If you go wandering through the dark, you're going to find things you don't like.
When twenty-year-old Cass Ryan is pulled out of the Hudson River, she's officially dead for four minutes. She doesn't know anything about the boy who pushed her in. She doesn't know why she's been hallucinating since coming back. What she does know is that the violent visions feel terrifyingly real, and that her life will never be the same.
Enter The Else & Bellows Institute.
It turns out that Cass's visions aren't visions at all—she's a voyant, and she can see the dead. Spirits and memories are trapped between this world and the next, and because of this dark ability, Cass receives an invitation to one of the most prestigious schools in the country. To ease the burden on her family and gain control over her power, she accepts.
But nothing at the institute is what it seems. There are secrets in the hallways and whispers in the shadows. Her new classes are strange, and some of her classmates are even stranger. There's also an unsolved mystery on campus, a decades-old crime that no one seems to care about solving. No one except the ghost of the girl who was murdered… and Cass. She quickly realizes the real challenge won't be passing her first year as a voyant.
It will be surviving it.
Title : Waysider
Author : K. J. Sutton
Series : The Voyants (book one)
Format : eARC
Page Count : 480
Genre : romance / paranormal
Publisher : self-published
Release Date : June 5, 2024
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★
Hollis' 3.75 (rounded up) star review
I am officially intrigued. And I'm so happy about it.
Why? Because for once I took advantage of an author DMing me access to their upcoming release instead of immediately deleting or ignoring said DM. Even knowing it could've gone terribly terribly wrong. But p h e w it didn't. And again, I am intrigued. But can we just take a moment to appreciate that cover? Because let's be real that was the reason I accepted the ARC.
This was my first read by this author and already I am eagerly anticipating the follow-up (will it just be a sequel? trilogy? drawn out series? I don't know yet but I'm ready for any of it). We had a very mystery-heavy instalment in this opener between not knowing the reason behind the events that lead to Cass' abilities as a voyant and her brother's death, why she was capable of attracting (tee hee) so many revenants (ghosts), and in addition, a very specific and urgent unknown surrounding the death of a student whose body was discovered shortly after Cass begins attending the, to paraphrase, Institute for Voyants.
Plus it's set in the eighties but doesn't hit you over the head with that fact. It could absolutely be set in a more modern (she says, pretending the eighties is still modern) time except for the lack of cellphones, a few random name drops from the time, and the occasional usage of tubular. I liked that a lot.
As for the stars of the show, I'll admit that Cass' personality didn't feel all that well defined outside of the moments where she was either hyperfocused on a mission or doing her best not to be afraid -- which, hey, kudos, because that's so real. But considering her circumstances and what she had been through, I could mostly forgive it. And there were a few quiet moments where she did seem to shine; and thankfully they didn't all take place when in the presence of maybe-possibly-potential love interests. Though on that note.. I can't wait to see which direction she goes in. But when it comes to said maybe-possibly-potential love interests, it's hard to have a favourite when literally all of them have secrets and are shrouded in mystery of one flavour or another. The upside to having to juggle so many is that one might already have been friend-zoned.. unless I'm reading too much into a brief interaction at the end but I hope it's true.
My few nitpicks are to do with : one, when we had scenes that leaned into romance, or flirting, or warm and fuzzies, the word choice used for when Cass observed her own attraction was a little weird and always jumped out at me, which subsequently pulled me out of the story. Can't say I was a fan but, again, it's likely a personal weirdness for me. And two, the urgency and unknown surrounding the mystery of the student's death was.. well. Kind of anticlimactic. There are a lot of things happening in this story, multiple plotlines and concerns, a few side quests, and none of that felt overly busy or chaotic, it all fit together pretty well, but at the same time this particular plot point resolved really quickly and maybe that's because it doesn't play into the bigger story? It was more like a mystery of the week that ended up being a vehicle to move one bit of plot forward. But even still. Considering how Cass' physical well-being was under thread a few times, it just seemed very fast and played out somewhat unexpectedly. I almost would've preferred an extra fifty to a hundred pages to let that breathe and build some more.
At it's heart, though there was only low level buzzings of romance, the real love story here is between Cass and her twin, Cal. In life they were opposites, with Cass being a wild troublemaker, and Cal being the golden boy. And I wonder, with some of what was hinted near the end, will we see them start to.. swap? Regardless, even if I'm way off base, the love that the author put into this relationship, this bond, really cemented the whole world. Even as their circumstances have (obviously) changed, even as it has fundamentally and literally changed them and sends them pursuing different things, sometimes forcing them to keep secrets, that bond is still so present and so strong.
While there are some thrills and chills, being a mystery thriller with paranormal elements, this isn't too scary and isn't all that graphic or violent, so if your tolerance for both is low, this might still work for you. It may push your limits a bit and get your heart racing and have you peeking between your fingers once or twice, but overall it's not going to totally freak you out. I hope.
If you're looking for something with the vibes of Ninth House, the mood lighting and setting (and even soundtrack) of Stranger Things, with a dash of Silence of the Lambs, a sprinkle of Ghostbusters, and a teasing hint of Ghost (maybe! or maybe it's wishful thinking..), you should probably give Waysider a try. And yes, I know that's a lot of comps. Sorry not sorry.
** I received an ARC from the author (thank you!) in exchange
for an honest review. **
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