I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Remembrance by Meg Cabot Series: The Mediator #7
Published by William Morrow on February 2, 2016
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Fifteen years after the release of the first Mediator novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot returns with a deliciously sexy new entry to a fan-favorite series. Suze Simon—all grown up and engaged to her once-ghostly soulmate—faces a vengeful spirit and an old enemy bent on ending Suze's wedded bliss before it begins.
You can take the boy out of the darkness.
But you can’t take the darkness out of the boy.
All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva).
But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork, some to test her, some to vex her, and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight.
From a sophomore haunted by the murderous specter of a child, to ghosts of a very different kind—including Paul Slater, Suze’s ex, who shows up to make a bargain Suze is certain must have come from the Devil himself—Suze isn’t sure she’ll make it through the semester, let alone to her wedding night.
Suze is used to striking first and asking questions later. But what happens when ghosts from her past—including one she found nearly impossible to resist—strike first?
What happens when old ghosts come back to haunt you?
If you’re a mediator, you might have to kick a little ass.
~*~*~*~
Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Remembrance by Meg Cabot Those of you who follow me on Twitter know what a HUGE fan of Meg Cabot I am! And if you don’t, just read this Once Upon a Time feature to find out! So, it’s no surprise that I FREAKED OUT when I first heard that we’d be getting a seventh Mediator book! And it’s even less of a surprise that I FLIPPED OUT when I found out I was on the blog tour!!! Obviously, I absolutely LOVED this book!!!! I hope you enjoy my review! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of this post!!
I’ve been reading the Mediator series since I was roughly 13/14-years-old. When I first started reading the series, there were only four books out. I read them over and over and over again. Then we got a fifth book, then a sixth, and I read all six over and over and over again. I loved the way the series ended – it was an incredibly satisfying ending, for all the characters involved and all the plots, spanning across all six books. But I was still sad to see it end. So, of course, I flipped out when we found out we were getting Remembrance! And it was everything I hoped for!
Being back in this world was amazing. It was like I’d never left (though that could be because I re-read the entire series to prepare for Remembrance, including the new novella, Proposal!). Meg Cabot created a truly amazing world with these books – the characters, the plot, the writing. I have very few complaints where these books are concerned!
Suze is amazing. Re-reading the series reminded me of just how amazing she is. And I also realized something: Suze was, unknowingly at the time, the basis for which I set my standards for YA heroines. Thanks to her and Buffy Summers, I expect all YA heroines to be strong, fierce, kick-ass, stubborn and witty. Though Suze and Buffy embody these characteristics, they still have their faults and weaknesses and they still learn and grow from their mistakes. They’re amazing role models for young girls. And, for those reasons, I can confidently say that Suze is my absolute favorite YA (book) heroine of all time. My OTBH (One True Book Heroine! I made that up, but.. It works!).
I loved the way Suze’s life kind of came full circle in Remembrance. I love that she went to school to be a guidance counselor (and her reasons why) and I loved that she was hired at her alma mater. There are so many more things I want to list here that I loved, but some of them are spoilers, so I can’t! But I literally loved EVERYTHING about Suze’s post-college life!
Jesse… Oh my hotness! The first few times I read these books, I didn’t know what a “book boyfriend” was. I’d never heard the term – I don’t even think it existed back then! But the more I think about it, the more I realize he really was my first book boyfriend! He’s so swoon-worthy, especially when he calls Suze “Querida.” I’m not saying he’s without his faults. He’s moody and broody and he definitely has a temper he needs to learn to control. There were times I just wanted to smack him, Gibbs style!
But overall, Jesse was just as swoony as he was in the original six novels. I’ve always shipped Suze and Jesse, evening though “shipping” wasn’t a thing that existed years ago, just as “book boyfriend” didn’t exist years ago. But now that I know these terms, I know it’s true. Suze and Jesse are my ultimate OTP of all time!
And then there’s Paul. Sigh. I’ve never been a Paul fan. I always hoped he would redeem himself, grow up and change. He sort of did in the sixth (and original final) book and I was mostly satisfied with how his story ended, though I could never forgive some of the things he did to Suze and Jesse. But his story in Remembrance was not my favorite at all. In fact, I think Remembrance could have been amazing without Paul. Though I admit not having him might have been weird, since he was such a big part of the original series.
My only complaint with Remembrance – the only reason it’s 4-stars instead of 5-stars – is that I wanted MORE. There were certain things that felt very “high school.” What I mean is, this book almost felt like it could have occurred while Suze was still a teen, taking place immediately after the sixth book instead of years later. Suze still lied about Paul. Jesse still had temper tantrums. Paul was still an ass. These characters had SO MUCH overall character development throughout the series, but in these respects, they had none. I wanted Suze to be more honest with Jesse. I wanted Jesse’s temper to be more in check, as well as his jealousy. I wanted to see a more mature Paul, who didn’t try to blackmail Suze or hurt Jesse. Where these things are concerned, I just wanted MORE from the characters.
And I wanted MORE in the sense that I’m not satisfied with just one book. Now that we’ve been brought back into this world and into the lives of these characters, I’m not satisfied with just one book! The end wrapped things up nicely enough that, I’m guessing, we won’t be getting more. BUT I WANT MORE!!!!!
Overall, Remembrance was an epic, epic book. I’m so glad we were able to be back in this world one more time (though I’m still holding out hope that it won’t be the last time!). Meg Cabot is Queen and if you haven’t read The Mediator series yet, we can’t be friends anymore. Kidding, but go read it! NOW!!! Otherwise, we really CAN’T be friends anymore (no, I’m not kidding this time…).
And now for the giveaway! One winner will get a physical copy of the first Mediator novel, SHADOWLAND!! Must be 13+ To Enter. Ships in US only!
About Meg:
Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to her adult contemporary fiction she is the author of the bestselling young adult fiction series, The Princess Diaries. Over 25 million copies of her novels for children and adults have sold worldwide. Meg lives in Key West, FL, with her husband.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK
TWITTER | TUMBLR
