Kalynn ApplewhiteReseñas

The overly descriptive beginning made me think twice about continuing but I’m glad I did. The story has a good balance of intrigue, romance, mystery and suspense. Maggie’s determination to forge her own path at a time when tradition dictated otherwise for women, makes for an interesting read. Even more unusual is how she occupies her time, earning a living as a medium alongside her sceptical brother, who pursues his own more traditional career as an accountant. Enter Walter, intent on gathering scientific ‘evidence’ of the otherworldly episodes Maggie is gaining notoriety for. Sounds interesting, intriguing even. What could possibly go wrong?…..

With Jack the Ripper vibes, a sprinkling of Gatsby, helpful spirits, and women’s rights all rolled into one, Maggie is back in the latest installment of the White Crow Series by Kalynn Applewhite. The story once again follows Maggie Ward as she solves mysteries by using her ability to communicate with the dead. Set in Upper East Side Manhattan during the early 1900s when spiritualism was popular and the women's suffrage movement was in full swing, Piercing the Veil tackles important feminist themes as well as taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride full of suspense and intrigue.

As Jonathan and Camila plan their wedding something sinister lurks in the shadows of New York City. When women start turning up dead, Maggie makes it her business to solve the mystery with the help of her psychic abilities. Hunting a killer turns out to be a bit more than she bargained for but with the help of a new ally, they just might find the murderer before her whole world comes crashing down.

I was so excited to have all the old characters back again in this novel. Since the characters are so relatable and their interactions with each other are so real, it was like meeting up with old friends. We are also introduced to Maggie and Jonathan’s parents in this novel, which proved to be rather interesting to say the least. Maggie’s character develops even more in this novel as she becomes more independent and more confident in her abilities. Her selflessness and determination make her a wonderful role model for all women. Maggie’s ability to stand her ground is very powerful and I can’t wait to see her strength develop in further novels.

The writing itself is easy and flawless, allowing the reader to sit back and enjoy. Mind you, I didn’t do much sitting back as I was on the edge of my seat for most of the novel. Applewhite has the ability to hold your interest throughout the entire story with multiple elements of danger and concern being thrown at you from all angles. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment when Maggie Ward is around. On top of all that, Applewhite gives the most amazing descriptions of the surroundings so that you feel transported directly into the story, seeing everything through the characters’ eyes and feeling their raw emotions.

Piercing the Veil was such a fun and exciting read, I could not put it down. Applewhite has done a stellar job at creating a new Sherlock Holmes/Nancy Drew type character and her choice of time periods for this delightful series couldn’t be more interesting. This novel is a true gem and I highly recommend you read it. You won’t be disappointed.

Thank you, Kaitlyn Applewhite and Publishers Weekly's grab-a-galley for the free ebook galley of Awakening Anne.

I noticed in the first paragraph that the writing style is like something written in the Victorian or Edwardian era. Very atmospheric.

I enjoyed the Spiritualism stuff (including the ASPR) and can see the author did plenty of research on the topic. And of course, I also enjoy the suffragist stuff. Spiritualism and suffragists—two of my favorite topics!

The novel could use another round of mild editing. For instance, in the first paragraph of Chapter 10, the first “she” should instead be “Maggie,” since it’s the first time she’s mentioned in this chapter. Chapter 15 has the word “rather” two sentences in a row.

Chapter 16 (which isn’t numbered) has a confusing lack of transition from one scene to the next. That is, suddenly they’re no longer on the street and are instead in jail. There should at least be a break.

The illustrations are a pleasant surprise, although Maggie’s fashions look more circa 1910 than 1916. Costumers and anyone knowledgeable about early 20th century costume will notice. Women’s fashion was changing quickly during that time.

Page 145: I realize it’s set in 1916, but... I’d replace “though she was colored” with “though she was Black....”

If Jonathan wants someone to obey him, he should get a dog. He’s an annoying control freak. Maggie puts up with him—but she’s young and maybe when she’s middle-aged she’ll stop having blind loyalty to him.

I’m afraid I commented on negative things more.... It’s an intriguing supernatural historical mystery novel set in an era I love. It feels like it could easily be the beginning of a series (and there’s a series title, so it is!).

Margaret Ward is a gifted spirit communicator in the 1920's. Despite her privileged station on Manhattan's upper east side, Margaret runs a small business connecting people with their deceased loved ones, much to the chagrin of her older brother, Jonathan. After a particularly distressing appointment with widower Charles Blackbourne that was sat in on by Walter Davies from The American Society for Psychical Research, Margaret becomes distressed. In the reading, Margaret connected with the particularly strong spirit of Charles' wife, Anne who had a specific message for him. After Charles also reports a haunting at his home, Margaret and Walter vow to help, but Anne's presence is even stronger in her home and Margaret is pulled into the spirit world farther than before. Margaret becomes afraid and the occurrences at Charles' home don't stop, pushing her to solve the mystery behind Anne's aggressive presence.

Awakening Anne is a fast paced, historical, paranormal mystery. I enjoyed Margaret's joy for life and finding fulfillment where she needed in contrast to her brother who seemed anxious and caught up in societal expectations. The writing set the scene firmly in the 20's and I enjoyed Margaret's involvement with the suffrage movement as well as the descriptions of her parlor and her seances. The sketches included dresses, buildings and other objects that helped to set the scene as well. The paranormal investigation of Anne's death was intriguing and while I had a suspect early on, I enjoyed Margaret and Charles' investigation into the paranormal and how she communicates with the deceased to help the living move on.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I want more. This book was so lovely I didn't want it to end. It fits so many beloved genres in to one book and blends them so nicely together. I hope there will be more in the series. My only complaint comes from receiving this as an ARC and not having the cover attached to the file so it doesn't show in my reader.

