3.5 stars, Just in time for spooky season.

This book, set in a university is a murder mystery, with thriller, romance and magic thrown in. To be honest, the beginning of the book didn’t pull me in, I found there were far too many characters, it was difficult to keep up and to make it more confusing sometimes they were addressed by their first names and other times by their second names. Once the story got going and you work out who the main players are though, that’s when I began to enjoy the book and raced through it.

Our main character Jerry is investigating freaky deaths that have happened at the university that seem linked with bad luck - opening an umbrella indoors, Friday the 13th etc. Jerry finds links to similar incidents in 1984 and as a journalist he delves deep to find out if that’s all linked to what’s happening now.

This was a fun read. I would say more YA, a good premise but I don’t think I would carry on with the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded down to three because I found the plot a little predictable. However, the premise was intriguing, and I liked the way the author tied in the superstitions to the deaths in the story, it was very Final Destination-like.

Journalism major Jerry Williams is trying to follow in his father's footsteps by hoping to land a sensational story that will garner him lots of attention from bigwigs, despite the dwindling days of glory journalism and printed newspapers. He has written several stores for the Van Buren University Chronicle but unfortunately, the best stories are shot down by the editor in chief, likely due to how it paints the university in bad lighting but mostly to cover her own tush.

When several random deaths occur on campus, he starts to piece together the victims had a connection to a superstition that causes bad luck. And then the actual bad luck occurs in the form of a freak accident. The more Jerry puts together the more the university wants to silence him before he supposedly causes mass panic (what's unsaid is mostly panic among the major donors pulling funding... yay capitalism).

Like I said, the plot was promising but Jerry is such a self-absorbed jerk when he hops from one girlfriend to the next was completely off-putting. However, the girls weren't much better. This felt a lot more like high school than college and the whole OMG I got the cheerleader thing smacked of immaturity.

Also, note to the male author. You don't need to tell me what every single character is wearing when they appear in the scene. If it's not relevant to the plot, I don't care what color someone's sneakers are or the Addidas logo on their shirt. However, the outfit you put Jerry in for his big date with the cheerleader sounds like it doesn't match in the slightest. Yellow shirt and burgundy tie? Ewww.

I was impressed by the accuracy of Jerry's first aid skills but there was one glaring error (may be fixed in edits since this is an advance copy) that made me literally yell at my kindle. However, that's just me being picky.

Thank you to City Owl Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

From the description, this book sounded like something I'd enjoy and I did like the different deaths. However, I just really couldn't get into it. There was nothing bad about the writing or the plot but it just wasn't for me. I can see this book being a favorite for a lot of people so don't let my review discourage you from checking this book out.

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover and was kept hooked from the prologue! The concept of this story is immensely intriguing and I found myself unable to book this book down! I will say I had trouble being super invested in the characters and deaths in the first 25% of the story - I felt like we needed more background on the characters that were dying because I just wasn't invested in their accidental deaths that turned into Jerry's obsession.

That being said, my love for our main character Jerry had me completely interested in the rest of the story. I loved the journalism aspect of this, it gave me slight AGGTM vibes. I love that I got a character to hate out of Darla and was completely convinced that she had something to do with all of this (which I'm sure is what Blakey wanted from us). When Jerry started to piece everything together I had thought that I had everything figured out too and had guessed the plot twist. I have never been so delighted to be wrong! The last 15% of the book had my jaw on the floor! It was an excellent ending to a really great story!

The only gripes I had with this was the relationship & romance aspect seemed to be lacking and as a mainly romance reader I could tell that this was written by a man. That being said, I loved that we got even a little bit of romance out of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had so much fun with this story! It was a super easy, fast paced story that had me on the edge of my seat. I will definitely be buying a physical copy and recommending to all of my friends! This was the perfect fall book to get you into the spooky season spirit!

Struggled to get into this at time. I enjoyed the premise from the description and in general it sounded like something I'd typically enjoy.

Writing at times feels stunted which I think is because of how much dialogue is included (very little description) and the plot is predictable at times. Feels like several stories going on at once and none really join together. Potentially better suited to a younger audience.

The use of a lot of dialogue, however does mean this is a quick read (one or two sittings) and is quite an easy read if you don't try piece all the sub plots together.

“An umbrella is opened indoors. A black cat crosses your path. Three cigarettes are lit from one match. These are omens of bad luck that no one takes seriously. But at Van Buren University when these, and other superstitions, are broken… students die.“
Get your lucky rabbits foot ready because you’re in for a wild ride. Strange things are going on at Van Buren University. Let’s just say I have already recommended this book to several of my friends. We all love a good paranormal read but when you add college students, superstitions, and the spook level is on 10 you get this wonderfully written book! I really loved the story and I could definitely see a major streaming company picking this up and turning it into a mini series or a movie. I would totally love more spin offs of Van Buren University! I can’t wait to see what else James Blakey comes up with next!
A big thank you to NetGalley, James Blakey, & City Owl Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I couldn't get into this book, The different deaths from superstition was interesting, but all and all, i just could get into it.

The premise for this novel was intriguing. Horrible deaths caused from breaking certain superstitions. And while we do find some of that here, ultimately it became a hodge podge of ideas that didn't quite click for me.

Jerry is a reporter for his college newspaper. When three deaths occur in a very short time, he discovers they all had broken some superstitious rules (spilling salt, etc).

This concept is interesting but we find out later that some people don't die, they just get injured. Finding a string of deaths which all happened on Friday the 13th in 1984, he suspects they might be related. Since Friday the 13th is coming up in the present time, he thinks a massacre is about to happen.

This is the basic plot and it does require some investigative efforts to uncover the connection between past and present.

But the story gets bogged down in extras which don't add to the narrative. A romance angle, something about a homemade internet jammer that will stop the evil (?), and one dimensional side characters that don't add anything of substance.

And clothes. The author describes what any character is wearing every time we read about them. Almost every chapter has instances where they are introduced or reintroduced by describing what they're wearing. What brands, what colours, and how good they look. I found this annoying after awhile.

I won't spoil the ending but it didn't really have anything to do with bad luck because of superstition. It kind of felt anticlimactic with the rest of the narrative.

I wouldn't discourage anybody from reading this or any other book. You should make up your own minds. You might find this novel intriguing. This is just my personal opinion.

The author is very competent and writes really well. This book just wasn't for me.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. The characters and story was very well written. The plot twist surprised me. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much to the NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for the ARC. The opinion is my own.

A quick fun read where college students are dropping dead with Jerry Williams on the case to discover the reason for why - all while his romantic life is getting a upheaval. This is not a romance but relationships are messy.
The writing is snappy and easy to read, with modern references to social media. The characters are not the most complex and I was honestly getting a bit annoyed by the main character but loved the end decision by him. Good for him.
Some characters I feel are almost forgotten about until its their time to shine. No gore is described though there are some injuries described lightly.
The pacing is fast paced and the plot has a really nice idea.
All in all, pretty nice read.

Superstition by James Blakey is so perfect!!! I really recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

I absolutely devoured this book in a day! This is not the kind of book I normally read. I'm more of a romance girlie, but I was intrigued by the premise when I saw it here. I'm super glad I requested the ARC!

This was a super fast and interesting read. I did suspect the "who" in the "whodunit" fairly early, but it was still fun to get there in the end! I'm glad I wasn't stuck on the red herring. I'm super impressed this is debut novel.

As a journalist myself, I'm always so skeptical about going into books that have reporters in them, but I think this was pretty good representation. Much better than other books/shows/movies I've seen.

When the next VBU book comes out, I'll definitely read it.

**Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.**