THE NEON SKY

A vengeful spirit’s schemes complicate a romantic triangle in an Indiana town in this duology closer.

Villaire raises both suspense and romantic tension to high pitches as hunky, brooding Alonso faces death from the Council of Witches for being a necromancer and abruptly breaks things off with his beloved girlfriend, Penny, in order to protect her from the malignant ghost who periodically possesses him. He asks Corey, their wealthy and similarly attractive mutual friend, to help keep her away from him. Corey agrees reluctantly—an ancestral family bargain means that she’ll die if he falls in love with her, and he’s halfway there already. Can both the ghost and the curse be expunged before it’s too late to save lives and friendships? Despite the author’s efforts to give Penny some agency in all this, she remains a passive third party tossed by emotional storms. Even readers who prefer their women heroes on the vulnerable side will become frustrated by the time the young men finally explain their motivations. Amid texted exchanges, point-of-view shifts, fraught party scenes, and other conventional elements there are just barely enough spells, exorcisms, fiendish deeds, and journeys to the spirit world to keep things eerie. All the conflicts wind up resolved before an epilogue provides further closure. Most characters are cued white. Corey is biracial (Black and white), and names hint at some further diversity.

Steamy, but leans too much on typecast characters and contrivances.