Heartbeats in a Haunted House

Heartbeats in a Haunted House (2022) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Hearts Club)

This book recovers the events of the previous three, only told from the points of view of Dante and Cully, who are trapped in the house, because they couldn’t admit what everyone around them could see: they’d been in love with each others from the moment they met.

The family back stories were especially interesting here: Cully’s father loved him, and tried to support him, but didn’t understand him, and seems to fear how the world would treat him, and so tried to make him self-reliant.

Dante’s family loved him, and tried to remain a part of his life, but were also completely unable to accept him for who he was.

As troubled as those familial relationships were, they were not irrevocably broken, which made them all the more complex and interesting. Because all each wants is to be seen and accepted for who they are.

“Huh. I’d never thought of a dog like that. A dog without a purpose?”

“No!” Oh God. Cully was so stupid. Dante would never understand. But he had to keep trying. “It just… it doesn’t have to feel obligated,” he’d said. “It doesn’t have to have chores. All it has to do is be pretty and friendly. And it has to love me, because that’s all I am.”

I think my biggest issue with the series was I don’t feel like the issue with the neighborhood was completely resolved. Yeah, they got Dante and Cully out, but it never felt like they actually solved the underlying issue of what was causing problems in the neighborhood–the final spell was to retrieve their friends, I don’t remember it dealing with the abnegation spirit.

Despite that it was a good series, and did lots of interesting things with the world.

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Rating: 7.5/10

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