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maywitch's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read anything funny in quite some time and this one made me laugh a lot. It has witches, ghosts, some crazy farm animals, family secrets, a bit of romance and a cowboy. Great summer read.
goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
4.0
One of my New Years Resolutions is to write at least some kind of review for all the books I read during the year.
Texas Gothic was pretty good. It's about sisters, Amy and Phin Goodnight, who are watching their aunt's farm while she is away for the summer. Their family is a family of witches, although Amy refuses to participate in that part of her family's lifestyle. The story then goes on to become a mystery/romance involving ghosts. I am not a huge fan of ghosts (they just seem kind of silly to me) so I could have lived without that part of the story. The romance was sweet, though, and the characters were good so I enjoyed the book anyway.
Texas Gothic was pretty good. It's about sisters, Amy and Phin Goodnight, who are watching their aunt's farm while she is away for the summer. Their family is a family of witches, although Amy refuses to participate in that part of her family's lifestyle. The story then goes on to become a mystery/romance involving ghosts. I am not a huge fan of ghosts (they just seem kind of silly to me) so I could have lived without that part of the story. The romance was sweet, though, and the characters were good so I enjoyed the book anyway.
samantha_89's review against another edition
3.0
Rosemary Clement-Moore is one of those authors that writes the same thing over and over again, but with different names and mysteries. And this isn't a bad thing, at least not for me. If you've read Splendor Falls then you know what to expect with this book; a romance that starts off with the guy and gal hating each other, magic that the main character doesn't want to have anything to do with, a mystery involving ghosts and betrayals,a southern setting, and a title that makes no sense.
The Splendor Falls was one of those books that I had a hard time coming back from, I refused to read anything after it because nothing could compare. Don't get me wrong, Moore's writing is only average but it still sucks you in. So, I was excited to read Texas Gothic. It lived up to my expectations and I really enjoyed the read. If you've read Splendor Falls then I think you will too.
An additional thing I liked about this book was that the characters were college aged (or, well a young college student, Amy was seventeen). I feel like college just doesn't exist in the fictional world, but it was nice to see high school getting left behind in this book.
If you want an easy read with a fun romance and a great mystery with a paranormal spin then you'll enjoy this book as well.
The Splendor Falls was one of those books that I had a hard time coming back from, I refused to read anything after it because nothing could compare. Don't get me wrong, Moore's writing is only average but it still sucks you in. So, I was excited to read Texas Gothic. It lived up to my expectations and I really enjoyed the read. If you've read Splendor Falls then I think you will too.
An additional thing I liked about this book was that the characters were college aged (or, well a young college student, Amy was seventeen). I feel like college just doesn't exist in the fictional world, but it was nice to see high school getting left behind in this book.
If you want an easy read with a fun romance and a great mystery with a paranormal spin then you'll enjoy this book as well.
amylittleford's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I really LOVED Rosemary Clement-Moore's debut book, The Splendour Falls, and read it over and over again as a teenager. I was always curious about her other works and so finally decided to read Texas Gothic. After I got over how very YA this book is, it took me back to my love for this author. Everything I loved about The Splendour Falls was in this book. It is a perfect read for October! It has witches, ghosts, people being possessed, an awesome setting on dusty ranches during a Texas summer and a really cute love interest. What else do you need?
I really loved the MC Amy, not just because of her name, but I also loved her sister's role in this book. as well. I always love it when a book focuses on two sisters because really being a part of a sister pair is great! It also focuses on family and what it means to be apart of one. This book definitely gave me the creeps at times but also made me laugh. All the side characters where full and rounded people that really added to the story.
I liked how the ending was realistic. We didn't see two teens riding off into the sunset but two teens living their lives and making things work. I found the excavation scenes interesting and really added to the story. It is a shame that Moore hasn't published anything since 2014 because I really enjoy her books.
Amy x
I really LOVED Rosemary Clement-Moore's debut book, The Splendour Falls, and read it over and over again as a teenager. I was always curious about her other works and so finally decided to read Texas Gothic. After I got over how very YA this book is, it took me back to my love for this author. Everything I loved about The Splendour Falls was in this book. It is a perfect read for October! It has witches, ghosts, people being possessed, an awesome setting on dusty ranches during a Texas summer and a really cute love interest. What else do you need?
