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Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #1
The Medium
Seventeen year-old 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 dead boy assigned to her.
Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death several months ago. 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 live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
THE MEDIUM is the first book in the bestselling EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY.
Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death several months ago. 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 live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
THE MEDIUM is the first book in the bestselling EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY.
260 pages, ebook
First published June 30, 2012
About the author
C.J. Archer
145 books6,002 followersC.J. Archer is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of historical mystery and historical fantasy novels including the GLASS AND STEELE series, the CLEOPATRA FOX MYSTERIES, the MINISTRY OF CURIOSITIES and THE GLASS LIBRARY series.
She has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.
Subscribe to C.J.'s newsletter to be notified when she releases a new book. Join via her website: www.cjarcher.com
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She has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.
Subscribe to C.J.'s newsletter to be notified when she releases a new book. Join via her website: www.cjarcher.com
You can follow her on social media to get the latest updates on her books:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CJArcherAuthorPage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcjarc...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 574 reviews
April 10, 2018
The Medium
Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Series, Book 1
By: C. J. Archer
Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
This was a great mystery, ghost story, romance, and more! Our gal of the story is a medium in a time when mediums were everywhere and they finding out they were frauds. But our gal is real. As a teen, with only her older sister, they make a living helping people. One day a handsome man comes as a warning, a demon has be set free due to something her sister said while holding a cursed necklace. Of course they didn't know. The young man is a ghost and only she can see him. He is assigned to help with the problem. He is just about her age and died recently but doesn't know how. A wonderful story and so many mysteries to solve. A love story that rips your heart out. So good!
The narrator is so good! The perfect light touch for a ghost story! Loved it all!
Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Series, Book 1
By: C. J. Archer
Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
This was a great mystery, ghost story, romance, and more! Our gal of the story is a medium in a time when mediums were everywhere and they finding out they were frauds. But our gal is real. As a teen, with only her older sister, they make a living helping people. One day a handsome man comes as a warning, a demon has be set free due to something her sister said while holding a cursed necklace. Of course they didn't know. The young man is a ghost and only she can see him. He is assigned to help with the problem. He is just about her age and died recently but doesn't know how. A wonderful story and so many mysteries to solve. A love story that rips your heart out. So good!
The narrator is so good! The perfect light touch for a ghost story! Loved it all!
May 23, 2013
This was a fantastic freebie from Amazon - if you haven't downloaded it yet, go get it now. I think it's a love-it or hate-it book and I know I definitely love it and will certainly re-read it in the future.
I knew I'd enjoy this book simply from the cover and blurb - historical fantasy set in London with ghosts? I'm sold. There's something about ghosts in London that seems to have me hooked at the moment, regardless of any other genres, and this book does it SO SO WELL.
I never thought when I started this book that I'd get so caught up in the plot. From the impossible romance (which I'm still rooting for!) to the twisting mystery of whodunnit, I couldn't get enough. There are characters to love, like, dislike and hate, and plenty of quirks had me smiling. But my goodness, did it have me craving a nice cup (pot?) of tea!
“Tell me you won't go, tell me you'll stay forever, tell me you love me.”
This book wraps up well and can be read on its own and you'll be satisfied enough, but I know I'm itching to get the second one already.
I read this after reading The Wrong Girl and kind of wish I'd read this one first. C.J. Archer's writing is good in this book but in The Wrong Girl is simply amazing, you can really track her development as a writer.
July pick for MB Book Club
I knew I'd enjoy this book simply from the cover and blurb - historical fantasy set in London with ghosts? I'm sold. There's something about ghosts in London that seems to have me hooked at the moment, regardless of any other genres, and this book does it SO SO WELL.
I never thought when I started this book that I'd get so caught up in the plot. From the impossible romance (which I'm still rooting for!) to the twisting mystery of whodunnit, I couldn't get enough. There are characters to love, like, dislike and hate, and plenty of quirks had me smiling. But my goodness, did it have me craving a nice cup (pot?) of tea!
“Tell me you won't go, tell me you'll stay forever, tell me you love me.”
This book wraps up well and can be read on its own and you'll be satisfied enough, but I know I'm itching to get the second one already.
I read this after reading The Wrong Girl and kind of wish I'd read this one first. C.J. Archer's writing is good in this book but in The Wrong Girl is simply amazing, you can really track her development as a writer.
July pick for MB Book Club
March 2, 2019
I really enjoy C J Archer’s Ministry of Curiosities series so was keen to try the rest of her writing. This was an enjoyable read but there was too much teenaged angst for my liking. I’m still keen to see what else she’s written though.
December 29, 2012
Summary:
-A demon is released in to the world under very weak pretenses
-Hot ghost meets feisty spirit medium to track it down, instantly and inexplicably they fall in love
-Hot ghost and spirit medium spend the bulk of the book walking around, talking to the same 3 people over and over, and seem to forget at times that there is a demon on the loose killing people
-In between walks, angst ensues. Jacob claims he is dangerous, Emily disagrees, Jacob proves he is dangerous, Emily doesn't care. Moral of the story: Death threats are a-ok in a relationship as long as it's TrueLove™.
