Remembrance by Meg Cabot
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: William Morrow
Format: Paperback
Genres: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Adult Fiction
The Mediator is a series I devoured as a teen. It’s about a teenage girl, Susannah ‘Suze’ Simon, who can see ghosts and helps them pass onto the afterlife, which is often messy and requires some humor. As luck would have it, one of the ghosts she encounters is an attractive boy who haunts her house/bedroom and stuff happens. You can probably guess what “stuff” might entail, but it gets complicated as ghost-human relationships do. The series is also full of mysteries and ass kicking and drama and a side of ridiculousness.
Meg Cabot surprised fans by announcing a seventh installment of the series years after it ended. Except with Remembrance the series passes from YA to Adult Fiction and many fans who have also grown into adults get to see Suze as an adult.
There won’t be any spoilers for this book in the review, but since it’s the seventh book in a series there will be spoilers for the original series. So proceed with caution if you haven’t read the original series and want to.
As the description and promo revealed, Suze and Jesse, the ex-ghost who used to haunt her, are getting married. As anyone who was rooting for them in the YA part of the series, getting to see them together in the future is exciting. However despite all the hype for their nuptials, the book has a lot more going on and isn’t just Say Yes to the Dress in novel form. There’s, of course, a ghost, and layers to her death that Suze needs to sort out. Good old Father Dominic is still around to help her out. As well as some other characters from books 1-6, but I won’t spoil all those details.
It’s difficult to be completely objective when a lot of nostalgia was behind this book so I don’t know how anyone picking this up without having read the first six would react, but as an old fan it was completely enjoyable. I think anyone who loved Suze will be happy to read about her again. She’s as witty as ever and I found myself laughing at a few of her lines.
I was engrossed by the mediating aspect of this as well. Like in the past, Suze has a ghost to help and some ass to kick. There are twists and turns that pile on the suspense. Is it ridiculous at times? Yes. There are a few too many coincidences and a couple things that maybe wouldn’t fly in reality. But that didn’t stop me from turning pages and didn’t even get any eye-rolls out of me. Because overall it was simply FUN. Meg Cabot’s style is sometimes over the top and it works for her. It’s clear she knew what fans would want to see for Suze Simon.
I definitely felt I was being pandered to at certain points, but was glad for it. I read six books waiting for Suze and Jesse to find a way to be together and they did! But then it was over and the series hangover began. So yes, pander to me. Give them a wedding date with lots of chemistry and drama leading up to it. Bring back things from the old series I love. Make Suze as snarky as ever! Give it all to me!
So Cabot delivers for old fans who are excited about an old ship and are ready for a fun read. Or you can pick it apart and not have fun but that’s up to you.
I’d also like to point out there’s a novella called The Proposal that takes place before this seventh book. It isn’t necessary to read before Remembrance, but having something short to bring me back into The Mediator world and provide some background was nice. It’s already out (ebook only for the time being) so you can read that to hold you over before Remembrance is released.
Anyway, it’s obvious I felt this was a win for those into the series. It’s fantasy-fulfilling and dramatic, but in the best ways. It didn’t reach “favorite shelf status,” but I’m so happy to see Susannah and Jesse again for a look at the happily ever after I expected after I finished book six.
Note: I received this book for free through a GoodReads Giveaway. This in no way influenced my opinion.