Book Review: Nether Bound (Book 1) by Bonnie Rae

Summary:
Seventeen year old Ava Walker has everything a girl could ask for. She’s captain of the cheer squad, has tons of friends, and could easily have any guy she wants. Being popular is easy.
Lying about her entire life, on the other hand, isn’t.
Since she was little, Ava has had a connection with the dearly departed. She knows seeing dead people is abnormal, but they never try to communicate, so she does her best to turn a blind eye. The older she gets, the worse her visions become. With more and more ghosts showing up, her secret is on the verge of driving her mad.

The only person Ava ever trusted is her best friend, Devon. Only, she hasn’t really talked to him in years and lately he hasn’t been acting like himself.

To make things worse, her evil stepfather, Mark, is hitting the bottle harder and harder. Ava hates the alcoholic psycho her mother married a few years ago. To him, beating women is a sport. Lately, the beatings are getting worse. Ava fears it won’t be long before her mother is among the ghosts invading her life.

She wishes Mark would just die. When he suddenly does, her life changes forever.

Just when she thinks her family is safe, Mark shows back up.

Not all ghosts are silent, and dear old Daddy wants some serious revenge.

Be careful what you wish for …

My Review:
This is the second self-published/indie book I’ve read that I actually really enjoyed. In a row, no less. Maybe I am getting better at picking the good ones out of the haystack.

There were some definite flaws with editing on occasion. Not too many, but when they showed, they always seem to jump out of the page at me. Maybe because it is the fact that I am a writer too. I don’t know. But editing mistakes (i.e. spelling, punctuation, and wrong words used) really make me stumble when I read. There weren’t as many in Ms. Rae’s book as I have encountered in many other self-pubbed/indie books. So, I’m keeping this at a minimum. (I would have loved to have done a line-by-line critique/edit for her on this. Not everyone can see every error. Even the big 6. And I believe that having at least one or two betas/critiques that are good with copy editing, as well as a professional copy editor, are essential.)

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fast-paced, easy to read story with engaging scenes. With Ms. Rae’s choice of 1st person of the two main characters, I struggled at first, but it allowed the reader to get into the head of both Ava and Devon. The book was definitely filled with strong emotions. As a reader, though, I felt more connected with Ava. Because this is the first in a series, I was left wondering what happens next and can’t wait to read the next installment.

ASIDE: I’ve been contacted by the author. She informs me that there is a new version available and hopefully all the editing mistakes have been caught and fixed.