"One of the most important rules of mediation:
Never, ever underestimate a ghost."

The very soon-to-be Susannah de Silva is gleefully planning her wedding which much to her distress will take place next year. Thousands of light year from now. Till then, she has to find a paying job instead of fulfilling her duties in the administrative offices of her old high school Junípero Serra Mission Academy for free. That could be no other than Father Dominic who takes advantage of her being aware of the fact that she's in need of earning some of the practicum credits she needs to get her certification as a school counselor. In the meantime she needs to learn not to waste all of her money for the Swear Jar quickly.
Apparently she can't break away from her roots. But that's okay. She has a comfy house, she's engaged to her love of life and definitely has future prospects of helping to navigate the "gifted" mediator-souls on a challenging path where they have to deal with some handful Non-Compliant Deceased Person. She can't imagine life more explicit.

"I just wanted to find out where you are,” I said, “so I can drive to that location and then slowly dismember you, something I obviously should have done the day we met.”

Until Paul Slauter—off the record sociopathic sleazebag and a skunk—comes within sight. Not only is he a hideous mediator but an abominable human being, as well. Even if his "making ammends of what happened on graduation night" policy seems phoney, Suze falls in his masterful trap. According to an Egyptian curse the act of pulling down her house where Jesse had died previously stands the chance to unleash the evil in him and most likely will wreak havoc on everyone he cares about. A petite inconvenience of resurrection. Unless she agrees to a rendezvous, the Slaughter Industry will wipe the house off earth. This kind of declairation of Paul's affection doesn't really convince Suze the depth of his love. In retrospect, she should have to get rid of the scumbag till she'd got the chance.

Insurmountable odds against us

Loosing Jesse before they're wedded in holy marriage is out of question. After six years of standstill in their relationship she'd waited long enough for her honeymoon to push through. Not a sole spoiled-bankroller-brat would strike a death-blow to her happy-ever-after. She'd better find a way to stop him ASAP. On top of that, obliterating the past of his attempt to exorcise her one-and-only soulmate is quite a tough undertaking. Yet what could be possibly done? An elongated jail-time experience is bound to happen if she tells the alluring offer to her fiancé, since an overwhelmed protective Spanish macho man like Jesse wouldn't let his pristine foe overcome him. Let alone steal his well-deserved throphy for which he lived through the past of the 1800s and the present of 21th century levitating between afterlife and real life. Who else can tell the same thing about himself fighting for a girl so ardently? Seriously, no one can argue with that.

Presumably he'll beat the crap out of him first then he gets an orange suit and a matched private slot.

"When I got my hands on Lucia, however tragically she might have passed, I was going to kill her all over again."

All hell broke loose

If it's not enough, the soul of a sanguaniry cherub-faced little girl's after her fiercely protecting her friend Becca. Although the poor spirit came off badly having been the victim of corruption of the church, she is rather pain in the ass despite the fact that she's nothing but a poltergeist. Do not worry. Holy jurisdiction is to be served by none other than the godsend herald Suzannah Simon. With some kicks in the ass and a devout one-resolute fiancé by her side, she smooths the tameless waves of the hurricane in a conventional-badass-Suzie-style. The good old days...

"I don’t see why you won’t allow me to beat a confession out of the priest,” “It would be faster.”

Back on track

The big wedding is happening. At last! I was wondering if it would at all...Paul is out of the picture of the gleeful reunion for heaven's sake. I was at their reception if not psychically but spiritually for sure. Maybe Suzie added me to the spook gang who has no nothing to do there but anyway poke their nose into planetary business. And life can't be more explicit.

Jesse’s voice was a soothing elixir, whipped cream floating on rich steaming cocoa on a cold winter morning.

How I feel now

I'm over the moon.

Songs

Elton John - Someone Saved My Life Tonight —Suzannah's and Jesse's official song

Coldplay - Ghost story
https://youtu.be/9r1BSLyZFu4

Rating

5 out of 5 (What else? We have a long and abundant history.)

Happy Valentine's day!

"IT WAS VALENTINE’S DAY, and where was I?
Freezing my butt off in a cemetery, that’s where. Romantic, right?"

The souls of the deceased don't stop vexing Suze Simon even on Valentine's Day! Not that she'd care, for she and Jesse have been dating for 4 years now, they came to terms and drew a conclusion that it's merely "a stupid holiday named after some martyred saint to tell them when to say I love you." But still. Is she really doomed to persuade all dead dudes to be so nice and move on to their next lives or whatever they're condemned to do, but please don't hover around the livings for the rest of her life on Valentine's Day? Man, it sucks.