-Everything is wrapped up in a bland little bow with enough strings loose to drag it out to another book.
In conclusion: If all you want is romance without substance, you will probably enjoy this much more than I did. There was potential for a good story here though. When they aren't lovesick and lust-struck, I enjoyed the characters. Perhaps the series does improve, though I doubt I will read book 2 unless it's another kindle freebie.
-A demon is released in to the world under very weak pretenses
-Hot ghost meets feisty spirit medium to track it down, instantly and inexplicably they fall in love
-Hot ghost and spirit medium spend the bulk of the book walking around, talking to the same 3 people over and over, and seem to forget at times that there is a demon on the loose killing people
-In between walks, angst ensues. Jacob claims he is dangerous, Emily disagrees, Jacob proves he is dangerous, Emily doesn't care. Moral of the story: Death threats are a-ok in a relationship as long as it's TrueLove™.
-Everything is wrapped up in a bland little bow with enough strings loose to drag it out to another book.
In conclusion: If all you want is romance without substance, you will probably enjoy this much more than I did. There was potential for a good story here though. When they aren't lovesick and lust-struck, I enjoyed the characters. Perhaps the series does improve, though I doubt I will read book 2 unless it's another kindle freebie.
February 28, 2018
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m not too sure my feelings on this book, it wasn’t terrible but it didn’t blow me away either.
The writing was good and I enjoyed the characters.
I’m not too sure my feelings on this book, it wasn’t terrible but it didn’t blow me away either.
The writing was good and I enjoyed the characters.
January 6, 2017
This book was SO FRUSTRATING!!! In a broad sense, the plot seems interesting. A demon is released into the world and a "handsome" spirit and medium team up to figure out what's going on. Well it wasn't great. The writing itself was very simple, I didn't really feel any connection to ANY of the characters, it seemed like all they did was walk around and question the same people over and over again. Not to mention this weird relationship that Jacob and Emily have. Cool...he's a handsome ghost...but you're in love? REALLY?!?! Kind of silly and I probably won't be finishing the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2013
(This review may contain spoilers).
Okay, so I wound up with a headache after reading this book. In comparison to the rest of the books on my Kindle, the writing here was tiny. That having been said, I did enjoy reading the book... but it's not as good as I hoped it would be.
Emily was kind of irritating. She didn't seem to fit in with the time she lived in. I also thought that she came across as really selfish when she completely discounted Jacob's wishes about his family... about everything, really. She came across as much younger than she was supposed to be, despite the fact that, in that time, she would have had to grow up pretty quickly.
I did like Jacob. And I liked the story up until the point where Emily and Jacob decided they were in love. After two and a half days. (I am sick to death of insta!romances). Frankly, Emily didn't have the emotional maturity for any kind of relationship. And Jacob's a ghost.
I liked the interaction involving Jacob and George. I don't think Emily should have been the main character. I personally feel that she should have just had a minor appearance - and the relationship should take more than two and a half days, particularly since one half of the couple is a ghost who, frankly, came across as quite scary at certain points.
I don't know if I'll read the next book in the series or not. To be honest, I felt sorry for Celia, who had to deal with a very self-centred sister who ignored all of the efforts her sister made to help her.
Okay, so I wound up with a headache after reading this book. In comparison to the rest of the books on my Kindle, the writing here was tiny. That having been said, I did enjoy reading the book... but it's not as good as I hoped it would be.
Emily was kind of irritating. She didn't seem to fit in with the time she lived in. I also thought that she came across as really selfish when she completely discounted Jacob's wishes about his family... about everything, really. She came across as much younger than she was supposed to be, despite the fact that, in that time, she would have had to grow up pretty quickly.
I did like Jacob. And I liked the story up until the point where Emily and Jacob decided they were in love. After two and a half days. (I am sick to death of insta!romances). Frankly, Emily didn't have the emotional maturity for any kind of relationship. And Jacob's a ghost.
I liked the interaction involving Jacob and George. I don't think Emily should have been the main character. I personally feel that she should have just had a minor appearance - and the relationship should take more than two and a half days, particularly since one half of the couple is a ghost who, frankly, came across as quite scary at certain points.
I don't know if I'll read the next book in the series or not. To be honest, I felt sorry for Celia, who had to deal with a very self-centred sister who ignored all of the efforts her sister made to help her.
September 6, 2021
This was a love story between a Medium and a ghost. I mean, it also was a story about releasing a demon into London and tracking it to return it to whence it came, but a love story, too.
I did enjoy the story and would like to read the next in the series. If you like paranormal love stories, then this is an interesting one to read.
I did enjoy the story and would like to read the next in the series. If you like paranormal love stories, then this is an interesting one to read.
February 14, 2020
I really enjoyed this story about a girl who can contact the spirit world. One day, she contacts a ghost and they develop a really strong relationship - they fall in love. What's a girl and a ghost to do? I liked the dynamics of the story, and the narration by Gemma Dawson was on point.
