Review | Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed

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Amber House begins with the funeral of Sarah’s grandmother, a woman she barely knows.  Sarah’s life is in shambles for the most part.  Her parents are “separated,” her mother is an overgrown child who is vindictive and conniving, her father is mainly absent, and her brother has been diagnosed with autism and Sarah seems to be the only one dealing with any of it in any kind of healthy way.  She and her family have come back to Amber House, her grandmother’s estate and a place Sarah has never been before, for the funeral and subsequent auctioning of the house and its contents.  A fact the house doesn’t really care for.

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This story is completely captivating.  Let me just tell you how incredibly riveting it was.  Right now, I am overrun with knitting projects…I mean OVERRUN. I was so desperate to read this novel that I actually listened to it on the text-to-speech function on my Kindle…you know the robot voice that sounds terrible and makes everything awkward and laughable.  Yeah, that’s how good this book was.  

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With three writers I really had my doubts, but these women have brought to life characters, mystery, and a richly complex story that left me dying for more.  At first I thought this would be a straightforward ghost story or something akin to that, however I was delightfully surprised by its depth and “there’s more to it than you think” aspects.  It never stopped surprising me, down to the very last page.  Beyond that, the story is complete and could stand alone but I am SOOOOO glad there will be more.

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So, what did I love so much?  Well, let me tell you.

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First of all, I adored the characters.  Sarah is intense and mature while also being a bit naive at times.  She’s 15 and has had to become a sort of mother figure to both her younger brother and her mother, while still being the daughter and sister.  Her mother has hidden some pretty vital information from her about her family’s history and this leads her down some pretty dark and dangerous trails with some pretty serious consequences.  Sarah’s grown a bit bitter and angsty as well because of the hardness of her mother and absence of her father.  

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Then there’s Jackson.  I loved his character.  Scarred, broken, and deliciously intelligent, Jackson is almost a perfect balance to Sarah’s angst.  Descended from the slaves who had once served at Amber House, he lives with his grandmother in a house which once belonged to the Amber House estate.  His family is as deeply connected to Amber House as Sarah’s and thus he has insight into the history of their intertwining families that has been kept from Sarah for her entire life.  Jackson is hopeful and mysterious.  There is a depth to him that leaves the reader wondering what he’s not saying.  I was intrigued but not always sure if I could trust him.

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Since this is YA, there is of course a bit of a love triangle.  Many times, I roll my eyes at this but it’s done well in Amber House and actually fits into and adds depth to the plot.  It’s not just a device to add tension and drama, it fits into the larger scope of an increasingly complex plot.  You’re always on your toes about who to trust and who to send packing.  =)  So, enter Richard, the rich son of Senator Robert Hathaway (a childhood friend Sarah’s mother).  Sarah is practically pushed into a relationship with him by her mother.  He is sweet and charming and, of course, complete handsome; however, his character was incredibly unsettling to me.  There were moments that made me think he was absolutely adorable.  I would finally get to a point when I thought, now I can trust him.  Then, the next second red flags would fly up and I would be thrown back into the unknown.  It was incredibly riveting never knowing if I liked Jackson or Richard.  It was like a book boy tennis match, in the best way possible.

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Sammy was one of my favorite characters.  Sarah’s little brother is five years old yet has the intuitive nature of a much older child.  Sammy is adventurous, impetuous and totally adores his sister.  He’s been diagnosed with autism and I kept wondering if perhaps something else was going on there.  He was adorable and I loved he and Sarah’s relationship.

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The secondary characters were rich and full as well.  No one was an extra or a cardboard cutout.  Every person was necessary to the story and furthered the plot.  The imagery and descriptions were gorgeous.  Everything about Amber House, its grounds, the surrounding areas and culture were so fully developed I could jump right into the story.  By the end, I was fully vested and ready to see more.

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I can’t fully review this book without mentioning the spiders.  Around Amber House there is a unique species of spiders called the Good Mother.  It’s an incredibly poisonous and rather aggressive spider which I’m going to be honest, spooked me more than the “ghosts.”  I am rather arachnophobic and I still get chills thinking about them.  

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Beyond that, I had one issue with the resolution and I’m extremely curious to see how the authors deal with it in the rest of the trilogy.  I can’t say anything about it without spoiling the book so please if you read it, email me because I would love to discuss it with you!

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Overall, Amber House is a gorgeously written, complexly developed, and enthralling read.  It has wonderfully fresh characters and unique ideas building to a captivating conclusion which left me begging for more.  Recommended to anyone who loves mystery mixed with history.  Absolutely cannot wait for the next installment of this lovely series.

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Happy Reading!