This might be one of the best-written urban fantasy novels I've read recently. It's approach to the urban fantasy setting, and without giving away any spoilers, I found the concept of the Warden to be fascinating. Peters manages to weave in magical creatures, both mythological and original, in an effective effort of world building that doesn't feel cheap or tongue-in-cheek. The result is an urban fantasy novel that, while still having the trappings of the genre, feels new and unique.

The characters were interesting, although at times they acted in a manner that didn't make sense. For example (without spoilers), it isn't clear to me how it is possible for the protagonist to be so (supposedly) unaware of the mystical considering the descriptions of what she had to deal with growing up. That's really my only sticking part of this novel, as the whole is quite good, but it did throw me off a bit reading it which is the only reason I took off one star.

It says here that Ghost Ocean is Whitechapel #2, which was a surprise when I came to write this review. I had started on Whitechapel Gods quite a while ago, but I was very busy at the time and didn't get very far. I now feel compelled to pick up that book and give it another shot, both because Peters has impressed me with Ghost Ocean and because I am very curious what connection lies between the two stories. ( )

Well written and intelligent, but also dark and gruesome, so not really my thing. ( )

First of all, whoever listed this on Goodreads as "Whitechapel #2) was smoking something that isn't tobacco. This book has absolutely nothing to do with [b:Whitechapel Gods|2302159|Whitechapel Gods (Whitechapel, #1)|S.M. Peters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266713831s/2302159.jpg|2308565].

Second, Ghost Ocean is not nearly as imaginative as S.M. Peters's first book. In fact, it's pretty much a decently-written [a:Charles de Lint|8456|Charles de Lint|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1269735259p2/8456.jpg] knock-off. Plucky twenty-something in an unspecified North American city must find the magic within her and undergo hideous trials to save the world, etc. If you like that sort of thing, read one of de Lint's books rather than this one. ( )

I tried. Really I did. But, the characters annoying, the plot, not really. Maybe the book improves int the second half.... But I just can't read it anymore.

A fast-paced urban fantasy which pulls from a wide variety of sources. It's very eclectic, sourcing everything from Faerie legends to Greek myth, to Lovecraft. Te Evangeline is a likable protagonist, no angst or constant whining from her, although she's got enough reasons. She spends more time thinking than sleeping around. The cover blurb is a bit misleading -- there's no investigation of how real the paranormal is: she's almost immediately thrown into a supernatural war. A three vs a four because it does suffer from the super-power syndrome where it's not enough for the story to put her friends or family's lives at stake, it has to be a near-apocalypse. ( )