Mallory is a con artist, making money by giving tours of an abandoned haunted house, The House Saphir, without the proper licensing or permission. She also happens to be able to see and communicate with ghosts. Just when the authorities catch on to her con schemes, Armand, the descendant of the original mansion owner, comes for her help. He wants her to come to his estate in the country to help him exorcise the ghost wreaking havoc on the mansion.
Mallory was a brat. Savvy, but deceitful and unconcerned about consequences of her actions. She was doing what she needed to survive but it was hard for me to cheer her on. Sadly, much of the story was predictable. Mallory was slow to catch on. However, Armond was sweet. And the French monsters were intriguing. The creepy factor was fun. Marissa Meyer’s creativity was on point. But the story itself never grabbed me and got, sadly, comical toward the end. I kept envisioning the Scooby Doo gang. I felt that this book was geared for a younger audience than I like reading. I enjoy the Young Adult genre, but this one felt like it was intended for middle-schoolers. This is not my favorite book by Meyer.
The audiobook narrator, Rebecca Soler, displayed an outstanding vocal repertoire—even better than her usual with a huge number of unique voices. However, I feel that her interpretation of Mallory was part of the reason why I didn’t like Mallory so much as a character. Soler read Mallory as someone who is always angry, suspicious, and hateful—truly bratty and combative all the time. I feel that hindered my enjoyment of this one and also made the story feel more juvenile. Therefore, despite her awesome vocal range and talent, I’m only giving her a B for this one.
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