Reviewed by Donna
Retro Review by Annika
TITLE: The Ghost in the Mirror
SERIES: Samuel Dexter #1
AUTHOR: Faith Gibson
PUBLISHER: Bramblerose Press
LENGTH: 267 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2016
BLURB:
What do you do when you have no memories of your life except the one moment that took everything away?
My name is Dex and I’m a Marine. Somewhere in the horrors of the sand overseas, an explosion took out not only most of my unit but also my memories of everything that happened before that day. When my memories don’t return, the explosion also ends my career in the military. That one moment costs me everything.
Starting from scratch sucks. I don’t even know what foods I like or what types of music I listen to. Am I a boxer or briefs man? Do I like women or men? I also have to figure out what I’m going to do with my life from this point on.
While adjusting to my new life, I start seeing things — things that no one else can see. I think that maybe my head injury caused more than amnesia. When one of my “visions” won’t leave me alone, I have no choice but to believe in ghosts.
Along with the ghosts during the day, at night I dream vividly of two men. But are these two men merely dreams, or are they memories? When one man steps through the door of my hospital room, I have the answer. This man literally tries to lead me down memory lane, culminating in a searing kiss. Too bad my brain isn’t cooperating, because this man is breathtaking.
With the help of my sassy grandmother, I begin to rebuild my life.
I am Samuel Dexter, and these are my stories.
RETRO REVIEW:
This book has been calling out to me for a long time, and finally I had the time to pick it up. I’m drawn to stories with psychics but also with people with amnesia and I always have been. So of course this book really appealed to me.
I loved that there was no quick fix, that everything was a work in progress and that things took time. There were no easy answers, not in regards to Sam’s amnesia or his ability to see ghosts. We learned everything on the go and had to work for the answers, and I loved every minute of it. Every character was engaging, and some captured my heart more than others. Ghost in the Mirror was a solid start to a new series and new characters and I can’t wait to explore more of this world.
Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a good paranormal mystery.
RETRO RATING: 
REVIEW:
This book was my introduction to Faith Gibson, and I have to say that it didn’t disappoint in any way. I’m now going to have to go back and read my way through this author’s other stories.
This series begins with injured Marine, Samuel Dexter, aka Dex, waking up in hospital with no memory of…anything. Forget the trauma of not remembering how he got injured, he doesn’t even remember the face looking back at him in the mirror. With only his grandmother by his side, his grandmother who wants him to remember his memories in his own time, Dex must rediscover the life he lived and work on achieving the life he wants.
Hands down, without a doubt, my favourite element of this story was the paranormal aspect. As the blurb says – Dex can see ghosts, and two ghosts in particular become very important to him. One is the ghost of a fellow soldier, a man that Dex feels meant something to him, even though he’s not even sure if he’s gay. The other is the ghost of a little girl, wearing a pretty dress and with long blonde hair, who was murdered a long time ago. Although Dex doesn’t know many things, he knows that he needs to discover the truth of what happened to little Cindy, so she can finally find peace. The ghost of Cindy became a very present character through most of the story. She was very well presented, there was nothing creepy or hokey about her, and I loved that Dex became attached to her, and cared about her even though she was actually long dead. It could almost be said that this book is about a man with a child with the way she becomes an important person in his life.
The other side of this story is, of course, the romance aspect. The romance definitely plays a secondary role in this story to the paranormal mystery, however I’m assuming that the romance angle will be furthered in following books. I honestly didn’t feel there was a lack in this book because the ghost aspect kept me hooked. Dex’s love interest here is Orlando, his high school boyfriend from (I believe…) six years ago. They were madly in love and swore that they’d be together forever, but then Dex joined the Marines and Orlando was left behind, devastated. OMG, the freakin’ heartache! Most of this story is told from Dex’s point of view, but what we get from Orlando!? Knowing he waited six years only to find out that Dex fell in love with someone else!!! And while Orlando is still wildly in love with Dex, Dex doesn’t even remember Orlando. Holy shit, the emotion pain! But don’t you all go hating on Dex. Everything is explained better in the story. Guess you’ll have to read it 😉
I can’t wait to see where this series goes next. I’m excited for the continuation of both storylines – the paranormal investigating and the romance between Dex and Orlando. I absolutely recommend this story!
RATING:
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