February 28, 2018
I was thinking about this book!!! I need to reread it and read the rest of the series. I remember really enjoying it.
March 27, 2019
This book was great... except for the way that the MC always needed saving. I mean it was set in the olden days but come on girl, be your own woman and save yourself...
The Medium is about a girl who is literally a medium. She sees, communicates with and can summon ghosts. This is her living, and then one day her sister release a demon - accidentally - and she meets a ghost boy who's sent down to help recover the demon. She and ghost boy have the typical love story about the difficulties of loving a ghost and crap, but at least the story was entertaining. The book was fun to read and it was interesting for me when I was bored and procrastinating my homework.
Thanks to amazon kindle and C.J. Archer for the free copy!
The Medium is about a girl who is literally a medium. She sees, communicates with and can summon ghosts. This is her living, and then one day her sister release a demon - accidentally - and she meets a ghost boy who's sent down to help recover the demon. She and ghost boy have the typical love story about the difficulties of loving a ghost and crap, but at least the story was entertaining. The book was fun to read and it was interesting for me when I was bored and procrastinating my homework.
Thanks to amazon kindle and C.J. Archer for the free copy!
February 16, 2020
MY THOUGHTS
This is one of my ebook freebies from 2013. Even after seven years, I still like reading books about ghosts and those who see them, but this book just fell flat in terms of plot and romance.
Emily is a spirit medium in Victorian England, well-known for her ability to talk to ghosts. When her older sister uses an amulet during a seance, thinking it will help, she unknowingly summons a demon. Now Emily must stop the demon from causing trouble all with the help of Jacob, a young man who died a mysterious death.
When I first started this book it was intriguing enough to keep going. I expected this to be the typical "girl who sees ghosts" book and I thought it would be a good, quick read. This was a quick read, but the further I got into the book the more I realized that this book didn't really have a focused plot. By the time I fully realized this, I was too far into the book to give up.
So, the basic plot is that Emily must stop a demon. The problem with this plot is that the book never stayed focused on this plot. She runs around London trying to track down information on the demon and who is trying to control the demon. She questions people over and over again and Emily makes it seem like she's learning stuff, but as a reader, we still don't know anything so we can't really solve the mystery with her. There isn't enough worldbuilding of the ghost world to understand things. The demon can shapeshift and saying nonsense words controls the demon, but we don't know more beyond that and it is never explained. For most of the book, there really isn't any tension. Even though Emily claims she's trying to stop the demon, it's in the background for most of the book.
Subplots take more center-stage than the actual plot. Most of the subplots are supposed to be tied to the main plot but, once again, none of them go anywhere. It was so frustrating! It started out interesting, but by the end, I was just tired of the lack of focus in the story! For instance, there is Jacob's mysterious death. Emily wants to find out more about how Jacob died, and even wants to tell his family that Jacob is dead! None of this fits with the rest of the plot!
What really takes over the story is the romance and I was not a fan of the romance. Emily is running around with Jacob, a hot eighteen-year-old ghost. The romance is very quick, almost insta-love. They do have a sort-of friendship when they first meet, but it very quickly turns into I love yous. There is no in-between dial and it was both jarring and uncomfortable to see how they suddenly wanted to be with each other after only knowing each other for a couple of days. It didn't help that I felt no chemistry between them and that Jacob's character got progressively violent as the book went on.
ON CONCLUSION
Overall, I just wish the book focused more on the demon plot and built more on giving the reader information, rather than focusing on the cliche romance and Emily running around questioning people. I think the book had that potential at the beginning and up until about the midway point this was a solid 3-star book, but it lost me as I read further. I don't intend on reading more in the series.
March 24, 2014
4/1 - 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous, so I'm marking it at four on GR. An enjoyable YA ghost story with a few flaws - editing, a cliff hanger ending, and finishing at 92% are the reasons I can't give this five stars.
First to the editing, on page 41
'His study was still in tact...'
Intact is one word.
On page 105
'I ...don' begrudge the expense...'
don' is missing the 'T' to make it 'don't'.
On page 120
'...treading on my toes so as not to make a sound.'
That sounds way too much like she's stepped on her own toes, rather than that she's creeping down a hallway trying to be silent.
On page 137
'...has nothing to with nobility...'
The word 'do' is missing between 'to' and 'with'.
On page 142
'...desire to kiss him again swelled within me.'
The use of 'again' denotes the idea that Jacob and Emily had kissed prior to this sentence, they hadn't. If a comma had been used after 'him' the sentence would make much more sense.
On page 241
'...and monetarily separated the thin curtain'
That should be 'momentarily'.
Editing-wise, this was better than a lot of the Kindle books out there, but it was far from complete.
