Rayne Almost Lost Me Until The Night it Happened |Book review|

 

Shot by Priyanka Patra for Priyanka's Book Gallery

"I was expecting a certain apparition haunting the mansion alone, but it isn't exactly the scene."

 

It was 2010. I was in high school when one afternoon, my class teacher entered the room with long stack of brochures in her arms during history period. My mind awoke looking at the colourful borders. I thought, "Is that what I think it is?" She handed the thin glossy papers row by row. Once it was in my hands, it was indeed Scholastic brochure. Call me nerd, but, as a teen, this is how i used to be enthused when I used to see Scholastic books. Anyway, I was ecstatic going through books I wish I could buy. Number of books I wanted to buy, the amount didn't fit my allowance limit. I could only buy one. Just one. I was disappointed. But atleast happy I would be reading a new book. The choices were tough. But my mind kept staring at the grey cover and ominous looking shadow figure. My mind went, "Take that! You have to have that!" The more I read the blurb, the more I felt intrigued. I recalled if I have read enough horror. Actually, I didn't. Apart from R.L Stine's Goosebumps, i realised I don't own enough horror fiction from other authors. I decided. I will buy Possessed. Just then, a paper plane, made from the brochure, landed on my desk.

Kate Cann's Possessed is a young adult (YA) paranormal fiction in which a sixteen-year-old high school graduate, Rayne, dreams of moving out of her Cramphurst Estate's crammed apartment. Though she cares about her single mother and her baby brother, Jelly, living in their place doesn't give her enough freedom, not even with her older boyfriend, Damien. She decides to search a job in her town's public library. When Rayne gets accepted for waiting tables for an old manor house, Morton's Keep, at a secluded and eerily appealing, Marcle Lees in Herefordshire, she jumps into the train and boards to start her new journey. She thought she finally could breathe her life. But something invisible waited for her at the mansion on one of the top windows, with other plans in mind. 

Title: Possessed

Genre: Young adult (YA), Mystery,
Suspense, Horror, Fiction

Author: Kate Cann

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication date: January 1, 2011

Where you can buy? Click here

When the package arrived at my school, I didn't hesitate tearing the brown cover in the class. You know, just to be sure if I recieved the right book. Well, relieved that it was the same book, I ate my lunch quickly, settled in bed and got ready to get spooked. The beginning jolted like the way the blurb has been mentioned. The narration is simple and will take you slow, moving to phases that will show how it all started. This fiction is wholly told from Rayne's point of view but in narrator's voice. The main character expresses her thoughts, wishes and the inept empathy she doesn't have from her mother or boyfriend. Like any teen, she aspires to live her way, yet be close to those but make something of herself. The flow is clean and precise. It will engage you. You may not feel bored but question when you are going to reach the actual plot. I was honestly getting desperate. I wanted to know when will Rayne encounter the energy as, quoted from the book, " it blasted her as she walked unsteadily across the cobbled yard." I almost decided to put down the book but a scene jumped in where Rayne at her assigned residence, heard scratching noises outside her unlocked door the same night she settled in. I didn't think of reading later.  

The characters are written explosively great. I really felt they are not fictitious. They are something that you may love or hate them. You may judge them or may feel like getting to know them personally. They are created irresistibly that you wouldn't be able to forget them. My favourite character is St. John. This dark-haired, suave and handsome lad enchants with his quirks that I couldn't help but root for him and Rayne. But, as secrets unearthed, my mouth fell open. I wasn't ready for it nor I expected St. John to turn out someone i wasn't prepared for. Another was, Ethan. He reminds me almost like Edward Cullen from Twilight series. Secretive, brooding and carefully looking out for Rayne. Ethan is not bad but protective. Except, for sure, he is not a vampire here. 

My favourite scene was Rayne meeting the 'Hidden History of Marcle Lees' group for the first time at a cafe. She wanted to know the history about strange appearances happening at the Morton's Keep and this anonymous group, supposedly, was keen into the ancient mansion. Here's a passage how Rayne felt when she saw the clique from a distance before approaching them.

"Rayne scanned the cafe again, wondering whether to leave or get a coffee and wait for ten minutes, when she noticed the two girls were looking at her. They both turned to the dark-haired boy, said something, looked at her again..."

Author, Kate Cann, has pieced a great novel. I will not say this is exactly horror but as you read, you may get the hype very similar to supernatural. I was expecting a certain apparition haunting the mansion alone, but it isn't exactly the scene. Did it spook me? Sadly, no. I wasn't entirely disappointed but in a way, I found the fiction riveting. The spin is rapturous to captivate a reader. From the first page till the last, the way the scenarios unfold, it kept me engrossed. It would definitely keep you in too, making you demand some answers. I will say, this is a decent read. I enjoyed reading the murky atmosphere. Things I didn't hope they took me by surprise and unlikely, I wasn't expecting Rayne to develop attraction for someone else. I would say — not bad.

Priyanka Patra is a self-published writer of Upon Me. She lives in Odisha, India with her family in a small town. She has done her MBA in Marketing & HR from Birla Global University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She is aiming to write more books especially in fiction genre.