I really loved the MC Amy, not just because of her name, but I also loved her sister's role in this book. as well. I always love it when a book focuses on two sisters because really being a part of a sister pair is great! It also focuses on family and what it means to be apart of one. This book definitely gave me the creeps at times but also made me laugh. All the side characters where full and rounded people that really added to the story.
I liked how the ending was realistic. We didn't see two teens riding off into the sunset but two teens living their lives and making things work. I found the excavation scenes interesting and really added to the story. It is a shame that Moore hasn't published anything since 2014 because I really enjoy her books.
Amy x
djinnia's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my goodness! This was a fantastic read.
I loved all the characters (especially Phin because she is just so oblivious.)
I enjoyed the story. There wasn't a bit of insta-love, but there was insta-hate.
The story took off from the first line: "The goats were in the tree again." to the ending. I mean who can resist a crazed girl in her unmentionables running outside to yell at a calf scratching itself on her car meeting the second mc Ben. I died laughing. I just died. They were hilarious together. The I-love-to-hate-you relationship that builds and builds to a real relationship.
I can't wait to read the second book, which I won here.
I recommend it to anyone that likes kookie with a bit of mystery.
I loved all the characters (especially Phin because she is just so oblivious.)
I enjoyed the story. There wasn't a bit of insta-love, but there was insta-hate.
The story took off from the first line: "The goats were in the tree again." to the ending. I mean who can resist a crazed girl in her unmentionables running outside to yell at a calf scratching itself on her car meeting the second mc Ben. I died laughing. I just died. They were hilarious together. The I-love-to-hate-you relationship that builds and builds to a real relationship.
I can't wait to read the second book, which I won here.
I recommend it to anyone that likes kookie with a bit of mystery.
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
Apparently I'm a huge Clement-Moore fan now. Her books are just so much FUN. This is the third book I've read by her, the first in the Goodnight series (family of wacky psychics in the modern world) but the second I've read.
Still loving the psychic wackiness of the Goodnight family. We've got sisters Phin and Amy in this one, ranch-sitting their Aunt Hyacinth's goat ranch. Suddenly an area ghost, the Mad Monk, starts whacking ranch hands over the head, Amy gets caught chasing off a neighbor's invading cow in her underwear by handsome neighbor cowboy, and suddenly the walls Amy's erected between the real world and her family's psychic world are crumbling around.
You gotta love a book where the two love interests routinely call each other "McCrankypants" and "Underwear girls."
You also gotta love a book that flavors a YA paranormal suspense romance Texan dust devils, lost mines, archeology interns, spanish-speaking ghosts, and Kirlianometers (corona aura analysis meters).
Phin is the geek sister, using her mad math/physic skilz to try to measure paranormal phenomena, all the while being the epitome of an absent-minded professor. Amy's always run interference between her sister (her family) and the world, making sure no one locks them up as crazy.
But when the Mad Monk starts haunting her, Amy can't escape the reality of her own psychic powers. She may want to so she doesn't creep out the cute, cranky cowboy, but what makes this book go in to 5 star territory is that Amy and McCrankypants' snarky repartee is great, the mystery is great, and on top of all that you get some real character arc for Amy in terms of her self-image and how she deals with the world.
There's a point in the book where Phin says to Amy after rescuing her from a collapsed cavern "Mark and I are taking you and Ben to the hospital because its clear you can take care of everyone but yourselves." This is spot on. Both in terms of why Amy is attracted to Ben (he's responsible) and also for her own character.
Just a bit of kissing and some very, very veiled innuendo about a cell phone in a pocket "rounding on third base" so acceptable for even younger YA readers. Think way updated, much snarkier Nancy Drew/Scooby doo on a southern Texas ranch.
Still loving the psychic wackiness of the Goodnight family. We've got sisters Phin and Amy in this one, ranch-sitting their Aunt Hyacinth's goat ranch. Suddenly an area ghost, the Mad Monk, starts whacking ranch hands over the head, Amy gets caught chasing off a neighbor's invading cow in her underwear by handsome neighbor cowboy, and suddenly the walls Amy's erected between the real world and her family's psychic world are crumbling around.
You gotta love a book where the two love interests routinely call each other "McCrankypants" and "Underwear girls."