Possible spoilers (may only turn out to be guesses regarding the plot, hopefully something will be revealed in the next book)
The story was a nice surprise (although the fact that I'm now surprised when a Kindle book is good, isn't a good thing). This had a bit of a Ghost Whisperer vibe to it which provided some opportunities for a few chuckles. Imagining the interactions between Emily and the ghosts as viewed by outsiders who couldn't see the ghosts and could only see the objects they held up to give their location made me laugh out loud a couple of times.
By around chapter ten I began to think that maybe Jacob isn't actually dead, he's just in some kind of deep coma and that's why he appears so solid to Emily and can't remember anything about his 'death'. Also, if he's not dead then there's some hope for him and Emily having a future together. If he's dead this series is kind of depressing and pointless because Emily has already professed her undying love for Jacob and claims there will never be another. Where can the series go if he is indeed dead?
I will read the next book in the series, but will wait till it's a good price. Considering what I've discussed in this review I wouldn't want to pay more than $2 for a sequel that may have the same problems as this one did. This was free, so I consider that a win.
2016 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A Book Recommended by Someone you Just Met
First to the editing, on page 41
'His study was still in tact...'
Intact is one word.
On page 105
'I ...don' begrudge the expense...'
don' is missing the 'T' to make it 'don't'.
On page 120
'...treading on my toes so as not to make a sound.'
That sounds way too much like she's stepped on her own toes, rather than that she's creeping down a hallway trying to be silent.
On page 137
'...has nothing to with nobility...'
The word 'do' is missing between 'to' and 'with'.
On page 142
'...desire to kiss him again swelled within me.'
The use of 'again' denotes the idea that Jacob and Emily had kissed prior to this sentence, they hadn't. If a comma had been used after 'him' the sentence would make much more sense.
On page 241
'...and monetarily separated the thin curtain'
That should be 'momentarily'.
Editing-wise, this was better than a lot of the Kindle books out there, but it was far from complete.
Possible spoilers (may only turn out to be guesses regarding the plot, hopefully something will be revealed in the next book)
The story was a nice surprise (although the fact that I'm now surprised when a Kindle book is good, isn't a good thing). This had a bit of a Ghost Whisperer vibe to it which provided some opportunities for a few chuckles. Imagining the interactions between Emily and the ghosts as viewed by outsiders who couldn't see the ghosts and could only see the objects they held up to give their location made me laugh out loud a couple of times.
By around chapter ten I began to think that maybe Jacob isn't actually dead, he's just in some kind of deep coma and that's why he appears so solid to Emily and can't remember anything about his 'death'. Also, if he's not dead then there's some hope for him and Emily having a future together. If he's dead this series is kind of depressing and pointless because Emily has already professed her undying love for Jacob and claims there will never be another. Where can the series go if he is indeed dead?
I will read the next book in the series, but will wait till it's a good price. Considering what I've discussed in this review I wouldn't want to pay more than $2 for a sequel that may have the same problems as this one did. This was free, so I consider that a win.
2016 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A Book Recommended by Someone you Just Met
January 28, 2020
Seventeen year-old 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 dead boy 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 live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
3.5 stars. This is the first book in a YA paranormal trilogy. I'm a sucker for stories about ghosts, so this was right up my alley. Overall I really liked this. I thought Emily was very likable, and Jacob as well, even though he got grumpy a few times.
I was a little disappointed that Emily and Jacob didn't take a more active role in chasing the demon down and finding it's victims. I was expecting more demon hunting than we got. Instead they end up investigating who summoned the demon instead of hunting it down. I guess that was a logical way to eventually find it, but it lacked the demon hunting action I was looking for.
The romance in the story was pretty good. I liked the forbidden love aspect of a living girl and a ghost falling for each other, and the fact that Emily is able to actually touch Jacob as well, worked nicely in the story, otherwise the romance would have been very limited. That being said this was a clean romance with nothing more than kissing. It is YA, so I wasn't expecting more than that.
The story ends on a cliffhanger so I'm definitely reading the next book.
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 live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
3.5 stars. This is the first book in a YA paranormal trilogy. I'm a sucker for stories about ghosts, so this was right up my alley. Overall I really liked this. I thought Emily was very likable, and Jacob as well, even though he got grumpy a few times.
I was a little disappointed that Emily and Jacob didn't take a more active role in chasing the demon down and finding it's victims. I was expecting more demon hunting than we got. Instead they end up investigating who summoned the demon instead of hunting it down. I guess that was a logical way to eventually find it, but it lacked the demon hunting action I was looking for.
The romance in the story was pretty good. I liked the forbidden love aspect of a living girl and a ghost falling for each other, and the fact that Emily is able to actually touch Jacob as well, worked nicely in the story, otherwise the romance would have been very limited. That being said this was a clean romance with nothing more than kissing. It is YA, so I wasn't expecting more than that.
The story ends on a cliffhanger so I'm definitely reading the next book.
September 23, 2012
I'm not really sure what to so say about this one. Everything was just meh. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't good either. The inst-love was really disappointing, and the plot itself, felt like there was something missing. It was all just resolved so quickly. I know it's not completely resolved per se (saw that one coming a mile away) but it still felt rushed somehow. The only redeeming quality were the characters, they were all actually pretty well written, but needless to say I won't be continuing this series.
