Ever Near

Secret Affinity, Volume 1

By: Melissa MacVicar

Narrated by: Melissa Redmond

Length: 5 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Love is ever near. But trouble is never far. Nantucket Island is haunted, but only sixteen-year-old Jade Irving knows it. Ignoring the disturbing spirits isn't an option, because one dwells in the enormous historic home she shares with her newly blended family. Jade is finding it more and more difficult to explain away Lacey's ghostly, anguished tantrums, especially with Charlie, her gorgeous, almost step-brother, living right across the hall. When a power-hungry ghost hunter tracks down Jade and blackmails her, Jade's secret teeters on the edge of exposure, and her entire future hangs in the balance. If anyone finds out Jade can talk to ghosts, her life will be forever changed. Can she save herself, free Lacey, and hang on to her connection with Charlie? Or will everything she ever wanted slip through her fingers?

©2014 Melissa MacVicar (P)2013 Melissa MacVicar

YA BOOK LEFT ME WANTING MORE!

I enjoyed this book and can't wait until the next one. Like all YA books the love story is there with a twist. I found the mixed races addition with different back grounds and stories intriguing. The over all storyline is predictable as to where its going but all the little extras is worth the read/listen. I do recommend this book to anyone that enjoys YA books.
"I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher."

Terrific paranormal fiction story for young adults

Any additional comments?

EVER NEAR - Secret Affinity - Book One

Author: Melissa MacVicar

Type of Book: Audiobook - Unabridged

Narrator: Melissa Redmond
Length: 5 hours and 1 minute

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Fiction

Release Date: January 3, 2014

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

* I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Jade's life seems to be looking up. Her Mom is getting remarried to one of the wealthiest men in town. They have moved out of their rundown shabby duplex and into a home locally known as "Fair Ever."

Jade should be ecstatically happy and she would be, if one thing would just stop. Jade sees and hears ghosts. The ghosts always seem to be both sad and angry and Jade is sick of it.

Plus, there is no one she can tell. Who would believe her? She knows they would probably think she was crazy and lock her up in the Loony Bin.

Jade has a crush on Charlie. But since Jade's mother is engaged to Charlie's father the chance of having a relationship with him is unlikely.

The ghosts seem to be getting bolder and Jade realizes that she needs to share her secret with someone.

This book takes many twists and turns. Just when the reader thinks they know what will happen next, they discover that they were wrong.

EVER NEAR is both a paranormal adventure and a young adult romance novel.

I like the fact that Jade is a mixed-race character. Her father is black and her mother is right. The boy she has a crush on (Charlie) is white. There are not a lot of novels for young adults that feature interracial couples which is another reason why EVER NEAR is so compelling.

Another subject that author Melissa MacVicar tackles is the phenomenon of blended families when the children involved are no longer young children but are instead young adults. The attraction between Jade and Charlie is plausible. Just because their parents are getting married, it does not mean that they are truly siblings. I would assume that romance between teenage step-siblings in blended families happens more often than most people think. The problems would arise when and if the young couple were to break up.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, this story will grab and hold your attention.

The narrator does a great job with her tone and her use of inflection to make this audiobook a treat to listen to.

There are a few twists and turns to this audiobook which makes it even more enjoyable to listen to.

This book is perfect for it's target audience, which is Young Adults. I rate this audiobook as 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Too much freaking out.

Jade Irving is your typical highschool student – parties, boys, ghosts having tantrums…..Set on Nantucket Island, a place rife with ghostly activity, Jade has to come to terms with her new fund abilities. With the help of her grandmother and a strange ghost hunter, she tackles the mystery surrounding Lacey’s ghost. Her new boyfriend also provides support, but most of the battle is up to her.

I went back and forth on this one. First, I really liked that Jade’s family isn’t all of one ethnicity and it was especially refreshing to have a main protagonist that wasn’t Caucasian. The author lightly touches on the odd looks her blended family sometimes gets, but doesn’t dwell on it. On the other hand, Jade has a serious crush on her soon-to-be stepbrother, Charlie. In fact, they are living in the same house, bedrooms across the hall from each other. I guess there aren’t that many teen boys on Nantucket Island? Anyway, it gave me a little bit of an ‘ick’ factor to the story. I know, they are not blood related at all. But…..well, there’s just something ultra-convenient about having your beau be your step-brother and living in the same house. On the plus side, Jade is smart to be aware of and on birth control.

