djinnia's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I loved this one as much as I loved the first. This one had so much more action and was completely different than the first. There was much more at stake this time around.
Readers met Daisy in the first book, Texas Gothic, where she comes to the aid of the main protagonist and cousin, Amy. She is now the one in jeopardy as she is called to find out who murdered a man on a college campus and to find the missing girl he was protecting. Before long she's kidnapped and the real adventure begins.
I liked Daisy and Carson both. Carson was a hard character to read because there was always something . . . shifty, i guess, about him. I also like the the F.B.I. agent Taylor, but he was a little underdeveloped. I'm sad about that.
I loved the plot twists.
There were a couple of places that got a little confusing at the end with the psychic stuff but that could be because I read the chapters at 5:30 am and wasn't quite caffeinated enough.
I certainly won a gem and a new favorite author.
I loved this one as much as I loved the first. This one had so much more action and was completely different than the first. There was much more at stake this time around.
Readers met Daisy in the first book, Texas Gothic, where she comes to the aid of the main protagonist and cousin, Amy. She is now the one in jeopardy as she is called to find out who murdered a man on a college campus and to find the missing girl he was protecting. Before long she's kidnapped and the real adventure begins.
I liked Daisy and Carson both. Carson was a hard character to read because there was always something . . . shifty, i guess, about him. I also like the the F.B.I. agent Taylor, but he was a little underdeveloped. I'm sad about that.
I loved the plot twists.
There were a couple of places that got a little confusing at the end with the psychic stuff but that could be because I read the chapters at 5:30 am and wasn't quite caffeinated enough.
I certainly won a gem and a new favorite author.
brokenrecord's review against another edition
4.0
This was really enjoyable and exactly what I was in the mood for! It's an urban fantasy YA where the lead character can sense spirits and talk to the dead and assists the FBI with stuff, and it was just really entertaining and enjoyable. It didn't take itself too seriously but it also wasn't too light and shallow. I was a little confused at the beginning of the book because I thought there was one ship that was going to happen by the end of the book, but then it abruptly shifted where it was clear the main character was going to get with a different guy entirely. It's not a love triangle at all because the book never had any intention of putting the girl with the first guy, it was just my random expectations. Once I made the adjustment to figuring out who I was actually supposed to be shipping, I enjoyed their relationship quite a bit, and I feel like it was developed at a really good pace (…even though technically I guess everything that happens in the book happens over the course of like, a day, at most? But it didn't feel like it was that short amount of time, so it worked for me). I would definitely recommend this; it's one of the better things I've read this year.
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
Take a wise-cracking, goofy-nickname giving, almost-18 girl with the power to talk to dead people and throw her into a mafia don's hunt for his daughter kidnapped by a brotherhood obsessed with a Eyptian cult and what do you get?
You get a fun, romantic, snort-through-your-nose funny romp through museums, car-jackings, and nerd references galore.
Daisy Goodnight gets pulled into an FBI case, but it quickly turns whacko when a mafia mobster coopts her to find his missing daughter with his gorgeous but possibly-criminal lackey, Carson.
Carson and Daisy love to trade banter, make references to Lord of the Rings, and get themselves in and out of the Field Museum, the Oriental Institute, and various other places to search for the mobster's daughter as well as the mysterious "Oosterhouse Jackal" which the kidnappers have demanded as ransom.
There's so much fun going on here I'm surprised that it hasn't been snapped up for a movie yet. I mean gosh, you've got Indiana Jones like archeological fun, Night at the Museum craziness, a YA romance with a bad boy, and all kinds of psychic icing on this cupcake of adventure.
Let me give you a taste of Daisy's Texas-irreverant zaniness:
"Don't give me that 'magical artifacts don't kill people, people kill people' business, I said. You can pry my Goodnight Farms magical bath products out of my cold dead fingers, but I'm one hundred percent in favor of Nazi-face-melting artifacts control."
And then there's all the scenes where Daisy kisses Carson in order to pick his pockets...very lovely and totally sixth-grader safe.