July 10, 2017
I loved this book so much, I didn't want it to end! Engrossing, well-written story with fleshed out characters. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5 stars
My Rating: 5 stars
September 29, 2020
The Medium follows a sixteen years old medium who has to deal with the escape of a shape-shifting demon but also a ghost who has a mysterious past. He's her age and handsome but he also has a mysterious past and we have no idea how he died. Well, we know he was murdered but that's it. Jacob hasn't been able to pass over and when the two start to have feelings for each other, it might be a bit complicated. A romance with a ghost seem a bit weird but in this case she can talk and touch him.
For me, this book was pretty quick to listen to and I found the story interesting. I wanted to find out the truth but the ending still leaves us with unanswered questions. It's the first in a series so that's not really surprising. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not. We'll see!
For me, this book was pretty quick to listen to and I found the story interesting. I wanted to find out the truth but the ending still leaves us with unanswered questions. It's the first in a series so that's not really surprising. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not. We'll see!
September 9, 2012
I would like to thank the author for giving me a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings when it comes to The Medium. On the one hand, I found myself enjoying the plot, but on the other hand, I disliked the romance between Emily and Jacob. Considering the story mainly focuses on Emily and Jacob’s relationship, I’m surprised I didn’t wind up disliking it. With that said, I’d probably give this a 3.5 if half stars existed. I chose to round up because it’s more on the like than dislike side of things.
Let’s start off with the good. I felt the plot was a fairly strong one. It’s more of a mystery than an action novel, which has its high and low points. Things followed a logical order and were interesting. However, I was kind of expecting a bit more confrontation. There’s a demon on the lose and as the book progressed, I found it hard to consider it all that terrible of a threat since it only wound up killing a few people. Granted, it’s being controlled so it can’t go on a killing spree per se, but in the beginning it makes it sound like all hell will break loose because of this demon and that doesn’t really happen. It’s kind of...well, tame. I was also expecting the main characters to be attacked at some point. With all their digging around, it’s surprising the villains never thought of trying to kill ‘em off. This is slightly made up for in the end fight scenes, as they were satisfactory and provided the life and death tension I’d been waiting for. Overall, it was a fun mystery and I think the main reason the plot has me so enthralled is because I don’t quite understand the motive of the villains. Why are they doing what they’re doing? This isn’t really answered and I’m assuming it will be later on, which is what would entice me to read the rest of the series.
As for the individual characters, I liked them. Emily started out strong and I loved her despite all her contemplation over how attractive Jacob was. However, from Chapter 11 onwards she semi-annoyed me since the love portion of the story had been kicked up to the max and... well, this ties in with my issues about the romance, which I’ll get to in a bit. As for Jacob, he was okay, yet he lacked a bit of depth. Throughout the whole book he’s pretty much described as being kind and amazing, with his only real flaw being the fact he was self-absorbed. Also, for a good majority of the book, he comes off as highly jealous towards the interactions between George and Emily to the point where it even seems a tad possessive. So, I’m still not sure whether I firmly dislike or like him yet. I’d have to read on to gain a better feel for who he is.
In regards to their romance...I knew from the start I most likely wasn’t going to wind up rooting for them to be together. I was really interested to see how the ghost aspect got handled, yet their relationship wound up following the popular formula used in almost all YA novels nowadays. Jacob is hot. Emily pretty much appeared to only like him because of this as that’s mainly what she fixated on when it came to him. The two of them are drawn to each other like magnets. Emily is self-conscious about her looks and doesn’t think she’s attractive, which leads her to think she isn’t good enough for Jacob. And, well, you get the picture. Still, while their love didn’t inspire or move me, it didn’t bother me until chapter 11. That’s when both of them essentially confess their love for one another and argue about how they can’t be together. Now, call me crazy, but they’ve known each other for two days and already they’re discussing the long term future. I get that him being a ghost is problematic and is something that needs to be hashed out, but the whole thing came off rather melodramatic to me. Probably because it moved way too fast. I felt this would have worked better if the time that had transpired in the book was longer and if all the angsty-ness of the romance had been strewn throughout the chapters, rather than focused mainly in chapter 11. Overall, I would have loved if this romance took a different path than the predictable one I’ve read a million times already. I’m probably coming off a bit too harsh, but it’s most likely due to the fact I’ve read quite a few YA books recently and have been told this same love story over and over. They begin to blend into one another and I’m just waiting for something unique.
So, in the end, I’d recommend The Medium because, despite its lacking romance, the rest of the story is terrific. I also have to note that the grammar in this was professional level. I normally overlook the minor mistakes a lot of self-published books have, but the errors in this book were nearly nonexistent. I’ll most likely read on as I’m curious to see what direction the mystery aspect of the story line heads in.