You also gotta love a book that flavors a YA paranormal suspense romance Texan dust devils, lost mines, archeology interns, spanish-speaking ghosts, and Kirlianometers (corona aura analysis meters).
Phin is the geek sister, using her mad math/physic skilz to try to measure paranormal phenomena, all the while being the epitome of an absent-minded professor. Amy's always run interference between her sister (her family) and the world, making sure no one locks them up as crazy.
But when the Mad Monk starts haunting her, Amy can't escape the reality of her own psychic powers. She may want to so she doesn't creep out the cute, cranky cowboy, but what makes this book go in to 5 star territory is that Amy and McCrankypants' snarky repartee is great, the mystery is great, and on top of all that you get some real character arc for Amy in terms of her self-image and how she deals with the world.
There's a point in the book where Phin says to Amy after rescuing her from a collapsed cavern "Mark and I are taking you and Ben to the hospital because its clear you can take care of everyone but yourselves." This is spot on. Both in terms of why Amy is attracted to Ben (he's responsible) and also for her own character.
Just a bit of kissing and some very, very veiled innuendo about a cell phone in a pocket "rounding on third base" so acceptable for even younger YA readers. Think way updated, much snarkier Nancy Drew/Scooby doo on a southern Texas ranch.
disconightwing's review against another edition
5.0
This book is like a cross between a romance and an episode of Scooby Doo. In the end, I think I was reading more for the romance than the mystery, which was... well, like an episode of Scooby Doo.
I loved the main character, Amy. She was easy to identify with. I liked her struggle to keep the normal part of her life from crossing over with the paranormal part. Her relationship Phin was very realistic too, as was her relationship with Ben, the hot cowboy love interest neighbor.
This is is a pretty hard review to write, because how do you summarize a book that starts with the main character speculating about how she didn't know goats could climb trees and then yells at cows in her underwear, yet who is still smart enough to be in college at seventeen and responsible enough to be left in charge of a farm over the summer? You really don't.
The setting, small-town Texas, really has the potential to devolve into a stereotype, but it doesn't. It keeps from going there and yet I had no problem at all picturing small-town Texas. I read a book earlier this year where the author mentioned the setting (Long Island) something like 37 times in the first 2 chapters and it really drove me nuts. I didn't like feeling clubbed on the head with it. This book manages not to do that, without losing its location. I liked that.
Every character in this book was well-rounded and human, and I love that! There were quite a few but they were all individuals and all unique without overcrowding the book.
I loved the main character, Amy. She was easy to identify with. I liked her struggle to keep the normal part of her life from crossing over with the paranormal part. Her relationship Phin was very realistic too, as was her relationship with Ben, the hot cowboy love interest neighbor.
This is is a pretty hard review to write, because how do you summarize a book that starts with the main character speculating about how she didn't know goats could climb trees and then yells at cows in her underwear, yet who is still smart enough to be in college at seventeen and responsible enough to be left in charge of a farm over the summer? You really don't.
The setting, small-town Texas, really has the potential to devolve into a stereotype, but it doesn't. It keeps from going there and yet I had no problem at all picturing small-town Texas. I read a book earlier this year where the author mentioned the setting (Long Island) something like 37 times in the first 2 chapters and it really drove me nuts. I didn't like feeling clubbed on the head with it. This book manages not to do that, without losing its location. I liked that.
Every character in this book was well-rounded and human, and I love that! There were quite a few but they were all individuals and all unique without overcrowding the book.
ophelia_so_sad's review against another edition
3.0
this is where i wish goodreads did half stars cause i’d really give it a 3.5 stars. overall, i liked that story, but it was incredibly slow throughout the whole thing. even when the plot picked up a bit, it still took a long time to get to the end. now would that deter me from recommending it? no. just know that it’s a slower read.
demonsreadtoo's review against another edition
2.0
I was expecting something a bit more witchy. Instead, the books spent the majority of its time digging up bones, literally. It took me almost a week to get through this one, which is partially why I rated it as low as I did. The other reason stems from the fact that plot left me confused as to where it was going, what was important, and generally underwhelmed. It wasn’t all bad though, the characters had their fun quirks and nuances, which in a different plot probably would have really interested me. There’s also a cute cowboy next door reigning in the romance front. Definitely for those who enjoy the “I hate you.” “No, I hate you more.” types of romances. Lots of tension!
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too