Deception: A Haunting Emma Novel by Lee Nichols + Giveaway!!

Release Date: June 8, 2010 from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Source: From Publicist

Synopsis:

When Emma Vaile's parents disappear on a mysterious business trip, her life begins to unravel. The eerie visions she had as a child return, her best friend abandons her, and a new friend notifies social services that she is living alone. Enter Bennett Stern, her older brother's best friend and Emma's knight in J. Crew armor. Bennett whisks Emma away to New England to live in his family's museum-like mansion and attend Thatcher, and old-fashioned private school.

Emma makes friends with the popular legacy crowd quickly and spends her free time crushing on Bennett. But the haunting visions are only getting worse. Emma has memories of Thatcher she can't explain--it's as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Bennett finally confides that he and Emma are ghostkeepers, people who can communicate with ghosts. He's been keeping Emma close to protect her, but now Bennett needs her help tracking an other-worldly murderer.

Mystery, tradition, and forbidden romance make Deception the perfect read for fans of series like Kate Brian's Private and paranormal fans.

I'm so glad that synopsis mentioned the Private series, because I couldn't help but be reminded of that series while reading Deception. That's a good thing though, trust me, the Private series is one of the few "rich kid" series that I can handle, so the similarities were much enjoyed.

Deception is a fun read. You'd think by now, with all the paranormal books filling the YA market, that I would have seen or read it all. Each time I think I'm starting to get tired of paranormals, along comes another enjoyable read like Deception and it pulls me back in. I love a good ghost story to begin with, and this one puts a whole new spin on the creepy haunted mansion thing.

I have to admit that the characters are one thing that made this such a joy to read. I really love Emma. I think she's a fantastic character who's trying to work her way through a tough situation. First her parents go missing, then she starts seeing things, has to face some hard truths about herself, and most horrifyingly, ends up in a private school with a bunch of snobby snobs. She remains relatively cool throughout though. I just really relished reading and learning more about this character. She's flawed, fun, and completely down to earth.

I definitely recommend Deception. It was one of those nice little surprises that I'm really glad I picked up and read. I look forward to the next book, in what I'm assuming is going to be a series. I can't wait to see what challenges Emma has to face next, or what new secrets she uncovers.


If you'd like to enter Emma's world yourself, I've been offered two copies of Deception to give away to two lucky readers.

If you'd like to enter, simply leave a comment below including your e-mail address. The contest is open to the U.S. only, and ends on June 14th.