This is one of those books that I just picked up because the cover was kind of like hauntingly beautiful, and seemed to imply a different kind of adventure was in store.
...plus it may also be a semi-retelling of sleepy hollow.
An amazon summary, "Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.
Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It's difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern--one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal--or not-so-mortal--soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O'Dare.
Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack's warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire--and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before both the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.
Colleen Houck, the New York Times bestselling author of the Tigers Curse series and Reawakened series, breathes new life into classic folklore in this wild, twisting adventure propelled by the spirit of Halloween." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Jack is a lantern who guards the crossroads between the mortal world and the Otherworld. A witch wind has blown into his crossroads, and he's on high alert to find the witch who caused it. Hes been at a couple crossroads in the past where a witch wind has blown, and it didn't yield very pleasant results... to say in the least. A lantern is usually a mortal who has had his soul removed and placed in a container of some sort. Jack's happens to be in a gourd (imagine a jack o' lantern).
A young orphan comes into a few days later, and her name is Ember. She is the cause of the witch wind, and Jack vows to keep her safe and out of sight of his master for as long as possible. He doesn't want to see what happened to the others, happen to her. He has a vague suspicion of what happens to the witches.
Ember grows up under the watchful eyes of Jack. She can sense him and visits him at his crossroad even though she can't see him. The village boys have eyes on her, but she has no time for them (it's also roughly the 18th century by the way). There is one boy in particular who she befriends and he's an inventor. Ember knows she's a witch, but she's never been taught how to harness her power, and she's not entirely sure what she can even do. There's one thing she's certain of, she has to go to the Otherworld. ....which is precisely what Jack needs to stop her from doing.
That's enough summary because anything more may just be too much.
First and foremost, I love how many allusions and references were made to Halloween, kind of like a play on words but also perhaps an origin story. It's marvelous.
Secondly, I freaking adored Ember. She's like the perfect kind of badass for this story; a lady who fights against stereotypes, isn't afraid to speak her own mind, deviously clever, and well, packs a magical wallop. I also super adored how much Ember sought a peaceful resolution over any other alternative. So good.
Thirdly, Jack was so good. I feel like he straddled the gray area between knowing what the right thing to do in his heart is, but also his obligations to his "job" (really servitude). His soul is in the hands of "the devil" kind of, and it'll take him 1,000 years to pay back the debt. He's made it about 500 years so far, and he does worry about being away from his post....but his determination to protect Ember spurs him on. It came across as more endearing rather than obnoxious to me.
Fourthly, the best friend Finney was such a weirdly perfect balance to the rest of the group.
Fifthly, there's a vampire who is everything you would expect out of a suave vampire but who can also be kind of surprising.
...I just want to be done counting.
HOWEVER. I really liked the story so, so, soooooo much... until the end. The end wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't what I was looking for to an ending. There were a few too many things to me that were wrapped up a little too nicely for me... but everything else about the book was very solid. Even like the last few pages were adorably great. But, I'm still pretty held up about just a bit of a too neat ending. Too many things lined up too well, even though they were still filled with very fun homages to Halloween.
Happy reading!
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