I have mixed feelings when it comes to The Medium. On the one hand, I found myself enjoying the plot, but on the other hand, I disliked the romance between Emily and Jacob. Considering the story mainly focuses on Emily and Jacob’s relationship, I’m surprised I didn’t wind up disliking it. With that said, I’d probably give this a 3.5 if half stars existed. I chose to round up because it’s more on the like than dislike side of things.
Let’s start off with the good. I felt the plot was a fairly strong one. It’s more of a mystery than an action novel, which has its high and low points. Things followed a logical order and were interesting. However, I was kind of expecting a bit more confrontation. There’s a demon on the lose and as the book progressed, I found it hard to consider it all that terrible of a threat since it only wound up killing a few people. Granted, it’s being controlled so it can’t go on a killing spree per se, but in the beginning it makes it sound like all hell will break loose because of this demon and that doesn’t really happen. It’s kind of...well, tame. I was also expecting the main characters to be attacked at some point. With all their digging around, it’s surprising the villains never thought of trying to kill ‘em off. This is slightly made up for in the end fight scenes, as they were satisfactory and provided the life and death tension I’d been waiting for. Overall, it was a fun mystery and I think the main reason the plot has me so enthralled is because I don’t quite understand the motive of the villains. Why are they doing what they’re doing? This isn’t really answered and I’m assuming it will be later on, which is what would entice me to read the rest of the series.
As for the individual characters, I liked them. Emily started out strong and I loved her despite all her contemplation over how attractive Jacob was. However, from Chapter 11 onwards she semi-annoyed me since the love portion of the story had been kicked up to the max and... well, this ties in with my issues about the romance, which I’ll get to in a bit. As for Jacob, he was okay, yet he lacked a bit of depth. Throughout the whole book he’s pretty much described as being kind and amazing, with his only real flaw being the fact he was self-absorbed. Also, for a good majority of the book, he comes off as highly jealous towards the interactions between George and Emily to the point where it even seems a tad possessive. So, I’m still not sure whether I firmly dislike or like him yet. I’d have to read on to gain a better feel for who he is.
In regards to their romance...I knew from the start I most likely wasn’t going to wind up rooting for them to be together. I was really interested to see how the ghost aspect got handled, yet their relationship wound up following the popular formula used in almost all YA novels nowadays. Jacob is hot. Emily pretty much appeared to only like him because of this as that’s mainly what she fixated on when it came to him. The two of them are drawn to each other like magnets. Emily is self-conscious about her looks and doesn’t think she’s attractive, which leads her to think she isn’t good enough for Jacob. And, well, you get the picture. Still, while their love didn’t inspire or move me, it didn’t bother me until chapter 11. That’s when both of them essentially confess their love for one another and argue about how they can’t be together. Now, call me crazy, but they’ve known each other for two days and already they’re discussing the long term future. I get that him being a ghost is problematic and is something that needs to be hashed out, but the whole thing came off rather melodramatic to me. Probably because it moved way too fast. I felt this would have worked better if the time that had transpired in the book was longer and if all the angsty-ness of the romance had been strewn throughout the chapters, rather than focused mainly in chapter 11. Overall, I would have loved if this romance took a different path than the predictable one I’ve read a million times already. I’m probably coming off a bit too harsh, but it’s most likely due to the fact I’ve read quite a few YA books recently and have been told this same love story over and over. They begin to blend into one another and I’m just waiting for something unique.
So, in the end, I’d recommend The Medium because, despite its lacking romance, the rest of the story is terrific. I also have to note that the grammar in this was professional level. I normally overlook the minor mistakes a lot of self-published books have, but the errors in this book were nearly nonexistent. I’ll most likely read on as I’m curious to see what direction the mystery aspect of the story line heads in.
June 13, 2013
This review was originally posted on Young Adult At Heart
SUMMARY
Emily Chambers is a seventeen year old orphaned spirit medium who lives with her older sister in Regency London.
PLOT
When Emily and her sister accidentally unleash a shapeshifting murderous demon from another dimension on London, the Administrators from the Waiting Area send a solid ghost called Jacob to Emily to help defeat the demon. But Jacob has secrets of his own, and Emily is determined to help find his killer.
I love how slow these books are forced to move plot wise because no one’s got a telephone and the characters have to walk everywhere to ask their suspects questions. While light on plot, this book is strong on character development, and especially on the romantic development that quickly happens between Emily and Jacob. Jacob is possibly the most handsome man Emily has ever seen, and since she’s only seventeen with all the emotional maturity of a teaspoon, she falls head over heels in love with him, even though sometimes he’s borderline abusive when he gets mad or orders her around and sometimes quite childish when he disappears on her.
CHARACTERS
Emily is our resident spirit medium. Not only is she an orphaned seventeen year old girl in Regency London, but she’s also mixed-race and not nearly pale enough to pass off as white. Luckily her sister, Celia, is white, and the two live very modestly as barely middle-class workers, charging to Emily to hold séances. Because of the nature of the business, most people think it is light entertainment or possibly fraud.
