Bridge of Souls

Cassidy Blake is back! VE Schwab’s middle grade ghost series has it’s third book,Bridge of Souls, and though it’s not as perfectly timed as it would have been with it’s original October 2020 release date, it’s still a great read! This time, the Inspectors takes us to New Orleans.

After nearly dying in a river, discovering spooky ghosts in Scotland, and falling into the catacombs in Paris, Cassidy Blake is looking forward to a chill New Orleans trip with her paranormal investigator parents, her ghost friend Jacob, and her cat Grimm. But this is a novel, but a dream, so things quickly go awry. New Orleans is teeming with the undead, just beyond the veil, waiting to be seen. But there’s someone looking for Cassidy, and she’s not happy about it. An Emissary is after her, determined to end this “veil walker” life she’s living as someone who narrowly escaped death. Couple that with a new city, a ghost best friend becoming more corporeal by the day, and a Secret Society, and you’ve got Bridge of Souls.

This book is the typical middle grade horror novel Schwab has been serving up so well–the audiobook is just over 5 hours, well paced chapters, lots of good lessons and parent’s who aren’t dead and jokes. There were a lot of Harry Potter references in this one, which was a little jarring, not going to lie. I thought it really made New Orleans come to life, and it was a cool way to introduce Cassidy’s choice between Jacob and not-Jacob. I also love that there’s even more of Laura Chaudry in this one! I always listen to these, not read, so apologies for any misspellings. My only REAL complaint: not enough Cat. I’m always waiting for Grimm to open his mouth and say something, LOL.

Overall, a 5 star read for me! A fun book for all ages, an interesting way to introduce “scary” topics to kids and hit that horror mug without too much murder, but it definitely doesn’t feel childish at all, even though Cassidy is 12.

Bridge of Souls is available wherever books are sold–and on Hoopla!