Title: Remembrance
Author: Meg Cabot
Series: The Mediator, #7
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: February 2nd 2016
Rating:
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-favourite 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 counsellor 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 spectre 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.
– Blurb courtesy of goodreads.com
This review may contain spoilers for previous book(s) in the series.
My Thoughts On…
…The Plot
But this was the first time I’d ever seen a ghost clutching a wad of paper towels to a wound to staunch the blood flowing from it.
Forgetting to keep my cool, let alone my secret (that I see dead people), I leapt from my office desk chair, crying, “Oh, my God!”
It took me a few seconds to realize that if she was recently deceased, this girl wouldn’t still be gushing blood.
Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it would have been impossible for this book to live up to the original six; either way I found myself disappointed with the adult instalment of the Mediator series. I loved going back to the world of Suze and Jesse, and seeing how their lives have changed now that Jesse is human again, but the part of the plot involving Paul Slater I did not enjoy.
After graduating from high school and now close to completing her degree Suze is working at her high school as a guidance counsellor. When she’s bandaging up a student who cut her own arm Suze notices a NCDP (Non-Compliant-Deceased-Person) attached to the girl, Becca. When the ghost thinks Suze is hurting Becca she gets violent; nearly crushing Suze and Becca with the computer and later attacking Suze in her pool attempting to drown her.
“That child is lost, and very frightened, and in so much pain,” she went on. “And lost children in pain can sometimes be very cruel. Like wild animals, you know? They lash out and hurt others, sometimes without meaning to. But sometimes on purpose, too.”
Suze is determined to get through to Becca and help her ghostly companion move on, but it’s harder than it seems. After Lucia, who is determined to keep Becca safe from any threat, hurts Father Dom Suze once more steps in. However what happened to Lucia, what is holding her back from moving on and what hurt Becca so long ago, is not something she can solve without help. On top of that Suze’s ex, Paul Slater, is back in town with a proposition for her.
Paul isn’t giving up on convincing Suze he is the right man for her, not Jesse. He brought her old house and is threatening to tear it down, which could unleash a great evil in Jesse who died and was resurrected there, unless Suze agrees to go on one date with him.
…The Characters
“I had a wedding scheduled to Dr. Hector “Jesse” de Silva for next year in the basilica at the Carmel Mission. I had no intention of missing it if I could possibly help it.”
Suze is still very much the same tough-love character she was in the original series but she’s grown up a lot as well. She is determined to help Lucia, even after the ghost tries to kill her, and ensure she crosses over only after what is keeping her around is resolved. However Suze still tries to take on more than she can handle; she believes at times that she knows what is best for everyone and she becomes determined to fix everything herself before someone she cares about is put in danger.
“You can take the boy out of the darkness. But you can’t the darkness out of the boy.”
Jesse, since being resurrected, has achieved his dream of attending medical school and is now completing his residency. He still has many of his old-world values and they sometimes clash with Suze’s new-world ones, especially surrounding their relationship and up-coming marriage. His desire to protect her is still very much at the forefront of all his actions but he also listens to her opinions and when he knows she is right he backs her up.
I really loved the development of the relationship between Suze and Jesse in the original six books. However, in spite of the fact that they are both older and now engaged, it seems like at times they don’t trust one another. Suze is determined to keep Jesse in the dark about everything that threatens her, be it Lucia and other NCDP’s or Paul Slater and his bargain. She fears how Jesse will react and she doesn’t trust him not to hurt Paul. At times it seemed like their relationship hasn’t developed past where we left off in Heaven Sent.
“Just tell me what you want, Paul.”
“I told you what I want. Another chance.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate. Another chance at what?”
“You. One night. If I can’t win you over from de Silva in one night, I’m not worthy of the name Slater.”
One character I really hated was Paul. He went from being a slightly horrible, but still redeemable, teenager – who seemed to be moving past his feelings for Suze after accepting that she loved Jesse and not him – to a sexist and drug-addled creep. He basically threatens to tear down Suze’s old house, possibly turning Jesse into a demon in the process, all to get her to have sex with him. I didn’t think his development in Remembrance fit where Meg Cabot left his character in Heaven Sent; he took a step back, finally seeing that Jesse and Suze were meant to be together, but now he’s back in town and determined to tear them apart. It seemed like a complete 180 for his character and I just didn’t buy it.
…The Setting
“It might have been November, but in Carmel, that’s one of the most beautiful months of the year—which was why Jesse and I wanted to be married in November, only a year from now.”
Suze is still living in Carmel, and it doesn’t seem like much has changed in the town in the years between Heaven Sent and Remembrance. We do see a lot more of Carmel now that Suze and her three step-brothers have moved away from home, and it still sounds like a beautiful place. Carmel has always seemed to be a religious town, with Suze attending the Mission Academy and now working there, and that is a theme that continues in this book. There is a potentially triggering topic that comes up in Remembrance but I felt Meg Cabot handled it well; it was well developed and concluded.
I still enjoyed this book, and I loved going back to see Suze, Jesse, and all the other characters from the Mediator series. I just don’t think Remembrance lived up to its hype and, for me, it was just a disappointing end to a series I loved as a teenager. I think I’ll stick to the original six books from now on.
What did you think of Remembrance? Was it a favourite of yours or could you just not get into the story? Let me know.
Reading Every Night 