It was too “preachy.” That was the first thought that I had after finishing this book. So much so, that I felt the need to read the author’s note to see if Jesus, or God the Father was mentioned in a meaningful way. I was not at all surprised to find out that my hunch was correct. It’s disappointing. The premise was SO interesting. A program that takes humans and allows them to become hosts for spirits that need to come back to this realm to deal with unfinished business. I was sold! I mean… what could go wrong with that setup?

Technically, that is what the story is about, but there was so much time spent harping on and forcing the idea of grace and forgiveness (even for the most heinous acts), that it felt unbalanced and a little cultish. That time could have been used to build out the world (which left much to be desired) and to fill in some of the information gaps.

My lasting thought was that this was a 336 page Sunday school lesson (think Left Behind) that I did not sign up for, or enjoy.

I really enjoyed this as a opening chapter in the Vessels series, it was everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed about the genre. It had that concept that I was wanting and enjoyed the idea of letting spirits use your body to get whatever they needed to move on. I’m excited to read more in this series and it left me wanting more.

This is such a good and creative read! I love this idea of bodies being vessels for those who have passed away already, it was an entertaining and futuristic. I think the pacing of the book was really good, and I enjoyed the characters!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!