What a fantastic read! The plot was interesting from page one and the characters were well presented and relatable. I love how the author placed important historical elements throughout and how flawless the dialogue was. This was a quick, easy and wonderfully spooky story so grab your pumpkin spice coffee and a warm blanket, you're in for a treat!

-- My reviews are generally a messy line of my thoughts throughout the book. This will be reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon, and LibraryThing. -- An eye-catching start. The dialogue in a few places (such as between Maggie and the housekeeper) is a bit stiff.

I like that there were illustrations! I always feel pleasantly surprised when books have drawings.

“Your confusion is understandable, but your violence is not…” is such a great line.

The nightmare sequence was so well done!

I loved the house scene with Anne as well—it built the tension up so well. I definitely saw the culprit coming though. There weren’t that many characters it could be.

A potential series! I would love that, murder mysteries and detective works are so fun and I like the verge into fantasy. I truly enjoyed this book. The characters were fun, witty, and melded together. I enjoyed the short but packed plot line, it was a fun short read and I’m looking forward to the series continuing.

Quite enjoyed this book. Maggie is a medium tasked with helping Charles connect with his wife Anne. Things go really dark really fast. I especially liked the characters, I felt the author did a good job with them

Mysterious, suspenseful, and romance! I enjoyed reading this book! Though, it was short. I wish the pacing of the plot was drawn out more. I liked the main Character Maggie Barlow- an independent woman in the WW1 era, with a psychic connection to the other side. However I feel like some of the author’s character building could have been more detailed. I can see great potential of this being a wonderful paranormal investigation series.

This was a very quick read. It almost went too fast in some chapters and too slow in others. I had a hard time determining the timeline of all the events of the story. I really enjoyed Maggie, and hope that over time her character gets flushed out even more. I wish the book was longer in order to expand on parts of the plot that seemed to be either brushed over or rushed through. For example, the climax of the entire story was over before I really realized what was happening. I think if more time was spent developing those important areas then the story would flow better. All in all, concept and characters are at a relatively good baseline and have room to grow in.

*** This book was provided as an advanced copy from the author as an Early Reviewer***

THIS IS AN ARC REVIEW - Immediately when you start reading "Awakening Anne," you feel like you are in a Sherlock Holmes-esque setting. The lead detective vibe of Maggie and her sidekick like character of Walter, create a fun duo that is built for a series. The premise of Maggie being a true medium is compelling, however I wondered how she found out about her previous experiences with them. Did she see dead people when she was young and tell people about it? If so, why was her brother so against it. One thing Applewhite does beautifully is create truly horrifying scenes. I felt myself incredibly gripped during the scenes with the haunting, wondering what was going to happen next - I did not expect the twist of Ruthie being the killer, but I also did not find many clues leading to this? The spirit of Anne being malicious also confused me, while I could see her being malicious toward Ruthie for her murder, her being malicious toward both Charles and Maggie confused me. The presence felt almost demonic rather than just an angry spirit. So I felt myself wondering if Anne was possessed, which I know was not the point of the book.
I will say, I am excited to see where Applewhite takes this series. I feel like there is so much potential here and a great set up for a wonderful crime stopping, mystery solving duo. For a new novel and a new release it was an enjoyable read.

Note: I received an Early Reviewer copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an interesting plot - Maggie, a self-taught (?) medium, teams up with a researcher in her efforts to help a grieving widower communicate with his deceased wife. Things don’t go well, and there’s more to the “deceased wife” story than meets the eye. The theme and this particular story are ones that I generally would enjoy; however, I found the writing cumbersome and a bit amateurish, and it would benefit greatly from some judicious editing. The pacing was also rushed in many instances; further development of the characters might help the reader be more invested in them, and more background development would provide greater context and make events more believable.

I also found Jonathan to be insufferable - the “protective big brother” act was ludicrous, especially when his only real recourse was some version of, “I’m going to tell Mom and Dad!” Maggie clearly has opinions of her own, and tolerates her brother’s interference far beyond what seems reasonable or believable, even for the time. Her behavior is far from consistent, though, as she waffles between rolling her eyes at Jonathan’s bluster and letting him bully her into activities in which she has no interest.

The story has promise, but it needs quite a bit more work and the hand of a good editor.

I LOVE THIS BOOK

This book is such a well written book. I did however get lost a few times until I realized that this book is filled with mini stories that kept getting intertwined into the main story. I love a novel full of supernatural characters. It was very enjoyable I wished that the short stories had more context, backstories and were longer. This whole novel would be amazing if it was just written more smoothly. I hope this author continues to write and makes more books with more detail and context hopefully to complete this novel. But it is definitely a good real. I give it a 8.5 out of 10

These are enjoyable very short stories set in a fantasy world. The stories were fun but many were left very open-ended. I would have enjoyed the book as a whole more if the stories were interconnected in some way, as it was hard to tell they're even happening in the same world as one another. I would read a full story by this author if one was written at some point.

I received this book for free through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. This does not affect my rating or the content of this review.

In this work Kalynn Applewhite showcases her range as an author.

From flying goblins, to troublesome dwarf romances, all the way to pirate curses, Kalynn takes you on a journey where any reader is sure to find something, if not a great many things, to enjoy.

The only great flaw found in this work, and others of its nature, is that the short stories are short. They are an appetizer for her future work where I am left briefly satisfied but soon am hungry for more.