May I present to you the bullet-headed but all-commissioned attendant of specters who kicks ghost-butts relentlessly until their bare spiritual presence is literally jostled into the afterlife. Suzannah Simon is back, ladies and gentlemen! And I'm high over heels right now.

She's twenty-one, college girl, psych major, currently in a permanent realationship with Jesse, a century-and-a-half-ago-deceased-but-formerly-brought-back-to-life spanish male hotness. In a nutshell, life cannot be more perfect.

Unless an NCDP—­Non-­Compliant Deceased Person, as those in her trade refer to those who refuse to cross over to the other side —­bust up her idyll. Such an ungrateful fate awaits those who work in the ghost-busting business for some decades now. Not exclusively a prosperous profession. Bet on starvation if you tried to make a living out of it.

“What are you—­how can you—­who are you?”
“I’m Suze Simon,” I said. “And you thought being dead was bad? Buddy, your eternal nightmare’s only just begun.”

The scientific community has declared her secret “incompatible with the well-­established laws of science,” and therefore nonexistent. But it doesn't explain the fact that she has to sit on an ice-cold granite headstone on Valentine's Day just to ogle a spook who supposedly killed his girlfriend and himself as well, just because the love of his life refused his proposal. It's her job to convince him or —if it's not working— make him leave once and for all, for he has no place among the livings. Especially for a murderer.
At the point of resorting to more violent means (Suze's patience runs low—her type first hits then asks questions usually), the guy disappears into the night leaving a soaking downpour behind in his rage.

"I threw open the door to my room and found six feet or so of unadulterated Spanish-­American male hotness stretched out on my bed."

After re-evaluating the situation she's headed back to her dorm where she finds Hector "Jesse" de Silve a future-to-be-doctor but still having post-­traumatic stress from being dead plus he has been still warming up to the modern world for four years. It's quite obvious from the words like "miniature refrigerator" and “Good morning, ma’am” slip out of his lovely curvy mouth from time to time. He's adorable!

Even though they’d agreed they weren’t going to contribute to the mass hysteria surrounding Valentine’s Day, since they loved each other unconditionally every day, Jesse was all prepared for Valentine's Day. How he was! He was ready to take the next level in their committed relationship (it was high time after four! years) and make a proposal to Suzannah. All the details planned: on the beach, at sunset while drinking champagne. But it wasn't for her if she wouldn't have discovered the ring first by pulling the box out of his boyfriend's pants. So awkward...

"I just can’t deal with this right now.”
“Can’t deal with what right now? The man who loves you asking you to spend the rest of your life with him?”

Instead of saying "Yes, Jesse, I will be Mrs. de Silva" she starts babbling about the time not being right. And it isn't. They have to stop the dead guy to avange on a boy who's all responsible for the young couple's death out of jealousy. But things are not cut short there.

To sum up, justice will be served with the influence of superior powers. (And with the assistance of Jesse who always has to look after Suze to keep her from biting the dust.)

Make the run one more time

“So will you, Susannah Simon, kindly do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
And yet, suddenly, I felt like the luckiest girl alive.
I sank down into the sand beside him.
“Yes, Jesse de Silva,” I said, throwing my arms around his neck. “I will.”

Seriously I love you guys!

Rating

5 out of 5

Crossing paths

There's no way I'd miss Meg Cabot's books. I just love her style and stories. It's as simple as that.

My booklove

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Mythology

It's based on a time-worn Greek mythology which gives both mysticism and obscurity to the core of the plot loaded with sugar-sweet love story, etarnal battle against dark forces, the author's peculiar I-tell-you-what sort of style added to the seasoning. All in all, everything you need to get as far as possible from dull reality, which is the point of reading I guess.

According to the Greeks, Hades god of the Underworld snatched Persephone and made her live with him for the end of time in a damp, shadowy, desolate nether world. It wasn't very nice of him as far as I can tell. It's not in the air whether Persephone was fond of the idea or she considered it repulsive. At the same time her mother, the goddess of Spring and Harvest, Demeter was a bit on the edge. She didn't like the gimmick of off-world forces assuming that her daughter was involved. As a concequence, her wrath descended upon humans and chastised them with drought and femine. It's quite ponderous to worship someone specifically while you're starving. For this reason Hades had no choice but release his unworldly princess. Too bad.

'Anything can happen in the blink of an eye.'
One.
Two.
Three.
Blink.'

What is like being dead?

Pierce Oliviera is definitely an NDE. But what the heck does it mean?

NDE : expression, near-death experience. Statistics say NDEs could suffer from profound personality changes and difficulties readjusting to life after death.

