Review: Amber House By: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed

Title: Amber House

Authors: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, Larkin Reed

Published: October 1st ,2012

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars! 2012 Favorite!

Goodreads Summary:

"I was sixteen the first time my grandmother died . . ."

Sarah Parsons has never seen Amber House, the grand Maryland estate that's been in her family for three centuries. She's never walked its hedge maze nor found its secret chambers; she's never glimpsed the shades that haunt it, nor hunted for lost diamonds in its walls.

But all of that is about to change. After her grandmother passes away, Sarah and her friend Jackson decide to search for the diamonds--and the house comes alive. She discovers that she can see visions of the house's past, like the eighteenth-century sea captain who hid the jewels, or the glamorous great-grandmother driven mad by grief. She grows closer to both Jackson and a young man named Richard Hathaway, whose family histories are each deeply entwined with her own. But when the visions start to threaten the person she holds most dear, Sarah must do everything she can to get to the bottom of the house's secrets, and stop the course of history before it is cemented forever.

My Thoughts:

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for review.

The first thing that I have to say is that Amber House completely and totally blew me away, I had no expectations when I began reading this book but, it exceeded every single one of them and gave me an amazing story to become engrossed in.  These three authors have blended together an incredible story that is full of everything that a fantastic YA book needs.

Sarah Parsons and her family are returning to their family owned home Amber House in Maryland because Sarah's grandmother has passed away. Amber House has been in her family for centuries and as walk into this house it shows, it is full of every piece of her family's history the good and the bad from portraits to antiques, her ancestry is in this house. Sarah has not got to visit Amber House before because her mother and grandmother did not get along but, she definitely is taking this opportunity to find out everything she can about her heritage and Amber House, she uncovers so many secrets that you cannot even imagine. I was completely jealous throughout this whole entire book. How cool would it be to have this amazing old house full of so much history in your family that was free for you to explore, full of secret passages and hidden treasures, who wouldn't want the chance to explore such an amazing house.

Sarah was a great main character, she did not shy away from the gift she found out she had most of the time, she got to take a glimpse into history and watch her ancestors go through their lives making decisions and living with their consequences, it sounds like a completely remarkable gift but, a terrifying one at that. My second favorite character was Sarah's little brother Sammy, he was such an amazing kid and so adorable that every single time I got to read about him my heart completely melted. He is autistic but, he was Sarah's cheerleader and side kick throughout the story and he gave it so much warmth and heart just by being a part of it. But, what YA book would be complete without a love triangle? Sarah is having one between Jackson, the grandson of her grandmother's best friend who has lived on the Amber House property for years and the wealthy son of a senator, Richard, whose father is an old friend of Sarah's mother. I didn't cringe or hate the love triangle in this book at all because it was not the focus of the book and it didn't overshadow the wonderful plot that was Amber House. Jackson and Richard  both had such a different relationship and repo tour with Sarah, I couldn't decide which one of them deserves to be with her. The last thing that I want to mention is Sarah's mother, I absolutely hated her character throughout the whole book, at times it seemed like it was intentional, the authors wanted you to hate her to but, I really, really did. She was self absorbed and selfish, she didn't seem to care much about her children at all, she seemed fake and I just couldn't stand reading about her at all, I just wanted to jump into the book and yell at her so many times!

Overall Amber House was an incredible book, it has literally everything that I could have ever asked for in a book, I loved the plot so much and I really felt like it was not something that I had read before in the YA genre and we definitely need more books like this one. Amber House was a rich story that was full of secrets and intrigue, a captivating read. I was also so excited to find out that this is the first in a trilogy because the ending completely threw me for a loop and I am glad that I will get some answers and I am beyond excited to continue on with Sarah and the story of Amber House. Who knows what will happen next? Everyone should definitely check this out, it is honestly full of something for everyone!

Happy Reading!

Kristin