[Book Review] The Adventures Of Jillian Spectre By Nic Tatano & The Muse Coffee Company Cozy Muse

Title: The Adventures of Jillian Spectre
Series: Book I of The Adventures of Jillian Spectre
Author: Nic Tatano
Publisher: HarperCollins UK / HarperImpulse
Publication date: March 13th 2014<
Page Count: 231 pages
Age Rating: Young Adult (some violence, extremely vague sexual references)
How I got my hot little hands on it: Received an ARC to review
Publisher’s page: The Adventures Of Jillian Spectre

Welcome to the Mystic Quarter…

Jillian Spectre knows what happens after you die.

Because the seventeen-year-old mystic seer can see the future of her clients even after they’ve passed on. And that’s not even her coolest power…

She can be in two places at once. Problem is, her heart can only be in one.

Supernatural abilities aside, she’s a typical high school senior torn between two guys. But that takes a back burner when she discovers the father she had long assumed was dead is actually alive, with unique powers of his own. He’s a technopath, with the ability to interface his mind with technology. And he’s got a plan to take down society.

Unless Jillian can stop him.

This is the story of a very special girl who learns that the power of love is more important than supernatural powers.

My Review

Have you ever met someone with a really strong personality and you can’t stand them at first, but then you spend more time around them and realize they’re actually pretty awesome and next thing you know you’re BFF’s? That’s how I felt about The Adventures of Jillian Spectre.

Jillian Spectre is a seventeen-year-old seer living in New York City’s paranormal section. Her mom is a seer, her best friend is a muse, and the two guys she most wants to date are a mindreader and a telekinetic, respectively. While doing a crystal ball reading for a client one day, Jillian gets a glimpse of something she’s not supposed to see – the afterlife. And it just snowballs from there. Her powers grow to unheard of levels and she finds out her dad is some kind of evil super villain out to take over mankind and she’s the only one that can stop him. It’s quite a lot of pressure for a high school girl, but Jillian isn’t your average high school girl – she’s got this.

This story has a lot of character and voice. So much so that I was a little overwhelmed going in. The Adventures of Jillian Spectre is told through the first person POV of Jillian and she spends a portion of the book (mostly in the beginning and lightly sprinkled in other parts) talking directly to the reader, which I found jarring. I thought this was going to get old really fast and feel gimmicky, but that is not what happened at all. Instead I found myself really liking Jillian and her strong personality and was sad when the story ended (p.s. I read the first chapter for the next book in this series and I was sad when that came to an end as well, I need more!).

There’s a whole lot going on in this book with new things thrown at you every few pages. There were a few times I had to stop and ask myself how the characters got to this point, because it did seem convoluted in some parts, but that’s part of this book’s charm. Things just keep getting thrown at Jillian, but with the help of her mom and friends, she takes it all in stride.

I loved this book. I (eventually) loved its voice and energy and I really adored the characters by the end. It’s got charm and panache and I absolutely recommend it for YA book lovers out there.

My favorite character, by far, in The Adventure of Jillian Spectre is Jillian’s best friend, Roxanne Falcone. Rox (as Jillian calls her) is a muse and her clients thank her for the inspiration she provides by gifting her with things any girl would dream of, from the latest fashions hot off the runway to tickets for shows and free albums and DVDs. Not only is she a muse, she’s also a six-foot tall, tough as nails, Glamazon with a heart of gold and a strong protective streak when it comes to her best friend. In honor of Roxanne, the protective Glamazon with a big heart, I’m recommending The Muse Coffee Company Cozy Muse – a coffee blend that combines the kick butt spiciness of clove with the comfort of warm butter rum.