It would be nice to know what ahpens to us after entering the Pearly Gates. Valhalla? Heaven? Or our next - hopefully less horrible - life?

Well, Pierce certainly has some ideas concerning he topic since two years ago she fall into a pool of water in the freezing winter. Then the defibrillators, along with a massive dose of epinephrine, brought her back to life. Science is amaizing. Though she explains the conditions of her death otherwise.
And it has nothing to do with science. Yet when she clarifies certain events that occured to her while she was unconscious, the big-brains of erudition refuse to believe her fantasies of being captured in a somber cave by a twenty-some boy who seems to be in charge of the Underworld.

Welcome to Isla Huesos

She moves to Island of Bones (the name itself doesn't bode well) with her mother to make a fresh start and get away from her haunting memories of I-almost-died not to mention him who always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. But if she depends upon a restart, she couldn't be more wrong. In spite of making her best efforts to avoid him, they still tend to come across in the cemetery (a passage to the other realm) which is apparently ranked first in their Best Dating Venues Top List.

She did meet him first when she was seven and she was brought to her grand-father's funeral in Isla Huesos. She happened to find an injured dove while wandering among the graves. Well, not exactly a Disneyland for kids, I should say. She stepped forward as an animal protectonist but the more she tried to help the more it tried to escape and finally ended up dead. Then a tall, storm-gray eyed stranger walked up to her and recalled the dove to life in an instant. Naturally the seven-year old Pierce had faith in Santa and Toothfairy so what would have prevented her from believing in the birds-reviving (Hot) Guy? That decisive moment determined both of their future lifes.

Hayden - god of the dead (sort of)

'And in what fairy tale would John ever be any sane person's idea of Prince Charming anyway? He was the opposite of charming. More like Prince Terrifying.'

Their next get-together passed off less fruitful when Pierce bit the dust. She didn't foresee it coming. If you think she got immediately to Heaven, Valhalla or her next life, you're damn wrong. Death sucks.

She emerged in an awful damp, shadowy, desolate place where people aren't particularly being very nice to her. You may as well think after death you could be at ease at least for a little while but it's abviously not carved in stone. The superpowers must handle the what-now-with-the-dead? situaton better. Not only did you tragically die but godforsaken foul souls find you even there? Not a sympathetic clap on your shoulders or the appreciation of having been able to live so many years in the wickedness society. Better get use to disappointment guys.

Well, thanks but I don't think I want to deal with Earth after I'm dead! I prefer the-riding-on-rainbow-unicorns version. ;)

Having recognized the disconcerted Pierce, Hayden appearing on his formidable black stallion offered her sanctuary in the Underworld. It's a nicer way to put it because he rather played her out to stay with him there for eternity. Not very chivalrous. Damn right she escaped from him at the age of fifteen!

Being locked up in Nowhereland with flat-out manhood freaked her out. Underworld was not a priority destination of her college application at that time, however it solved a bunch of troubles. Lodgement? Medieval castle with a soft four-poster bed. Majors? Major of selecting the dead to boats leading either to future happiness or eternal suffering. Flatmate? Hot, dark-haired, six Abs. Future goals?...well, not dying again would help.

'And eternity is a long time. So if you have to spend it with someone I could see wanting to spend it with someone impossible...but interesting....'

Despite the fact that Hayden saved her life several times (even if he was a stalker while appearing out of the blue from time to time) Pierce is afraid of him. He's a wild thing. No wonder, though. His job is made up of sheperding a herd of souls towards their well-deserved peace or rightful punishment of purgatory. If it came to me, I wouldn't kick up my heels either. Unless it'd pay well.

Nontheless her life is in constant danger since the Furies (souls who are not a bit satisfied with their equitable destination of afterlife and are able to occupy any human bodies of feeble character) are determined to hurt John through her. Obviously Pierce is his achilles tendon and Hayden iss the most vulnarable when it comes to her.

Mythology comes to the house

'He let his mouth linger on mine, neither possessively nor sweetly... like his mouth just belonged there on mine. And he was right. It did. It always had.'

Basically we get mixed up in the Hades-Persephone-love-affair. John claims his empress who is reluctant to oblige....for a while. But it's hard to resist for a lonely sulky cat who only needs some caress to purr. I bet any of you would love to take this homeless catty to your place just for snuggling ;)

While Pierce struggling with the school and Coffin Night Hayden does his best to eliminate the immediate threat of the Furies who are becoming more and more aggressive lately. He has no other choice left but took Pierce to the last place she'd like to be. The Underworld.

Rating

5 out of 5