Review – Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 192 pages
Publisher: Tor.com
Release Date: January 10, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0765391421
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“When her sister Patty died, Jenna blamed herself. When Jenna died, she blamed herself for that, too. Unfortunately Jenna died too soon. Living or dead, every soul is promised a certain amount of time, and when Jenna passed she found a heavy debt of time in her record. Unwilling to simply steal that time from the living, Jenna earns every day she leeches with volunteer work at a suicide prevention hotline.

But something has come for the ghosts of New York, something beyond reason, beyond death, beyond hope; something that can bind ghosts to mirrors and make them do its bidding. Only Jenna stands in its way.”

I got this book to review through NetGalley. This is a short and quick ghost story that was well done. I ended up enjoying it a lot. It’s beautifully written and very creative.

There are two main things that drive this story. The first is concept that everything has a “time” it’s supposed to die. If it dies early than it can give time to living people in order to get closer to its death date and eventually pass. Ghosts can also take time from living humans to extend the time to their own death date and visa versa…humans can trap ghosts and steal their time extending their lives but forcing the ghost to it’s death date quickly. It’s a concept that is a bit confusing at first but it’s very creative and makes for an intriguing story.

The second thing that drives this story is the mystery as to why ghosts have started disappearing all around New York. Jenna is a ghost who is committed to helping people and for every minute she helps someone and gives them more life she moves closer to her final death.

The book is thoughtful and beautifully written with occasional humor throughout. It flows well and is a quick read and I enjoyed it. This is a story that really makes you think about the lines between life and death.

Overall I enjoyed this little urban fantasy ghost story a lot. It was creative, fast-paced, thought-provoking, had a great mystery, and was engaging. I would recommend to those who enjoy ghost stories.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge