I'm disappointed.

Alex McKenna & The Academy of Souls was my introduction to author Vicki-Ann Bush. Despite being book 2 in the series, I did not have any issues following along with the story.

Initial thoughts...
I was more intrigued by a secondary character, Zachary. His tormented past could easily be a story on its own. The storyline of Roger, Leon, and Bethany did not seem to have anything to do with the main plot. I was left wondering what the point of their tangent storyline was.

The blurb and audio cover did sell me on giving this story a shot.

Marcus Rothenberg - Narrator
Marcus lent a unique and charismatic voice to this story.

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YA Paranormal

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Vicki-Ann Bush. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

I really liked the premise of the story - a living boy with special gifts to see ghosts and help them. A bit of mystery solving, a bit of baddie fighting. What's not to like? 

This is the second book in the series, so I feel like I missed out on some character development and world-building. I admit at first I was confused about who the main character was, and where the story was taking place. 

The story takes place at the Academy of Souls, which is essentially a high school for kids who have already died and their souls and have not found their light to cross over. For my fellow fans of Being Human, this would be that door the ghosts get when they're ready to move on. So either they haven't received that door, or they haven't been brave enough to go through it. Or if the soul has refused to jump into the light, for a reason.

The story begins with Ophelia, who has avoided the light because she is in search of her lost sister, Haven. Until she finds out what happened to her sister, she is refusing to accept her light. That's where she meets Alex, our hero who solves problems for ghosts; the school is just on the other side of a veil of an actual school in the living world.

The rest of the story unfolds with Alex and his girlfriend (yes, two living persons) jumping over into the world of the dead. There's chaos and battles with an evil spirit threatening the existence of the souls at the Academy. Souls are trapped. Spells are performed. Some souls are reunited. Some find that light. Some make unexpected choices. Overall it is pretty interesting.

I did struggle with the dialogue. Yes, it is high school, but a lot was just petty arguments and it took away from the plot for me. The story was already a short one, so it felt like wasted time that would be better spent with more adventure and character- development. I did enjoy the teen love story between Alex and Margaret, and another of our soul friends at the Academy as she retold her life and her death.

The narration was pretty good, I did enjoy the cadence and personalities given to each character by the different voices. I did have a time of it being able to tell who was who at first until I really got to know the characters.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars.

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Alex McKenna & the Academy of Souls

Having the gift of sight would probably be helpful, but would it be scary? Imagine you are sleeping and you suddenly wake up to find a ghost sitting on your bed or standing over you, just waiting for you to open your eyes. That would be pretty terrifying for some. For others, it might be entertaining. Who knows. In this world filled with paranormal activity, Alex McKenna is the lead character and Bush has added a little bit of spice to his character. He sees ghosts and solves mysteries! Who doesn’t love that?

This story begins with a little bit about the Academy of Souls and Ophelia’s current state, a ghost. Once dead, she resolved herself to finding her lost sister’s soul instead of letting herself accept the light. She’s had plenty of chances, but without knowing if her sister has found peace too after her soul was taken by a snatcher, she can’t leave the in-between. Locked in an alternate school overlaying an actual school in the living world, she becomes quickly aware of Alex, a boy who can see ghosts, her specifically, and who may have also had contact with her sister. Alex McKenna and his girlfriends/sidekick just unwrapped a horrific mystery, but is all too willing to jump into this one to help Ophelia and friends. It is now just a race against time to find Ophelia’s sister, Haven, but will they be in danger of separating from their souls as they progress?

Bush dives into a ghost realm, filled with creativity and original content. While some scenes are a bit extreme, the overall plot is entertaining. The character development does provide a bit of confusion at times with the multitude of extended mention of frivolous characters that do not contribute to the story-line, but this narrator does not disappoint. Rothenberg does show his skill in his ability to captivate his audience by drawing personalities into the characters that Bush has created with his voice. His narration is entertaining and suits the story quite well. The pace appears to be well kept and steady during voice relay, while the tone of story switches back and forth between a light and more serious setting in the appropriate places. If you are interested in reading YA Paranormal, supernatural mysteries, and suspense, you may want to pick this one up.

An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Alex McKenna & the Academy of Souls by Vicki-Ann Bush.

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