Possess by Gretchen McNeil {Mini Review}

Possess:
Rule #1: Do not show fear.
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

While the concept of Possess by Gretchen McNeil was interesting, I had a hard time connecting to this story. I can’t really explain why, it started off great—a spooky house and an exorcism (that threw me for a loop)—but the pacing was really slow and it took a while for the story to really get moving. The main heroine was likeable enough, but again I was a little disappointed by how flat she felt to me. From an emotional standpoint, Possess was rather lackluster, but when it came to paranormal elements and eerie vibes this book was great. The lore Gretchen created about angels, demons and Nephilim was unique and intriguing, and was also what really pulled this book together.   I really enjoyed the twists and unexpected turns as well as the mystery surrounding Bridget’s abilities and the sweet romance between her Matt.  Possess ended on a happy note with all of my questions answered.  I'm looking forward to reading more from Gretchen in the future.