I'm a sucker for reading the first book in a series. IMO the first book sets the standard for any that may come afterwards. And if this one is an example......this will be a followed series for me. The paranormal/ not normal world is beginning to stir and our intrepid crew of three are headed into a battle they've never dreamed of. The story line is great, the characters worried about the story line and this reader excited about the Hawthorne House books to come.

3.5 ⭐

Random notes 📝

*3rd person POV
*Pretty diverse cast of characters (warlock.werewolf.vampires.other.. things?) but hard to keep track of at times
*Good worldbuilding
*The shadow was very unique and unusual
*Favourite thing: Julian's powers ✨
*Best character: Julian
*A nice build up but a bit scattered during the final chapters
*Everything is connected

Ghost Electricity is the first full novel in the Hawthorn House urban fantasy series by Sean Cunningham. Originally released in 2018, this reformat and re-release is 244 pages and is available in ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is an absolutely character driven chaotic urban fantasy which slams along chaotically like a zoetrope filmed strobe-lit mosh pit. The characters are worth the effort though. Warlock & vampire flatmates Julian & Rob respectively are living next door to a sort of Wednesday Addams/Flavia de Luce 10 year old metaphysics supergenius whose elder sister may-or-may-not-be possessed (and who undeniably has a monster in her shadow). Add lots of monsters, a huge amount of fighting and bloodshed, and stir.

Despite hopping from scene to scene like water droplets on an overheated griddle, there are some genuinely funny moments and the author has a deft touch writing comedy. There are fascinating glimpses of cohesive and potentially amazing world building here, but they're mostly obscured by the chaos and constantly changing scenes.

I feel that there is an impressive amount of potential here and recommend it to fans of UF. There is at least one other book and several shorter novella length works set in the same universe for readers who enjoy a binge series. (They all seem to currently be available for kindle unlimited subscribers).

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book was not at all what I was expecting when I requested to read it. I am not a fan at all of the book cover. I find that to be super important and it just wasn't very nice to me. However, I think it was very well written and easy to picture. The characters weren't very hard to get into either. It did feel like it was missing important parts though, hopefully that will get cleared up in another book.

A fantastic book and I enjoyed reading it. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. It was a great book.

Julian Blackwood is a warlock from an ancient family, who has developed even more powers. Rob Cromwell, a lone werewolf, who is more than he seems. A young woman, Fiona, who has a protector that she doesn't know about and her 10 year old sister, Jessica, a mechanical wiz knows more than she lets on.
When Julian and Rob, working for a transport company, try to deliver a special cargo, they are targeted on the way but manage to get the job done. But when the project that the cargo is for goes horribly wrong, these four need to save the day.
This first Hawthorne House book in the series is an extremely entertaining paranormal fantasy with unique and quirky characters.
Thank you NetGalley for this e-galley of "Ghost Electricity".

The thing about urban fantasy that sets it apart, is that it is generally set in a contemporary landscape – usually a city – and then peopled with otherworldly creatures. So a lot of the pleasure is derived from seeing our everyday settings collide with something other. I was immediately held by Cunningham’s opening sequence with Julian in the London Underground, which was very well done. Anyone who has ever stood on a crowded platform waiting for the train to come could visualise only too well how events unspooled. And that repeated question of Julian’s – Do you know what happens to ghosts in London? – was also nicely handled. Too much and that shiver of horror would have disappeared…

Initially, I was a bit fed up when I realised we wouldn’t be in Julian’s head throughout. But I soon found that I had no trouble bonding with the other protagonists, even when I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on. There’s plenty of tension in this urban fantasy adventure, which makes the sudden outbreaks of rather gory violence seem even more shocking. Underneath the bustling normality of London is a brutal world where mages, vampyres and shapeshifters jostle for power and far too often treat the rest of us as recreation and/or fodder. And in a stunning coincidence, Hawthorn House is where a number of these remarkable people pitch up. I liked all the protagonists, but I particularly bonded with poor old Rob, who just wants a nice normal life, where he rubs along with his work mates and can enjoy a night out down at the pub. Somehow, this never quite happens as all sorts of other distractions get in the way.

The rising tension was well paced and I loved a particular vampyre attack – and what happens to the van, afterwards. As with many urban fantasy tales, there are enjoyable shafts of humour that prevent it becoming too grim, which didn’t prevent the stakes rising such that I found this one difficult to put down as it reached its climax. Overall, this was a thoroughly entertaining read – and the good news is that there are two other books and a number of shorter stories already published in the Hawthorn House series. And I’ll certainly be tucking into them in the near future. While I obtained an arc of Ghost Electricity from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, had quirky plot developments and entertaining characters.

I did feel, particularly at the beginning, like I might have been reading the second book in a series. I just felt like there was lots of key information missing, like I was supposed to know what was being alluded to and I didn't. But as I continued to read, most of my questions were answered, and I like the answers I was given.

I liked how unique the plot, the characters and the setting were. I don't know if I have read anything like this before, but I've already sort out the sequel, so that is probably a good sign.

I’ve been enjoying urban fantasy since around 2000, and it’s become my all-time favorite. I don’t have as much time to read even the authors I do read, but I still try new ones like this author. This was an intriguingly crafted book with a few “sets” of people whose lives we follow until they all collide towards the end. Cunningham wrote an interesting universe with a vast array of characters, and the genre is a mix of cyperpunk, urban fantasy, ghost story, noir, and horror, and there’s probably more I’m missing. While this book wasn’t perfect with not a lot of character development, a few awkward sentences/phrasing, and a couple other minors things, there was still more than enough to satisfy most readers, and I’m definitely going to read the next in the series. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

****spoilers***


I was given an arc copy for a full and honest review. This book follows a number of creatures throughout London; with the main protagonists Rob (werewolf) and Julian (Warlock) and the many problems that they encounter.

