Amber House

When Sarah's grandmother dies, she travels with her family from Seattle to Amber House, one of the largest private homes in Maryland.  Sarah has never been there before, her mother refused to visit, but she has heard stories from her grandmother who would come to her.  Amber House is huge, with two stories added on during the three centuries it has been in Sarah's family, a grand ballroom, 9 bedrooms, a conservatory filled with exotic plants and flowers, and even a large hedge maze on the grounds.  Sarah's mother wants to sell the property and leave as quickly as possible, but Sarah's 5 year old autistic brother convinces their mother to stay.  Sarah meets Jackson, the longtime maid's grandson and together they begin exploring the house for lost diamonds.  During these search Sarah begins to have visions of her ancestors when she picks up their old belongings.  At first, she likes the comforting scenes of her family's past, but as secrets betrayals, and even crimes play out in front of her, she begins to realize there is a lot about her family she doesn't understand.  The attention of one of Maryland's senators sons is also thrown in.  He his handsome, athletic, and seems to have sincere interest in Sarah.   This all culminates in a large sweet sixteen party Sarah's mother is throwing for her at the house, where the secrets only seem to deepen.

Another book from the Tayshas list, and this one was more  my speed.  I really enjoyed the supernatural aspects of the story.  The history of AmberHouse, though pretty brutal, was interesting and added a different aspect.  Sarah seems insecure. and that got a little old, she's constantly wondering why the senator's son is spending so much time with her, and trying to decide is she likes it, or not.  The ending went a little too far out there for me.  I know the book is supernatural, but it went so far extreme, I thought it was a little too much.  This is going to be a trilogy and the second book just came out, and I will read it to see how Sarah's story plays out.