Next, I found it fun that there was this whole paranormal world going on and a lot of it was tied to history. So our heroine had to spend some time researching the history of her little tiny plot of Earth to figure out the motivations of the ghosts she dealt with. On the other hand, Jade spends much of her time screaming and crying and not getting much of anything done while she has her hysterics. In fact, it felt more like luck than anything else that she survived this tale. While I understand that it would be normal to be a bit freaked out when you find out you can interact with ghosts, I tend to like my characters to move through that hysterical phase really quickly so that we can get down to the figuring-stuff-out-phase. We didn’t get much of the latter in this book.

The characters were OK. Once established, they were pretty static. In fact, the most interesting character was the slightly creepy ghost hunter. He obviously has a tale or two to tell. The minor characters, for the most part, were interchangeable. Jade was fun when she wasn’t curled up in a little ball crying her eyes out (which was much of the story). Over all, it s was meh, ho hum tale for me.

Narration: Melissa Redmond did do a pretty awesome job narrating this tale. While it wasn’t really the story for me, she still pulled off the voices quite well.Her voice for Jade was excellent. She had distinct voices for both males and females.

Solid Ghost Story!

I'ma huge fan of ghost stories and loved this story! Jade is a normal teen except she see's ghosts. It's something she keeps to herself as she assumes everyone will think she's nuts if they knew including her best friend. The ghosts are creepy, mean and ugly -- something out of a nightmare.

Her mother engaged they move into Fairever in Nantucket with the fiance and his two sons. That brings up more problems as a creepy ghost she calls Lacy haunts the house and her. She also has a massive crush on the youngest son Charlie who will soon be her step brother.

The story unfolds at a good pace, adding to the suspense and written first person builds Jade's character making come alive. There's a little humor and a touch of romance making this a story it's hard to put down.

A big part of audiobooks for me is the narrator and Melissa Redmond gave the story more character and life.

I recieved this book free from the author through Audiobook Boom.

A Great YA Story

What does Melissa Redmond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really loved listening to this narrator, she really brings a lot to the story and keeps you enthralled in the story.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to listening to the rest of this series. This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

predictable but pleasant

the story didn't draw me in the way I would expect a young adult novel to do, and there's quite a bit of exhibition, but it's a pleasant story told in a believable teenage voice.

I noticed this is the performer's first book, and though the pace was a little fast for me she still sounded good at half speed. the narrator was an excellent choice for the content.

Great YA Paranormal Series

I absolutely enjoyed this audiobook. The author did an outstanding job grabbing my attention and keeping me on the edge of my seat all the way to the end!

The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life. I really enjoyed listening to her and could not put it down!

Jade is a 16 year old with special abilities. She has been seeing ghosts since she was 10 but has kept it to herself to avoid people thinking she was insane. But moving into a house with a crazy ghost has made it difficult for her to keep it under wraps. Her mom is getting married and her gorgeous almost step-brother is living across the hall.

This story has spooky moments, sweet moments, lots of suspense, a bit of drama, and a great conclusion with no cliffhangers. I'm looking forward to reading her next book in this series.

**This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion**

Haunted

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I love the flow of the book and how it kept you on edge and wanting to know more about Jade and her abilities and the story behind Lacey/Lydia

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jade, I love how she handled her secret and the haunting

Which character – as performed by Melissa Redmond – was your favorite?

Jade Melissa was able to capture each emotion Jade encountered flawlessly captivated me

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Great listen..predictable story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book was a fun listen. It followed a predictable path, but I enjoyed the path regardless.

Would you recommend Ever Near to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book to a younger audience than myself. The love story was cute and reminded me of myself at that age. I think it would be more relatable to young adults which is the target audience.

Have you listened to any of Melissa Redmond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first listen by Melissa and she did great! Spot on with the teenage attitude :)

Did Ever Near inspire you to do anything?

Ghost hunting?