Firstly I felt this book introduced a significant number of characters and settings with no real explanation; even now, after completing I’m not exactly sure what the flesh weaver console is…yet on the other-hand some of the descriptive language used when talking about creatures was excellent. I particularly liked a section regarding the athletic ability of vampires and their ability to scale walls; it sent a shiver down my spine.

One character I particularly loved Was Jessica; the young inventor. I loved her quick wit and skills. I’d quite happily read a book based around her adventures alone.

Another character (Fiona) had a monster in her shadow and she was unsure how it got there; to which in fact I’m left as baffled at the end on who “put” it there. I did however, feel it was an excellent metaphor for depression…. The character not always being aware it was there; yet not seeing the world clearly. I did like the interactions Fiona had with Damon (another Warlock) and how she came to discover the monster and see the world clearly.

Although we “followed” Fiona’s story I still felt like there were a lot of loose ends. What exactly was the point of the dreamworld? Why was she sent to her “current” life… maybe a following novel could explore how she came to be there more; I’d find that fascinating.

I loved Rob and Julians burgeoning friendship and the rapport they had together.

I did enjoy this book it often found that there were too many characters introduced in such a short space of time it was hard to process who was who for a while. I
Also felt there were sections missing and it jumped a little…like what happened in between… it could be hard to process and almost felt like there were missing links.

However, I did enjoy the book overall but I felt there could have been more focus and maybe losing some of the unnecessary characters; in order to make it more streamlined. I do think more focus on Rob and Julian as well as Jessica would have been great. Ultimately I was left thinking on some of the story arcs…why?

GHOST ELECTRICITY by Sean Cunningham is one of the best Urban Fantasies I have ever read, combining as it does a deep comprehension of London's history, Science, Speculative Fiction, and Lovecraftian Cosmic "What's really Out There?" Horror.
Where do the Ghosts of London go? What's keeping Real Cosmic Evil at bay? And what happens when the metaphysical containment system breaks down? Lock your doors, turn off the phone, read on to find out!

A fresh story with various people and variety of powers. I loved Jessica and her machines/toys they were just so fascinating. Even Julian was a treat to read. The premise and the characters are all so good and nothing can beat the feel of reading something totally new for the first time.It was on the whole an interesting reading experience.
Recommendation: Jessica kind of reminded me of Leo Valdez from the lost hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1) in the percy jackson series by Rick Riordan. Jessica plays with machines. For all Urban fantasy , Paranormal genre(s) fanatics this would be an amazing read.

This is a fun, face paced romp though a world of werewolves, vampires, magicians, and beings from other dimensions. Julian, a magician, has returned from a long, mysterious, unexplained absence to London, and ends up living with Rob, a lonely not-quite werewolf who has been rejected by the local werewolf community. They strike up an instant friendship and are very endearing. Next door, Fiona lives deafened and blinded to the supernatural by an invisible monster that lives on her head, and another in her shadow is her protector. Her precocious 10 year old sister Jessica has befriended some magical mechanical beings from other universes. Their stories evolve side by side and intersect as they get involved with a power play between some magicians in London and Paris, who have imprisoned powerful and dangerous beings from other universes. Alice, a 300 year old vampire, enjoys enthralling young magicians and has a past with Julian. The dynamics between the vampires, werewolves, and magicians are complex, and it's not clear who is good or bad, there's a lot of grey areas. This whole world is portrayed pretty well, while following along with the sort of bumbling yet enjoyable antics of Rob and Julian to please their boss, keep their job, and afford to eat copious amounts of burgers and bagels and have after work drinks at the pub, while being attacked constantly by vampires and alien beings.

“Do you know what happens to ghosts in London?” In answer there was a long hungry roar from outside the station, deep in the night.

This book has everything witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and a spell that would lay waste to the city if it ever escaped. It took me a while to understand what was going on but once I did it was a fun ride.

There is quite a wide cast of characters in Ghost Electricity both main and supporting, all of whom are well crafted and nicely rounded. The story is complex, multi-layered and packed full of intrigue. There are lots of strands that are cleverly woven together at the end, but for much of the book I felt as though I was randomly hopping from one random scene to another.


There was over half a dozen different point of views with the majority of characters only very briefly interacting with other protagonists, if at all. Julian and Rob were together for the majority of scenes, Fiona and Jessica were occasionally together but also apart quite a lot, Alice occasionally interacted with Fiona and Julian, but also with other characters, Justin knew about all these players but was on the periphery or manoeuvring in the background. It all just got a little blurry and disjointed since each person had their own agenda and focus. Just as I got into one part of the story it flipped to another scene, then went back to the previous one.


I definitely enjoyed the author's voice, dialogue felt natural and descriptions were sufficiently detailed without being overly long and tediously complex. The world building was very smooth and felt very much an organic development of the story. Despite my issues this was still a good story, I really liked how the plot gradually unfolded, revealing new snippets of information, new clues or an answer to one question along with a new puzzle to be solved. If you like Urban Fantasy with a dash of humour I do recommend giving this a try.

A bit weird but overall pretty good. The number of characters and viewpoints makes it a bit hard to follow, especially with all the detail.
The world building and characters are super interesting and engaging. I would have liked a story with far fewer viewpoints- it would have let me get into the story more, rapidly Julian and Rob.
The plot moves quickly and there is a lot of action to keep your attention.