The Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy on April 24,2013 Pages: 556 Format:eBook Add to your Goodreads TBR shelf. Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N
Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.
Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death several months ago. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
This is a short and sweet shout out to C.J. Archer’s Spirit Medium Trilogy published last year. It’s been a while since I read these books, but felt like they deserved a rec since I will be reviewing her latest book, The Wrong Girl soon.
I’ve always loved the idea of Mediums and things of the seance sort whether in books or film, so last October I went searching for something with that theme in mind. I wanted a lite, easy read that had a spooky element to it. As if on queue, the Emily Chambers Medium trilogy materialized on my Goodreads recommends page. I started the book not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.
C.J. Archer takes us to Victorian era London in this series and paints everything from the seances, attitudes, fashions, to the maids in BBC style detail. I could feel soot on my skin while reading her description of the houses and signature smoggy Victorian era London atmosphere. C.J. Archer paves the streets of London in such detailed historical accuracy, that I found myself committed to the trilogy simply for the pleasure of her settings and descriptions. After the first few chapters, I discovered her characters were equally as enthralling and enjoyable.
This series has sleuthing escapades, dark secrets, action packed demon hunting, and plenty of carriage rides steeped in sexual tension that I could talk about, but I’m just going to introduce you to the two MC’s. Emily Chambers is a 17-year-old beauty with skin the color of coffee and cream. She lives with her spinster sister hosting seances for society women. Unlike her sister, Emily can really communicate with the netherworld and uses her gifts to make a living. She also employs her talents to help her ghostly visitors pass from Limbo and resolve unsettled issues.
Bianca Lawson would fit Emily’s character description nicely.
Near the beginning of this trilogy, we meet Jacob Beaufort. Jacob is dark, mysterious, handsome and DEAD. He has been assigned to Emily from the netherworld and has an agenda of his own. In romantic other-worldly fashion, Emily feels drawn to Jacob, but doesn’t know if she can trust him. What if helping him means hurting others? Thus, the “Murder She Wrote” ride and intrigue begin.
I use Ian/Damon Salvatore for most of my male casting in C.J. Archer books, so I thought Henry would be a nice change, and quite fitting for this character.
This series was fun and suspenseful, with just the right amount of propriety to keep the romance interesting. I found myself casting actors from the CW’s The Vampire Diaries as characters in these novels, and couldn’t help but enjoy it. I’ll end this review with the paragraphs in book one that made me decide to keep reading:
A man stood on the landing, leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked older than me but not by much, tall, with short dark hair and a face that was a little too square of jaw and sharp cheek to be fashionable. It wasn’t a beautiful face in the classical statue sense, but it was certainly handsome.[……] He wore black trousers, boots and a white shirt but nothing else. No hat, no necktie, jacket or vest, and scandalously, the top buttons of his shirt were undone so that his bare chest was partially visible. [….]”There you are”, he said. I dragged my gaze up to his face and was greeted by a pair of blue eyes….
And maybe you already guessed it, but YES. Jacob screams Damon Salvatore to me. 🙂
The Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy on April 24,2013 
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