“You saw the proposal . . . now don’t miss the wedding!
Suze and Jesse finally tie the knot in . . .
REMEMBRANCE.
Tempting but.....no. Sadly, Remembrance is gonna have to wait. 144 CONTENT WARNING: Contains the (possible) racial slur, chola. It's spelled out, though the N-word later is only implied. Different people use these words, both of them antagonists. Still, two racist characters in one novella - I didn't expect that.
I read the Mediator series back in my teens, and am almost 30 now. Needless to say, in regards to this series my recall is even worse than usual. How did Jesse go from a ghost to a living person?
Anyhoo, Suze now lives with quirky housemates, whilst trying to convince Jesse to shag her before marriage. She keeps looking at and talking about his crotch. Other readers may brush this off as sexy banter, but...no.
So the personal stuff is kind of faff, but the case Suze tries to solve is interesting. An interracial couple's car goes off a cliff. The driver is blamed...but is it really his fault? 144 This was an ok novella. I liked how it was both a bit different and similar to the original series. Suze did seem a bit more mature somehow, though in all honesty only a very tiny bit because she's still the Suze we got to know in the original. That Suze was many things, but mature wasn't one of them. There's some short ghost investigation as well as a few moments between her and Jesse. What this story does is that it basically breaches the gap between the original series and the new addition to it that's pretty much all. 2.5* 144 Nice extra to see the proposal. Sad though what happened with the couple she was helping. 144 (3.5 stars) This was a little underwhelming (as most novellas are), but it's officially made me SUPER excited for Remembrance! I really hope Jesse and Suze's relationship don't take a backseat there like it did here.
Ugh, Jesse. How are you still as perfect as ever? Why are you and Michael from the Princess Diaries so perfect?? Oh wait, because you two are fictional. Boo. 144
Re-read 5/26/17: This novella is hella cute. Such a cute branch between the original series and the newer book. I'm still obsessed with Jesse. Always and forever tbh ❤️
Original read 2/23/16: Jesse da Silva YOU SLAY ME. I missed this series so damn much. I can't even 144 December 2015: A NEW MEDIATOR BOOK???? :D
April 2017: I feel like the only positive thing I can say about this is that at least it was short... and that kind of breaks my heart a little. This doesn't hold a candle to the original books in the series. :( 144 After the complete disaster that I though The Princess Diaries adult installment was, I was so nervous about this...
PRAISE THE GOODREADS GODS, FOR THIS WAS PERFECTION.
They think Jesse is what Father Dominic told them he is: a “young Jesuit student who transferred to the Carmel Mission from Mexico, then lost his yearning to go into the priesthood” after meeting me. That one slays me every time.
The writing is silly, childish at times, and it makes you wonder how you can be so content reading this fluffy thing instead of deep shit, but it is PURE, AUTHENTIC MEDIATOR MATERIAL. I feel as if not one day has gone by since I read the last book. And yet, even with the sillyness I feel that we're talking about the somewhat-grownup versions of our beloved characters.
“That’s one of the many things I love about you, Susannah,” he said. “You’re always so polite to the parents of the kids you’ve unintentionally set up to be murdered.”
This just made me go back to my easily-excited-teenage-persona and I just love it.
PS: Sneak Peek at Remembrance eased my worries completely. Typical Mediator plot, where Paul is the bad guy, Suze gets into trouble because she always lets herself get manipulated by him and Jesse is either beating the crap out of Paul or exercising infinite patience with Suze. AMEN.
EDIT: Yup, Remembrance rocked my world. 144 This was a lovely short story of Suze and Jesse on thier Valentine's Day, which they agreed not to celebrate or spend time together. On that day, Suze, as a mediator, had a secret job to do at the cemetery while Jesse was at the hospital, doing his residency.
But things didn't go as planned. Suze messed things up with her 'client'. Then she went back to her dorm and found that Jesse was there in her room, waiting to spend romantic time with her and had something to surprise her. (Oh wait, no, not like that. He's an old-fashioned sort of guy so he told her to wait until marriage.) And then she ruined whatever he was going to do. Could her day get any worse?!
In this novella, Suze is still Suze, hasn't changed a bit. Although she's twenty-one now, she still thinks and acts exactly the same as she did when she was in high school. Father Dominic was right about her 'punch first, ask questions later' behaviour. I really don't know what to say...
But Jesse, oh my Jesse... He's going to be a doctor, a pediatrician! This Spanish man with his chivalry makes my heart melt every time he calls Suze 'querida'. Argh, Hector Jesse de Silva, you're officially my book boyfriend!
Engaged? My voice broke on the word. Jesse, no one our age gets engaged. They live together first, to see how things are going to work out, then—
We already did that, Susannah, he reminded me matter-of-factly. And I think you'll agree that things 'worked out' beneficially for both of us.
**Nodding head in agreement.
All in all, this was a fun, quick, hilarious, and sweet read. Another wonderful addition to the series. 144 Such nostalgia! I loved reading this series with my daughter years ago. A nice little reminder of why we read it and just how fabulous the Series was and still is. Gonna grab the next ASAP! 144
The last place Suze Simon expects to find herself during Valentine’s Day is a cemetery. But that’s what happens when you’re a mediator – cursed with the “gift” of communicating with the dead.
That’s how Suze has ended up at the graves of a pair of NCDPs - Non-Compliant Deceased Persons – whose drama didn’t end with death. It’s Suze’s job to make sure they move on—for good.
But the NCDPs aren’t the only ones with problems. The reason Suze is spending her Valentine’s Day with the undead instead of her boyfriend, Jesse, is because he’s having so much trouble adjusting to life after death . . . not surprising, considering the fact that he used to be an NCDP himself, and now his girlfriend busts his former kind for a living, while he tries to cure his kind of what used to ail him.
Can Suze use her mediating skills to propose a mutual resolution, and bring all these young lovers together - including Jesse and herself - especially on the night Saint Valentine declared sacred to romance?
Or will she end up alone—and possibly undead—herself? Proposal (The Mediator, #6.5)