Ari by S.M. Boyce Review!

Title: Ari
Series: To Each His Ghost #1
Author: S.M. Boyce
Pages: 220
Published: 14 Feb 16
Publisher: S.M. Boyce
Source: From Author

A Ghostly Paranormal Horror Novel
A crumbling farmhouse lies on the outskirts of the sleepy borough of White Haven, Pennsylvania. No one lives there anymore, but it’s never been empty.
Ari Bowers is a nerdy high school junior with a crush on the Varsity wide receiver and a healthy fear of the paranormal. When her crush Marcus Wagner takes her on a date-gone-wrong to the local haunted farmhouse, her fear is tested. A dark entity latches onto them both in that house, and they pay for their mistake with blood.
Marcus won’t admit something followed him home from the farmhouse even though shadows lurk in his periphery. It’s a prank, all of it… until a local girl dies with similar wounds on her body. Now he’s convinced he’s gone insane. His life spirals out of control, and it all boils down to his stupid date with Ari. As he sinks into addiction and women to ease his pain, he’s left with a choice: lose everything, or acknowledge the darkness slowly taking over his soul. He’s running out of time, and if he doesn’t face this creature, it’s going to take him the same way it took Ari.
For Ari and Marcus, it’s not about whether or not monsters lurk in the dark—they just don’t know which one is after them.

My Thoughts:

This was spookily brilliant!!! The author's last series is pure fantasy and I wasn't sure if she could pull of a horror but pull it off she did, indeed, she has created an incredibly spine tingling, chilling read and one that you will want to read with the lights on, (well I did anyway!!) 

The story is told from both Ari and Marcus POV, which I loved!!! Ari is thrilled when Marcus asks her out, at first she thinks he is pranking her but after their first date and him being such a gentleman she reckons he's not. Marcus on the other hand is a womaniser and just wants to get into Aris pants! He always knows how to treat a girl in such a way that will have her running back to him. He decides, since Ari is a goth chick, to take her to the "haunted" house near them. He plans to have his way with her there, but little does he know that that will be the last thing on his mind after their visit!! 

I loved Ari. My heart went out to her at the way Marcus treated her. And then it broke when what happened happened!!! (read the book and you'll understand ;)) I have to say one thing about this author and that's that her character development was phenomenal for both Ari and Marcus. You think you know who will be the strongest but you don't!!

I loathed Marcus for what he put Ari through but by the end my feelings had changed towards him. He was such a complex character that it was hard not to have strong feelings either way. He really grew and I loved that fact.

The setting of the haunted house was spectacular. It was incredibly spooky and the author really had amazing attention to detail. I felt like I was in the house at times!! 


In all, this was an amazing read and one I can't recommend enough. The author has created a spine tingling world that will have you shivering and reading with the lights on. I actually couldn't read this at night because it was too spooky!!! I only read it during the day, and that was hard to do because it was hard to put down! It's hard to put across how much I loved this book so all I'll say is go buy it and give it a go. It's not just a spooky story, it's a story of struggle, of honesty, and one of redemption. Brilliant!