Audiobook Review – The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium, Book 1) by C.J. Archer, Narrated by Gemma Dawson (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 9 hours 27 minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: November 15, 2016
ASIN: B01M2CE9VW
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Emily Chamber Spirit Medium Trilogy
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Audible Escapes
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn’t a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there’s the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father’s death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the ghost assigned to her.

Jacob Beaufort’s spirit has been unable to crossover since his death. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld’s administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there’s nothing simple when a living woman and a dead man fall in love.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Emily Chambers trilogy. I borrowed this audiobook through Audible Escapes.

Story (3/5): This is a pretty typical supernatural historical fantasy. It’s set in London and ghosts and demons are real. I would have liked to learn more about the demons and ghosts and how that all works; but the ghosts we actually get to read about are few and far between and the demon we only see briefly. I did enjoy the mystery behind who enabled the summoning of a shapeshifting demon.

Characters (3/5): The characters all felt a bit vanilla to me, but Jacob and Emily do have good chemistry together. While Emily does occasionally show some pluck, she really lets her sister dominate her most of the time.

Setting (3/5): There wasn’t a lot of work done in world-building here. The setting is pretty typical historical Victorian with some small supernatural elements added.

Writing Style (3/5): The whole thing felt a bit limp and lackluster to me. I felt the same way about Archer’s Glass and Steele series, but decided to give her another chance since this was free to borrow though Audible Escapes. Archer is almost an author I like but I just don’t quite engage with her style.

Summary (3/5): This was an okay book but didn’t really excel at anything. Everything was okay but nothing really grabbed me. I felt the same way about Archer’s Glass and Steele series. I don’t plan on continuing the series.