Review – Bridge of Souls (Cassidy Blake, Book 3) by Victoria Schwab (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN-13 : 978-1338574876
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Cassidy Blake series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows . . .

Unless it’s the other way around?

Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while traveling for her parents’ TV show.

But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colorful, grisly local legends. And the city’s biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.”

Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Cassidy Blake series. I bought a copy of this book.

Story (4/5): I have really been enjoying the Cassidy Blake series and this book was really well done. Normally I enjoy the unique international locations but this time we stay in the United States and get to explore the haunted regions of New Orleans. Something has been chasing Cass and Jacob since Paris and they will eventually have to face it down. This is a fast-paced and well done story. I love that we get to explore the haunted history of New Orleans and that we make more progress in understanding what the in-betweeners like Cass can do.

Characters (5/5): Cass is smart and fun and well balanced by her ghostly friend Jacob and her Scottish friend Lara. I love Cass’s interactions with her ghost hunting parents. I enjoyed that we met a whole bunch of new characters in the Society of the Black Cat.

Setting (5/5): The settings are always a big part of what makes these books amazing and this was no exception. New Orleans was a great spooky setting and some of the history here was very fun to learn about. I have been to New Orleans before and to some of the places mentioned in the book, Schwab does an excellent job describing them and helping us picture and feel the atmosphere.

Writing Style (4/5): This is a middle grade novel and is written in a fairly simple style. It’s easy to read and engaging but things wrap up a bit too conveniently and things are a bit too simple at times. That being said I love the atmosphere of this series and really enjoying learning about the supernatural mysteries in these different locations. I also really enjoyed the story is expanded on this time and went beyond Cass solving a simple ghost mystery and had her actually unraveling the secrets of the supernatural world.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book. Every book in this series has been a lot of fun. The characters are well done and I love learning about the different locations. They have a good creepy vibe to them but never get too scary. I was hoping for another international location in this book (since you know, stuck at home all year…pandemic) but New Orleans worked well for the story. The plots are a bit simple but this is aimed at a middle grade audience.