Remembrance by Meg Cabot fantasy book reviewsRemembrance by Meg Cabot fantasy book reviewsRemembrance by Meg Cabot

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for the previous MEDIATOR books. If you’re interested in this series, please don’t read this review, but take a look at the first book, Shadowland, instead.

Remembrance (2016), the seventh novel in Meg Cabot’s MEDIATOR series, was published 11 years after fans thought the series was finished with Twilight (though Cabot prepared readers for reentry with the novella Proposal, published just before Remembrance).

Judging by all the gif-laden squeeing in the reviews on GoodReads, Cabot’s fans were pretty excited about the appearance of another novel about Suze, the (now adult) mediator, and her boyfriend Jesse, a hot guy who used to be a ghost but is now a real-life doctor. Though I’ve been disappointed by the past few books in a series that started off so well, I was interested in seeing what finally happened to Suze and Jesse.

Suze has graduated from college and is doing an internship as a guidance counselor at the private Catholic academy she attended for high school. Jesse is a doctor doing his residency. They’re planning their wedding and, because Jesse is old-fashioned (being from the 19th century), they are “waiting,” which is driving Suze nuts.

Suze’s got two more problems: One is the disruptive ghost of a child who was murdered several years ago and needs to be put to rest. The other is Paul Slater, the totally hot, and very rich, but kind of evil, guy from high school. He’s baaaaaaacccccckkkk and he’s still after Suze. He’s got another plan to get rid of Jesse and is trying to bribe Suze into sleeping with him. Suze, being still extremely immature despite now being an adult who has graduated from college, is tempted.

I’m sad to say that Remembrance continues in the same vein as the last few books. Though they’re adults now, Suze and her high school acquaintances still act like they’re teenagers. The drama is silly and feels choreographed to create tension in the Suze-Jesse-Paul love triangle that shouldn’t even exist anymore after Paul showed his cards in previous stories. His behavior in this book is unbearable — I don’t care how hot and rich he is — and it’s hard to have any respect for Suze when she seems to be contemplating his offer and when she keeps lying to Jesse (who should dump her). Also, the actual bribe Paul is using (another threat to Jesse’s existence) is ridiculously unbelievable.

As for the ghost story— at least there is one, but it’s poorly plotted and also hard to believe in. Suze once again does some really dumb things to catch the bad guy. But many readers won’t care too much about that. They want to know what happened to Suze and her family and friends, so they will probably be pleased to find out in Remembrance. Some of it is believable, some is not.

Fans who can’t get enough of the romantic tension of, on one hand, sweet Jesse’s old-fashioned refusal to sleep with Suze before the wedding and, on the other, Paul’s relentless chasing of her and her temptation to give in will probably love Remembrance. I found the entire thing totally unconvincing and just silly.

As usual, Johanna Parker is fabulous as the audiobook narrator.

Published in 2016. All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva). But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork, some to test her, some to vex her, and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight. What happens when old ghosts come back to haunt you? If you’re a mediator, you might have to kick a little ass. From a sophomore haunted by the murderous specter of a child to ghosts of a very different kind—including Paul Slater, Suze’s ex, who shows up to make a bargain Suze is certain must have come from the Devil himself—Suze isn’t sure she’ll make it through the semester, let alone to her wedding night. Suze is used to striking first and asking questions later. But what happens when ghosts from her past—including one she found nearly impossible to resist—strike first?

Author

  • Kat Hooper

    KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance, Robin Hobb, Kage Baker, William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Richard Matheson, and C.S. Lewis.

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