Celia is Emily’s overprotective big sister by about sixteen or so years. Too old to settle down and get married, her main goal in life is to marry off Emily and to keep her away from Jacob because obviously, what with him being dead and all, they can’t be together.
Jacob is Emily’s resident ghost, a young man who was unfortunately killed in a twisted revenge plot. For some reason he is much more solid than other ghosts, to the point where he and Emily could be intimate, if they wanted to be. He falls in love with Emily, too, and finds her exotic looks beautiful, and her brain smart and interesting.
WRITING
I love the writing in CJ’s books. Even though CJ is Australian, I always read them with very distinct English accents in place. I love the words CJ uses to describe the settings and fashion. I love the dialogue. I love the manners and the wit used against foes. I love how the genre is a mashed-together mix of historical, paranormal, urban fantasy Young Adult kind of thing.
PACING
Probably the only thing I don’t really enjoy about this book is the repetitive tendency to have to find someone’s address, approach them, interview them, and possibly return because they didn’t tell the truth the first time. After a while it gets slightly tedious. Also, the romance sometimes gets in the way of ‘there’s a murdering demon loose in London and we’ve got to stop it.’
OVERALL
I really enjoyed The Medium and I do wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes mash-up genres, historical, paranormal, romance and YA.
SUMMARY
Emily Chambers is a seventeen year old orphaned spirit medium who lives with her older sister in Regency London.
PLOT
When Emily and her sister accidentally unleash a shapeshifting murderous demon from another dimension on London, the Administrators from the Waiting Area send a solid ghost called Jacob to Emily to help defeat the demon. But Jacob has secrets of his own, and Emily is determined to help find his killer.
I love how slow these books are forced to move plot wise because no one’s got a telephone and the characters have to walk everywhere to ask their suspects questions. While light on plot, this book is strong on character development, and especially on the romantic development that quickly happens between Emily and Jacob. Jacob is possibly the most handsome man Emily has ever seen, and since she’s only seventeen with all the emotional maturity of a teaspoon, she falls head over heels in love with him, even though sometimes he’s borderline abusive when he gets mad or orders her around and sometimes quite childish when he disappears on her.
CHARACTERS
Emily is our resident spirit medium. Not only is she an orphaned seventeen year old girl in Regency London, but she’s also mixed-race and not nearly pale enough to pass off as white. Luckily her sister, Celia, is white, and the two live very modestly as barely middle-class workers, charging to Emily to hold séances. Because of the nature of the business, most people think it is light entertainment or possibly fraud.
Celia is Emily’s overprotective big sister by about sixteen or so years. Too old to settle down and get married, her main goal in life is to marry off Emily and to keep her away from Jacob because obviously, what with him being dead and all, they can’t be together.
Jacob is Emily’s resident ghost, a young man who was unfortunately killed in a twisted revenge plot. For some reason he is much more solid than other ghosts, to the point where he and Emily could be intimate, if they wanted to be. He falls in love with Emily, too, and finds her exotic looks beautiful, and her brain smart and interesting.
WRITING
I love the writing in CJ’s books. Even though CJ is Australian, I always read them with very distinct English accents in place. I love the words CJ uses to describe the settings and fashion. I love the dialogue. I love the manners and the wit used against foes. I love how the genre is a mashed-together mix of historical, paranormal, urban fantasy Young Adult kind of thing.
PACING
Probably the only thing I don’t really enjoy about this book is the repetitive tendency to have to find someone’s address, approach them, interview them, and possibly return because they didn’t tell the truth the first time. After a while it gets slightly tedious. Also, the romance sometimes gets in the way of ‘there’s a murdering demon loose in London and we’ve got to stop it.’
OVERALL
I really enjoyed The Medium and I do wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes mash-up genres, historical, paranormal, romance and YA.
Read
March 23, 2014The Medium (An Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Novel)
Series: The Emily Chambers Spirit Medium, Book 1
By CJ Archer
4.5 stars
Seventeen year-old 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 dead boy 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 live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
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September 25, 2016
This book plods along and doesn't ever really fulfill itself as a romance or a mystery. There was no real character development. I wasn't rooting for the main characters and their romance because honestly I found them to be annoying. I found myself just skimming the pages towards the end to just discover who the bad guy was. This was the only part of the book done well, the author doesn't wrap up the story in book one. However, it was a like eating an overly sweet dessert too sugary and unsatisfying for me to take another bite with book two.
October 20, 2017
This book suffers from what I always fear in my own writing - a great idea that isn't quite fleshed out enough. I loved the concept of this book, but I felt like it needed more.. more description, more time for the development of the story and, especially, more time for evolution of the romance. This story feels rushed, which is a shame because the ideas were so good!
I think a good editor or even just a reader could have helped the author with suggestions that would have helped so much!
I think a good editor or even just a reader could have helped the author with suggestions that would have helped so much!
March 9, 2019
RATING: 4 STARS
I really enjoyed this book. I do have my theory on the corporeal ghost. ;) A great YA read.
