Initial Impressions 10/27/13: Possess was really interesting! I don't read a lot of books about ghosts or possessions or demons (i'm too scared hahaha) so a book by Gretchen McNeil was perfect because for every horror, there is a bit of humor and sarcasm. 
 I was afraid it would be too religious at first, but it really just had to be set up and once I got into the story, it was much more like religious history and info the reader needs to solve the case. 
 Very fun book and a nice, mild scare! 
 Full review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide 11/15/13: Many thanks to Amy who bought this book for me for All Hallow's Read! I'd heard a lot of positive reactions to the book and having only read one other book by Gretchen McNeil, I had high hopes that I would enjoy it too! I'm actually really glad she got it for me because I probably wouldn't have ever picked it up for myself. We've talked several times how I'm a big, big chicken and I do NOT read books about ghosts or demons. And what does POSSESS have? Ghosts and demons. But I put my faith in Amy and rest assured that all turned out well! She just knows! :) 
 At first, I was just a tiiiiny bit skeptical. I'm not big on books who focus a lot on religion and right away we meet Bridget who goes to a Catholic school and meets with Monsignor Renault and Father Santos. Priests? I was worried. But I carried on through the first few chapters and once we started getting into the meat and potatoes of the religious history and the mythology surrounding angels and demons, I immediately became sucked in! Things really started coming together and I saw that as much as I wasn't a huge fan, religion definitely needed to be involved in this story and everything really fell into place. 
 I loved how delightfully creepy POSSESS was! I was a little scared that possessions, demons, and the like would be a little too much for me, but it was just the perfect amount to creep me out and not have me sticking the book in the freezer. (Points for understanding the reference!) What really made it enjoyable for a scaredy cat like me was the combination of creepy, funny, and yes, even romance! I can definitely say that without the humor and sarcasm that I love from Gretchen McNeil, it might not have been enjoyable and I really liked those moments when I was pulled out of the fear and given time to shake it off. 
 I had some minor issues here and there with characters but this was one of those books where I didn't read too far into it. I was definitely reading for fun and for the horror factor so it was a really enjoyable book for me! There were definitely some SUPER creepy moments (don't worry, it's not clowns, but it was worse than that for me haha) and some really great sort of religious mythology. I really liked how the book came together and it was a really fun read!