Sunday, March 30, 2025

The Ghost Orb (A Pix and Gabe Adventure 2) by Kate Machon

What worked:

Pix’s character provides uncertainty as her body contains a bit of angel power from the previous book. Other pixies, faeries, and magic folk, including her parents, are leery of her since possessing this magic is unnatural. Pix already has a questionable reputation among the faery folk since her love of pranks is legendary and has gotten her into trouble with the queen. She must still fight the urge to act up, trying hard to gain Gabe’s trust again. She tries to create a charm to release her from Gabe’s angel power, but things go terribly wrong. Unfortunately, Pix doesn’t share a few details about what’s been happening even though Gabe’s bound to find out eventually. It’s hard to build trust when she’s not being totally honest. The story is told through Pix’s eyes so readers will experience all of her fear, anger, mischievousness, and irritation.

Gabe is an angel, and he’s assigned to supervise Pix after her pranks had nearly disastrous consequences. His character is very different from Pix’s since he’s a stickler for rules and doing what he’s supposed to do. His stiffness is in stark contrast to Pix’s playfulness and love for adventure. Gabe’s angel power is quite formidable and it’s often called on to get them out of tricky situations. Pix is frustrated when Gabe must always check with the Brownie Brigade, the Angel Council, or the MDS (Magical Disturbance Section) for permission before doing anything. The MDS monitors for unusual magic, but they haven’t detected the strange orb of light that’s been tormenting Pix and Gabe.

The ball of light adds mystery to the plot as Gabe and Pix have never seen or heard of anything like it.  The MDS doesn’t think it’s harmful or dangerous, but it’s stolen some of Pix’s charms from their van. This may sound unimportant, but Gabe has placed protections on the van so no one should be able to touch it. The problem becomes more serious when Rachel, their giant spider friend, is absorbed by the light and disappears. At first, Pix and Gabe can defend themselves, but the orb becomes more resistant to their spells. It seems to be getting more powerful as it absorbs more things. Gabe thinks the light is targeting him, but Pix thinks there’s more to it. Many unexplained things have happened since Pix released the angel power from her body, and she doesn’t believe in coincidences. And the orb of light is becoming unstoppable.

What didn’t work as well:

Readers may be challenged to understand the differences between pixies, brownies, and angels. Gabe needs Pix’s rainbows to travel long distances but angels and brownies find their modes of travel are better to use as the plot moves along. The orb becomes resistant to Pix’s magic (or faery science) and Gabe’s powers, but Pix’s friend can use her brownie abilities against it. There’s no clear distinction for how the different magics work.

The final verdict:

The exciting adventure finds Pix facing a seemingly unbeatable force with unexpected twists popping up later in the story. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy faery folk and spells and I recommend you give it a shot.

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