Blog Tour – The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC of the below in exchange for an honest review as part of a tour hosted by Graydon House Books. The below contains spoilers for the first two books in the series.**

Title The Orphan of Cemetery Hill

Author Hester Fox

Release Date September 15, 2020

Publisher Graydon House Books

Description

The dead won’t bother you if you don’t give them permission.

Boston, 1844.

Tabby has a peculiar gift: she can communicate with the recently departed. It makes her special, but it also makes her dangerous.

As an orphaned child, she fled with her sister, Alice, from their charlatan aunt Bellefonte, who wanted only to exploit Tabby’s gift so she could profit from the recent craze for seances.

Now a young woman and tragically separated from Alice, Tabby works with her adopted father, Eli, the kind caretaker of a large Boston cemetery. When a series of macabre grave robberies begins to plague the city, Tabby is ensnared in a deadly plot by the perpetrators, known only as the “Resurrection Men.”

In the end, Tabby’s gift will either save both her and the cemetery—or bring about her own destruction.

Initial Thoughts

First of all, Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world. No, you know what, it’s probably my favorite city. So, historical fantasy set in my favorite place? You know I want to read it!

Also, this book sounded perfect for my October Spooky Reads list.

Some Things I Liked

• Harvard, Boston, and the Resurrectionists. I loved the history and familiar topics found in this book. Weirdly, I’ve read a few books about people who dug up graves in the name of science recently and I really loved that I could connect a familiar subject to a familiar city.
• Multiple POVs. I also liked the different POVs. Our main characters are not always together so it can be difficult to show the reader what they are all up to all the time. I thought the POVs were well done here and I liked that Caleb was essentially the bridge between the other two.
• Dark themes. This book is creepy, it covers some pretty heavy topics, but, overall, I really enjoyed that. I thought it was perfect for the season and I will be recommending it in October.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

• Caleb had his moments where he was kind of a weasel. I thought Tabby deserved better. I almost didn’t want there to be romance between them because he was not my favorite in beginning of the story.

Series Value

I think Tabby’s abilities could certainly yield sequels but this felt like a stand alone story. I liked the other characters but I wouldn’t drop everything to read a sequel. I think this story is better as a stand alone.

However, I will continue to read Hester Fox’s books. I really enjoyed the history and writing here.

Final Thoughts

I liked this book. I was hesitant to read it at first thinking it might be too spooky for me. I am pleased to report, the spooky-ness was minimal and this was an enjoyable, quick read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• Magic Dark and Strange by Kelly Powell – if you’re looking for a YA version of this story with slightly younger characters and a bit more magic, try this October 2020 release.
• Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok – again, if you’re looking for YA or looking for a Parisian setting, try this duology by Jodie Lynn Zdrok.

Book Links
Harlequin 
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Amazon
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Books-A-Million
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iBooks
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Author Links
Author Website: http://hesterfox.com/
TWITTER: @HesterBFox
Instagram: @trotfoxwrite
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17440931.Hester_Fox