by Chloe Spencer
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Haunting Melody by Chloe Spencer is a sapphic YA paranormal mystery that delves into themes of mental health.
Melody is the child of acclaimed ghost hunters, but her First Sacred Hunt doesn’t go as planned. Scarred and embarrassed, her family relocates to a sleepy island town where her parents are tasked with capturing a ghost responsible for a series of grisly deaths.
The novel reads on the younger side of YA for me. The worldbuilding is pretty cool and revolves around various human “fantasticals,” which includes ghost hunters, mediums, selkies, and various other paranormal folks. There are tons of different kinds of ghosts, too!
I liked the interstitial clips from articles, interviews, poems, and other things at the start of chapters which was really cool and helped to expand on the worldbuilding. There’s also a helpful glossary at the back which details various terminologies. There’s a smidge of mixed media with the inclusion of text messages as well.
There’s a ton of good queer rep here: gay, lesbian, bisexual, and nonbinary characters along with a polyamorous relationship.
The author lists detailed CWs on her website. They’re also listed at the beginning of the book!
This would be a great read for folks looking for queer YA reads for spooky season. If you enjoy shows like Gravity Falls you should give it a try!
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to @PrideBookTours for the complimentary eARC. All opinions contained herein are my own. Haunting Melody releases on October 1, 2024.
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