Book Review - Love You To Death & High Stakes

Title: Love You To Death & High Stakes
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN-13: 978-0330519502

Synopsis
Meet Susannah Simon: she's a typical teenage girl, who just happens to be a ghost-hunter . . . oh, and she's also dead-over-heels for Jesse - the sexiest spook ever! But can this girl get her ghost?
In LOVE YOU TO DEATH Suze arrives in California and has barely unpacked when her mediator skills are put to the test. A vicious spirit in her new school is hell-bent on making her life a complete nightmare, but Suze is more than ready to kick some serious ghost butt if she has to.
In HIGH STAKES Suze's new life is looking up - cool friends, pool parties and getting to know Jesse (swoon), but then a desperate spirit asks for her help. Suddenly she's on the trail of a creepy local businessman, who just might be a vampire. Life just got dead complicated. Again. 

My Review
This is a special two books in one which I love as it means I don't have to wait for the next part. 
Suze is a Mediator, she can see, talk to and touch ghosts, she saw her first ghost at the age of two, and has grown up helping the deceased move on. Often getting into trouble, skipping school and brought home by police for trespassing, she sees her powers as more of a curse than a gift. Her mum has got re-married and so Suze has to move from New York to California, to live with her new step-dad and 3 step-brothers. Maybe this will be a new start, somewhere to get away from her Mediating, but this is not the case, California sure has problems.
Love You To Death is the first book in the series, and is really gripping, I was instantly hooked, Suze is quick witted, sarcastic, and funny. I felt instantly connected with the characters and was lost in the world. I finished this story in a couple of hours and went straight into Part 2.
High Stakes carries on more or less straight after the first one ended. Suze has got rid of the malevolent spirit of an ex pupil and nearly trashed the school, she's hoping she can settle down and enjoy life and the sun of California. But life is never that simple. This book had the same quick wit and fast pace that got me hooked. This book takes us away from school, and into a more sinister setting. I could not stop reading, I was literally walking round with my nose in the book. I laughed out loud and gasped in shock.
These books are very well written and flow well. I was hooked into the story and couldn't wait to get hold of the next book. There is such a variety of characters that all come together brilliantly. I can't believe I put off reading this series for so long. If you can, find a copy and give them a go, you won't regret it.

My Rating
I would give this book 9.5/10. Excellent reads and well structured. 




This book counts towards 'Morbid Romantica' Challenge - February book 'Vampire Hunter'. Suze believes she is dealing with an evil vamp as well as ghosts.