The Space in Between by Jen Minkman (2014)

I received this book as an ARC through ReadingDeals and rated 4/5 stars.

Our story starts with someone who has just learned to astral project. We don’t know why we’re reading about this - is this Moira? Someone else? It’s the prologue after all. But it's a mystery and one I don't think we get an answer for.

Chapter One introduces us to our heroine, Moira. Her car doesn’t want to start (which implies that she's not rich). We soon meet her siblings, twins Tabitha and Dai, and her Mam. Tad (Dad) is away, working in the city. Theirs is a loving family who supports each other while giving each other a hard time (always the best kind of family). 

We also meet Patrick, her longtime boyfriend. They’ve been together for a while. It soon becomes apparent that not all is well in paradise. She’s studying art and art history at Uni and he seems to resent the time her studies take up. Moira rationalizes conflicts with him so as to not make waves. After all, she likes to over react, like Patrick always says. (Do not like him. At all.) 

It’s approaching Halloween and every year Tabitha has the siblings do something to commemorate it. This year, she drags Moira and Dai to an ancient pagan circle, hoping to make contact with their grandparents across the veil. This is not what happens. 

Instead they are transported to somewhere else. They discover a man, about Moira’s age, trapped in a circle. For some reason, Moira instinctively responds to him and decides to free him. They are successful but afterwards, they quickly return to consciousness. The trio are a little shaken, having a common dream. 

The common dream is only the first of many, with Moira and the man as the stars and the twins as observers. The man initially doesn’t remember anything. On a mission, Tabitha researches and discovers that he’s a spirit trapped in the Space in Between, prevented from moving on (he’s dead). The news (that he's dead) dismays Moira although she doesn’t know why. 

Bit by bit, with Moira’s help, the man remembers his life, including his name: Hayko. They discover that Hayko is Armenian (now British) and practices his mother’s ancient religion. The more Moira spends time with Hayko, the more Moira becomes dissatisfied with her present and wishing that her life included Hayko in the future. But how can they have any future? And what about Patrick? 

*The Space in Between* is a good read. I loved Moira, Hayko, and all of Moira’s family, including her best friend, Holly. The mystery of Hayko’s past unfolds at a good pace and is well developed. There’s a nice denouement and you’re left feeling happy at the end. What keeps me from saying that it’s a great read is that it takes too long for the action to get started. I almost put the book aside, tired of waiting for things to begin. But I’m glad I stuck around. Once we got into the meat, it was easy to be engrossed until the end. I think with a little tightening at the beginning, the story will only get better. I hope the author continues the adventures and I will be on the lookout for her next book.