Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

Summary of the text:

Seventeen year old Arielle is at a crossroads in her life. Disenchanted with her father, she is testing the boundaries of his trust by dating someone he does not approve. Under the moonlit sky in Long Island, Arielle and her boyfriend meet under the infamous hanging tree. The couple’s destiny is rooted to the five spirits in the tree whose lives and deaths are determined by an ancient curse. Will her future be determined by the past or will Arielle’s choices alter the course of her life?

About the Author:

This is Michael Phillip Cash’s first novella and is loosely based on a tree with a haunted past on the North Shore of Long Island. His other novels, Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion and his bestselling novel, Stillwell: A Haunting on long Island are receiving rave reviews. Cash lives on Long Island with his wife and two children.

OUR REVIEW:

This is another great read from Michael Phillips Cash. It is a short novella…so if you want something quick and easy to read in a few hours (or at least in my reading time) then pick up this book. It is short only 74 pages…but packed with a punch!

This is a very interesting read… it is fiction but based on something real … the hanging tree, which peaked my interest and prompted me to Google the location. It really does exist and is deemed one of the most haunted places on Long Island. I love when reality invades one of my fictional reads!

The story is intricately woven to showcase Arielle’s evening and the lives of five spirits. Even though the novella is short it does take some concentration because it jumps from character (spirit) to character while all the time incorporating Arielle’s evening happenings. This is done with chapter headings so you know what character is going to be “up” next. During the first few chapters this was confusing … but when I got into the flow of reading the novella it really did not matter and I began to fully understand Arielle and the characters.

With the Halloween season just behind us … this is a great reminiscence of the spirit world. However, this is a book that can be enjoyed anytime! Cash certainly does not disappoint as he crafts new characters and plots for his readers in this short novella!

Just a quick note… this is not a children’s book. There is some adult language within the pages, spirits (ghosts) and the illusion to one character being a witch glaze its pages. There are some slight … ever so slight sexual innuendos as well…so definitely not a book for the whole family. My thoughts would be to have an adult read the text first before having even an older child (young Adult read the book). But definitely a good adult read!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I wish it were a novel rather than a novella because it didn’t last as long as I wanted… I wanted to get into the characters lives more…but alas it is only a novella and even though I may have wanted more the book lives on its own as written. It stands out as a good novella with interesting characters for readers to enjoy!

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or at the authors personal website

www.micahelphillipcash.com