Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire Narrator: Amy Landon
Series: Ghost Roads #3
Published by Tantor Audio, DAW Books on May 11, 2021
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 320
Length: 11 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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Rose Marshall died when she was sixteen years old and on her way to her high school prom. She hasn’t been resting easy since then—Bobby Cross, the man who killed her, got away clean after running her off the road, and she’s not the kind of girl who can let something like that slide. She’s been looking for a way to stop him since before they put her body in the ground.
But things have changed in the twilight world where the spirits of the restless dead continue their “lives.” The crossroads have been destroyed, and Bobby’s protections are gone. For the first time, it might be possible for Rose to defeat him.
Not alone, though. She’ll need every friend she’s managed to make and every favor she’s managed to add to her account if she wants to stand a chance…and this may be her last chance to be avenged, since what is Bobby Cross without the crossroads?
Everything Rose knows is about to change.
Angel of the Overpass is the third full length installment of The Ghost Roads series following Rose, a hitchhiking ghost of legend killed when a car ran her off the side of the road. The Driver of cursed car has been chasing her for seventy years but with the Crossroad dead that is about to change and the hunted is about to become the hunter.
There are some pretty big issues I had with this book and I’ll get into those in a minute. First let’s talk about the good stuff.
I did like that in this book Rose transformed from a ghost running to escape the demon chasing her, to one that is finally ready to do something to get rid of the murderer. She is finally ready to own her death and find a way to help keep the living safe at the same time. With the blessing of three goddesses, she is the chosen one to go after Bobby Cross now that he doesn’t have a deal protecting him. She will run into some obstacles along the way and see some interesting stuff in the Twilight as powers realign themselves. McGuire is really good with imagining crazy places and the being in them. I’m always entertained by that in all of her series.
Now the thing that jumped out like a sore thumb in this story was all the ‘woke’ stuff. There are multiple scenes that didn’t seem to fit and felt like they were thrown in there just to make a speech for the reader to read. The worst offender was with Ocean Lady at a diner. It was the first time I rolled my eyes and was taken completely out of the story as homophobia was addressed. It was done poorly, didn’t make any sense and just made me feel preached at. But, that wasn’t all, it was like she had a list she wanted to make it through so there was also white privilege, Asian hate, more homophobia, bad cops, and pronoun usage.
Now, I completely admit I’m a little sensitive to all of the ‘woke-ism’ right now, since it feels everywhere in the real world and in my reading I would like to get away from it. However, if it is so blatant it takes you out of the story you are in, that is a problem. Plenty of authors find a way to have a voice subtly, without jamming it down your throat. It really felt like a solid fourth of this book was spent on some agenda instead of the plot. Again, I admit I’m possibly more sensitive to it at this time and it might not be as blatant to others or bother them at all.
I like Seanan McGuire a lot and have read 40+ books by her. This was probably one of the first times I was really disappointed in the direction she took with a story and felt so taken out of the story so many times it was distracting. I do hope this is a aberration and doesn’t start leaking into her other series as well as she is a favorite author of mine.
Narration:
Amy Landon is really a pro and has a ton of credits to her name. She brings the story to life and was a great pacing with her voice that really has the ability to draw in the reader. I thought her narration did credit to all the characters in the book and enjoyed her performance immensely.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Amy Landon
Amy Landon is a classically trained actress with numerous off-Broadway, film, and television credits. Her voice can also be heard on many television and radio commercials. She has an easy facility with dialects, which she also coaches and teaches, and she is happy to find her lifelong obsession with books is matching up with her acting and vocal work.
About Seanan McGuire
Hi! I’m Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I’m also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
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Oh no! I thought this series sounded really promising but I don’t like it when an author works a lecture (or a few in this case) into a book.
I like the concept of this series. It is very imaginative to think of what death looks like for those who don’t move on. But yes this was probably the book I liked the least out of all of her works so far.