Review: Texas Gothic - Rosemary Clement-Moore

Amy Goodnight's family are far from normal.  She comes from a long line of witches, and grew up surrounded by benevolent spirits and kitchen spells.  All fairly harmless, but Amy can't wait to get to college and escape the "family business".

But things take a darker turn when she and her sister Phin spend the summer looking after their Aunt Hyacinth's ranch.  Amy is visited by a midnight spectre who is clearly trying to send her a message.  It seems that the discovery of an old grave on a neighbour's land has been the catalyst for an apparent ghost uprising.

Aided by local friends and Ben, the handsome cowboy who just can't take his eyes off Amy, the sisters investigate.  And they soon find that there's something strange and dangerous going on, deep in the heart of Texas . . .

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Review:
Amy comes from a rather eccentric family of witches and has spent years trying to keep their secret and smooth things over between them and the rest of the world.  She has magical abilities but prefers to live a normal life and worries what will happen if her family's secret is discovered.  When Amy and her sister Phin agree to look after their Aunt's ranch while she is on holiday they get a lot more than they bargained for.  With work on a nearby ranch disturbing a graveyard Amy soon finds herself having ghostly visits and her family's secrets become harder and harder to keep.

Texas Gothic is the first book I've read by Rosemary Clement-Moore but it definitely won't be the last, I'm glad I already have The Splendour Falls on my to read pile!  I really, really hope that Texas Gothic turns out to be the first book in a series because I want to see more of Amy and Ben, I'm sure there is plenty of scope for more stories about Amy's crazy family and the antics they get up to.

It's actually been a while since I've read a story about witches so it made a nice change from the usual vampires and shape shifters that seem to have taken over the paranormal genre at the moment.  I also loved the Texas setting, there are nowhere near enough sexy cowboys in YA and I totally want to start a campaign to rectify this!  Amy is a great narrator for the story, she is the sensible member of the family, the smart one who always smooths over troubled waters and looks out for everyone.  Although she is reluctant to use her magical abilities she steps up to the plate when she realises that there is no other alternative.  It was actually nice to see her start to accept herself and her family as the story progresses.

When she first meets Ben, Amy finds herself in a very compromising position and I found it hilarious watching the scene unfold.  I don't think I've laughed out loud as much when reading a book for a long time, for someone who is usually so sensible Amy sure does end up in a lot of messes - especially when Ben is involved.  Ben was someone I liked immediately, he comes across as cranky but he is also quite a gentleman and yes he is totally swoon worthy.  I loved the banter between him and Amy, it was refreshing to see them spend so much time arguing with each other rather than fall straight into each other's arms.  It is definitely true what they say about love and hate being the opposite side of the same coin, and you can really feel the attraction between them even while they are fighting.  It was great that Amy remained true to herself though and wasn't going to let Ben get away with telling her what she should do.

Texas Gothic really is a fantastic read and one that I almost wish I could wipe from my memory just so I could start it all over again.  This is definitely going on my re-read pile though and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.  I'd recommend this to any YA paranormal fan who likes smart heroines, a good mystery and a hero to swoon over.

Source: Received from RHCB in exchange for an honest review

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