Book Review: The Key Inheritance by Jen McConnel

Review: The Key Inheritance
Series: —
Author: Jen McConnel
Release Date: Published January 15th 2013 by BrightFish Press
Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis:

Ten years after the trip to Scotland that changed her life, Lou is back in the misty, magical country. This time, however, she’s not on vacation: Lou is there to settle some distasteful and depressing family business. When Brian, her old Highland fling, turns up, Lou is forced to wrestle with a past that she thought was dead and buried. As tension between the former lovers mounts, something wicked is stirring in Scotland. Lou must use all her strength to handle the increasingly desperate situation, but will she be strong enough to battle both a vengeful ghost and her heart?

The Key Inheritance is a novella that takes place a decade after the events of The Burning of Isobel Key. This contemporary story crosses into the supernatural as Lou discovers evidence of a long-dead spirit who refuses to rest in peace. Lou may have thought that she was finished with the witch Isobel Key, but her inheritance is more than the young woman can handle alone.

My thoughts:

Ahhh! This story is fantastic! It seems that the story has gone full circle now with Lou going back to Scotland. It’s interesting how this story fits in with the first. You definitely have to read the first to understand the relationship between Brian and Lou but this has so much in it that corresponds to book one that it is truly a book two. Sounds strange while I’m writing this but the two intertwine so well that they quite literally go together. Not all sequels are like that and it made this book all the more appealing to me!

The only thing I would prefer is more information about why Alexander is upset. I can’t say more as I do not want to give out spoilers, but I would have liked to know a bit more about his feelings. Jen does give us tidbits, like she did in the first, so you are reading both the present and the past. And I love how well she does that but this time I wanted a little bit more of why Alexander was doing what he was doing. Although not knowing did not take away from the story at all!

Lou is stronger than in the first book but still so timid. She is such a lovely person and I loved being able to read about her again. Brian is also going through a lot of his own emotional demons so seeing the two together again was fantastic and heart wrenching all at the same time!

This was on the shorter side, and I really hope that Jen is thinking of a third because I want MORE from this! More of this story, more of these characters, just want more!!

About the author:

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).

She is also an active reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.

A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she isn’t crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a community college. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.

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