my series thing (i.e., the desire to continue a series even if I’m not crazy about the plot or characters) I moved on to the second book.

Not thrilled with the idea of losing his powers as a result of being with Emma, the most powerful ghostkeeper of their times, Bennett goes off in search of a solution to his increasing weakness. This solution happens to be asarum (wild ginger), which acts as a drug for ghostkeepers, but we’ll get back to that in a bit. Emma starts training as a team with her bitchy human friend Natalie from California (who is actually a ghostkeeper that helped Bennett get Emma away from the danger around her home), the rebellious Lukas, and Simon, their slightly older British mentor figure. At first less than thrilled with the new situation, Emma learns to work within her team. She also trains with the Rake—the original Bennett Stern who hangs around as a ghost, punishing himself for failing to keep the original Emma safe. The training for the battle against Neos is gong well until Emma experiences a BETRAYAL at the hands of a friend (title mention! Take a shot!)

While these books still are not my favorites, I must say that I enjoyed this one far more than the first. The writing became more consistent and Emma became less annoying. Bennett’s absense from the majority of the book forces her to actually forge connections with other living people (and some dead ones). I especially enjoyed her friendship with Natalie. They are alike in many ways (both being teenage girl ghostkeepers that end up ripped from the lives they’ve known in order to bring down some sort of big bad) but Natalie’s scary-religious-to-the-point-of-abusive parents brings an interesting dimension to their relationship. Emma was brought into this life but can still return to her family whenever they pop up—but Natalie is completely, on hundred percent in this. She doesn’t have a choice anymore, and that causes some strain every once and awhile.

Emma’s relationship with ghost Coby is far more interesting than their relationship was when he was alive. While he was alive, he was the all-American boy next door who liked Emma even though she didn’t really return the feelings. In death he becomes her companion, a source of guilt or friendship depending on the day. His death made their relationship far more complex than his (unreturned) crush on her in book one.

One thing that bothered me was that Emma and Bennett never quite dealt with the whoe are-we-only-together-because-we’re-damned-to-repeat-the-patterns-of-the-Emmas-and-Bennetts-that-were thing. I think the whole “destined to be together” thing is incredibly problematic and usually raises free will questions in those to which it applies. However, Bennett and Emma’s relationship was more interesting this time around. I’m still not thrilled with Bennett’s characterization, but Bennett on asarum is far more interesting than his former self. I know that other reviewers were upset with his prior life choice but I found his drug addiction endearing. Before, he didn’t have much of a personality outside of his Britishness and adoration of Emma, but the drug addiction adds at least a hint of mystery. Also, at least he’s getting shit done.

Betrayal stepped up the game for the Haunting Emma series. Nichols added characters that fleshed out Emma’s character a little and brought more of her ass-kicking potential to the surface. Bennett’s life decisions make him more intriguing and I became a bit curious about what was going to happen with his and Emma’s relationship in the third one, though I’m decently sure that they end up together. Regardless. Betrayal was better than Deception.

Rating: 3 –  okay/good.

Deception (Haunting Emma #1) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 330
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England. After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.


Review:

I'm not going to lie, I read this book because when I first heard of it, it was recommended for fans of the Private series by Kate Brian. Even though by the end of that series I was SO ANNOYED by those books (WHO INTRODUCES MAGIC TWELVE BOOKS INTO A SERIES?!) I still believe that the first four, even the first eight, were entertaining reads. I decided to take the suggestion and read the Haunting Emma books.
This book opens on Emma Vaile, a teenager experiencing every teenager's dream: a vacant house due to parental vacation. Everything's fine and dandy for awhile, but eventually she starts to miss them. Due to a rager she throws at the request of her "friend" Natalie, Emma almost ends up in foster care. Thanks to Bennett, a former friend of her older brother, she instead ends up living in a mansion under his "care"--clear across the country from her home. Bennett disappears on her and leaves her to discover her ghostkeeping ability with a house full of friendly ghosts. Unlike most ghostkeepers, Emma has multiple powers--she actually has all the ghostkeeping abilities, wrapped up nicely in her little blonde form. Throughout the story, Emma must deal with her newfound ghostkeeping abilities, the knowledge of the host of secrets her family kept from her, an evil that has been a threat to her since childhood--and her mounting feelings for Bennett, who confusingly enough, runs hot and cold on her.
I really liked the ghostkeeping mythology that Nichols outlined in this book. My favorite piece of it was the idea that ghostkeepers cannot be together unless one of them wants to sacrifice their powers. I enjoyed that ghosts were not the romantic interests of the spirit variety--that meant that there was far less paranormal romance-y nonsense with which to contend.
I also liked the idea that ghosts and ghostkeepers were not looked at as equal (but different) human beings. Emma was the only one that treated the ghosts in Bennett's house as if they were still human beings because she was the only one that could directly communicate with them. The rest could only compel them. She dislikes compelling them, since she believes that ghosts should retain their free will.

And now for some things that did not thrill me about this book. Emma’s voice bothered me a tiny bit. In the beginning she was effortlessly teenager-y—she wasted time on facebook, talked about how bitchin’ it was to not have parents around, etc. I realized a bit later that her voice was leaving something lacking. I just did not think some of the events were making enough of an emotional impact through Emma’s eyes. Within the first book of this series, Emma’s family goes missing and is presumed dead. She deals with two separate deaths of people that are close to her in her new life. Emma cried every once in awhile, but I felt that she would all but forget about the incidents a few chapters later. This is especially true for Emma’s parents’ disappearances; she mentions missing them once or twice, but not enough for me to really believe her.

Also, I know Bennett’s supposed to be swoonworthy or whatever, but I don’t feel like he has enough personality for that. Let me rephrase: I did not see enough personality for that. I hope Nichols explores more of his characters in the ensuing novels.

I have mixed feelings about Deception—Nichols has some great, unique ideas about ghost stories, but the writing is choppy. I felt like Emma was glossing over some of the action in order to prattle on about nothing important Still, the ideas were there, and I plan to continue reading the series in order to see how the characters (hopefully) develop.

Rating: 2.5 - okay.