Rosemary Clement-Moore has just made my insta-buy list. Now to go read her other books on the Goodnight Family.....
This Books Snack Rating: Garlic Parmesan chips for the solid archeological-action crunch of the plot flavored with cheesy-good romance and the flavorful garlic bite of psychic shenanigans
You get a fun, romantic, snort-through-your-nose funny romp through museums, car-jackings, and nerd references galore.
Daisy Goodnight gets pulled into an FBI case, but it quickly turns whacko when a mafia mobster coopts her to find his missing daughter with his gorgeous but possibly-criminal lackey, Carson.
Carson and Daisy love to trade banter, make references to Lord of the Rings, and get themselves in and out of the Field Museum, the Oriental Institute, and various other places to search for the mobster's daughter as well as the mysterious "Oosterhouse Jackal" which the kidnappers have demanded as ransom.
There's so much fun going on here I'm surprised that it hasn't been snapped up for a movie yet. I mean gosh, you've got Indiana Jones like archeological fun, Night at the Museum craziness, a YA romance with a bad boy, and all kinds of psychic icing on this cupcake of adventure.
Let me give you a taste of Daisy's Texas-irreverant zaniness:
"Don't give me that 'magical artifacts don't kill people, people kill people' business, I said. You can pry my Goodnight Farms magical bath products out of my cold dead fingers, but I'm one hundred percent in favor of Nazi-face-melting artifacts control."
And then there's all the scenes where Daisy kisses Carson in order to pick his pockets...very lovely and totally sixth-grader safe.
Rosemary Clement-Moore has just made my insta-buy list. Now to go read her other books on the Goodnight Family.....
This Books Snack Rating: Garlic Parmesan chips for the solid archeological-action crunch of the plot flavored with cheesy-good romance and the flavorful garlic bite of psychic shenanigans
pinkrose89's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book because it contained many of my favorite things: girl with supernatural abilities who isn't denying them and is actually happy to have them and is good at using them, really clever plot twists, a cute romance that isn't too over the top, and really excellent movie references.
brittradomski's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
delz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Spirit and Dust is action packed with a little romance thrown in. Daisy Goodnight is a medium, she can see and speak to the dead. Like other Goodnights before her she helps the FBI solve cold cases and new murder cases. It is on one of these cases with Agent Taylor, that Daisy is kidnapped by the Maguire Crime Family. The crime boss needs Daisy to find his kidnapped daughter, Alexis and a rare Egyptian artifact the kidnappers are looking for. The person assigned to “help” Daisy is Maguire’s right hand man, Carson. Carson is a young handsome guy, who seems to be decent, lulling Daisy into falling for him. Unfortunately nothing about this case is what it seems and even with Daisy’s talent things don’t always go as planned . This book has been on my tbr for a long time and now I realize it did not age well. There are so many references to Harry Potter. I’m sure 10 years ago most of us were unaware of our own implicit bias that blinded us from seeing JKR’s racism and antisemitism, but hopefully a good, empathetic, sensitive author would not hold JKR up to this kind of fan worship today. It made it difficult to enjoy the book.
upstatelibrarygal's review against another edition
4.0
Fans of Amelia Peabody or Indiana Jones could quite enjoy this. Ghosts, artifacts, Egyptology...it was a fun ride and I'd go back to read book #1.
jbojkov's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series by Clement-Moore! I am NOT a supernatural romance fan usually, but I love the characters and the action. The author has a great voice and I love her sense of humor! I hope #3 is on the way!
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun book. I had a few problems with some of the same things I did with the first one, but all in all, it was a quick and entertaining read. I actually forgot that Daisy was Amy's cousin, not her younger sister, Phin, so I was confused for a little bit at first as to where she fit in. Daisy was an enjoyable protagonist, though she was written a bit thick when it came to realizing certain things about Carson. There were a few plot twists I didn't see coming (thought it was all going to go a different way), so that was nice at least. I'd be interested in reading more by the author.