It took only one book by Carolyn Elizabeth for me to decide that she was a must-read author. This is her third (I also read a very short pirate story) and it proves true again.

What was the book about?
Twenty-six years ago, stuff happened and a child disappeared. Twenty-five years ago, more stuff happened, Willa and Lee had their first kiss and a child died. When Willa comes back for the first time in twenty-five years, a pretty successful YA paranormal writer, with her half-sister Nicole, a sullen seventeen-year-old, all that stuff and more still hovers over Forestlands Lake and its community. I’m aware this sounds vague but there are so many layers that going deeper would get spoilery really fast.

Featured Tropes
Paranormal; Ghosts; Friends to Lovers; Second Chance; Family

Book Strengths
The characters. I love Elizabeth’s stories but even if I didn’t, I’d read her books for the characters. She makes me fall in love with all of them. So how lucky am I that there are four MCs in this book? Or two main and two almost main. There are also quite a few secondary characters and they all feel substantial.

The mystery. Or should I say mysteries? As I wrote above, there are many layers to this book, and so we don’t get one mystery but two. Well-thought, complex and thrilling mysteries. Everything came as a surprise yet still made complete sense (in a paranormal way).

The atmosphere. It’s both spooky and real, dark and warm. 

Character Chemistry 
Willa and Lee have huge chemistry at fifteen. It only gets huger when they meet again as adults. The way the author wrote them as teenagers makes their reunion feel organic. They don’t know who the other has become but what they had as teens was so deep that it’s the perfect foundation for their relationship to build on. 

Heat Rating
 

Wrap up
Carolyn Elizabeth is proving that she could write any genre and I’d want to read it. In this book, you get romance, paranormal and mystery all in one, with each element being as important and as well-crafted.