I really enjoyed this book. I do have my theory on the corporeal ghost. ;) A great YA read.
February 15, 2017
"Stop being so.... male!"
The writing is ok... but the characters and dialogues are abysmal.... they really are, the lack any real meaning or depth, and I have now idea how I stuck with it so long. The mystery isn't even that interesting, I was hoping for a good book about Victorian Era paranormal investigation, but I was seriously disappointed.
If you're used to good books and enjoy victorian era paranormal investigation, chuck this, and try the lockwood and co series by Jonathan Stroud, much better!
The writing is ok... but the characters and dialogues are abysmal.... they really are, the lack any real meaning or depth, and I have now idea how I stuck with it so long. The mystery isn't even that interesting, I was hoping for a good book about Victorian Era paranormal investigation, but I was seriously disappointed.
If you're used to good books and enjoy victorian era paranormal investigation, chuck this, and try the lockwood and co series by Jonathan Stroud, much better!
January 3, 2015
Well, at least it was free so I didn't waste my money on this. The 1830's talks-to-ghosts heroine thinks and acts in anachronistic ways, the story hinges on the weakly and implausibly plotted release into the world of a killer smoke demon as the reason for her and her hunky dead guy detecting buddy to wander around talking to the same people over and over again and until the whole thing just peters out without a proper resolution.
June 10, 2015
Excellent
What an excellent book, with great characters that were relatable and likable, a story that was intriguing and enjoyable, with not just a story line with romance but mystery also. It kept my interest completely. I'm now onto book two of the three in the series, and look forward to finding out what happens with Jacob. Here's hoping the next book is as good as the first one was :)
What an excellent book, with great characters that were relatable and likable, a story that was intriguing and enjoyable, with not just a story line with romance but mystery also. It kept my interest completely. I'm now onto book two of the three in the series, and look forward to finding out what happens with Jacob. Here's hoping the next book is as good as the first one was :)
June 21, 2020
DNF at 27%.
Maybe I’m not in the right mood for this. Insta-love with a ghost is a bit much. I suppose it could be fun and I know quite a few people enjoyed this book. Perhaps I’ll try it again another time but right now, it’s not holding my attention and is just too predictable. And insta-love is my least favourite trope.
Maybe I’m not in the right mood for this. Insta-love with a ghost is a bit much. I suppose it could be fun and I know quite a few people enjoyed this book. Perhaps I’ll try it again another time but right now, it’s not holding my attention and is just too predictable. And insta-love is my least favourite trope.
February 10, 2022
This novel has me seriously hoping Glass and Steele won't be the only series I enjoy by this author...Loved the medium, whole demon summoning storyline, BUT it was sooooooooo slow moving!
January 27, 2019
This was a great mystery. I enjoy CJ Archer's writing style, and this was a very easy but excellent read
June 14, 2021
3.5/5⭐️ (Rounded Up) |
⭐️ Emily Chambers is such a refreshing character! I’m naturally drawn to characters that introduce diverse perspectives, and Emily portrays that both as a medium and a mixed-raced young woman in historical England.
⭐️ Jacob Beaufort is so easy to crush on. So easy. His ignorance about his own death lends an innocence to his character that’s endearing. And then there that fact that he was wealthy and arrogant in life, so you can’t help but root for his redemption.
⭐️ The supernatural world that C.J. Archer created is incredibly intriguing. I actually read this novel many years ago and couldn’t forget it. I was finally able to track it down and buy the entire trilogy!
‼️ Besides Emily and Jacob, quite a few of the characters read as a bit flat and one-dimensional. Even the relationship between Emily and Jacob could have been fleshed out better.
❗️Some of the verbiage in this book was a little difficult for me to digest. Someone of it is understandable, as the story takes place in historical England, but when certain phrases are used repetitively, such as “she sat back on her haunches,” it can be a bit much.
Overall, I really enjoyed my introduction into Emily’s world, and I’m excited to see where her story goes.
⭐️ Emily Chambers is such a refreshing character! I’m naturally drawn to characters that introduce diverse perspectives, and Emily portrays that both as a medium and a mixed-raced young woman in historical England.
⭐️ Jacob Beaufort is so easy to crush on. So easy. His ignorance about his own death lends an innocence to his character that’s endearing. And then there that fact that he was wealthy and arrogant in life, so you can’t help but root for his redemption.
⭐️ The supernatural world that C.J. Archer created is incredibly intriguing. I actually read this novel many years ago and couldn’t forget it. I was finally able to track it down and buy the entire trilogy!
‼️ Besides Emily and Jacob, quite a few of the characters read as a bit flat and one-dimensional. Even the relationship between Emily and Jacob could have been fleshed out better.
❗️Some of the verbiage in this book was a little difficult for me to digest. Someone of it is understandable, as the story takes place in historical England, but when certain phrases are used repetitively, such as “she sat back on her haunches,” it can be a bit much.
Overall, I really enjoyed my introduction into Emily’s world, and I’m excited to see where her story goes.
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