My thoughts on: Shift (Shade #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shift (Shade #2)
by Jeri Smith-Ready

Published May 3rd 2011 by Simon Pulse

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: May 3rd 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover, 367 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Won from giveaway

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WARNING!!! There might be spoilers ahead. As a matter of fact, there are SOME.

I won this copy on a giveaway sometime last year. I then purchased a copy if the first book in the series, Shade, which I promptly read and loved. However, I somehow became very busy with college and review books and kept forgetting to read Shift. Last week I finally forced myself to get to it already. LOL. I quickly reread Shade and cracked the spine of this pretty baby... I gulped it all up in one afternoon.

I'm crazy about Logan. Truly am. So the minute his ghostly body became living flesh for a short period of time, I was all "YAAAAAAAY!!! He's BACK! Finally we're gonna have some action." Nah. It was another almost for Aura and Logan. Zach totally won this round. LOL.

I love Zach, too, don't get me wrong. His accent, kilt and green eyes are all very dreamy... but I can't resist a bad boy. Especially a rockstar. :P Oh, and Zach can be very cold sometimes... and not all these times are Aura's fault.

Anyway, Shift starts with Logan still as a runaway Shade. Aura keeps trying to call him back, and, after 3 months, he finally appears. Aura then manages to bring him back to normal ghost state, again. Then the solstice/flesh and blood momentarily thing happens and they almost have at it... but not. Logan becomes very excited about the prospect of being 'alive' again and starts to plan a final final performance (again) the next time he turns human. He can't wait to play his guitar one last time.

Aura is torn between living, breathing, tempting Zach, and sort-of living, but still dead, Logan. Zach is also at his limit, and he makes it very clear to Aura. She needs to choose already.

After a misunderstanding between them, Zach ends up asking Aura's nemesis, Becca Goldman, for the prom. And Aura has the brilliant idea of asking Dylan, Logan's younger brother, who has a serious crush on her.

The love triangles are clearly very strong in this book, and so are Aura's indecisions and screw-ups. She continuously decides to let go of Logan, but every time something reinforces how much he loves her, she's not sure what to do. Zach also keeps sends her some very mixed signals...

All the while, the DMP investigations continue as Aura and Zach get closer and closer to revealing her mother's secrets and unveiling the Last/First mystery, with the help of Eowyn. We finally see what happened on the day of the Shift, we finally understand how they were the only ones to be born in those minutes... and who Aura's father is. Now we just need to know what exactly the Shine was, and why the DMP are working so hard trying to detain them.

Shift was a lovely read, even if sometimes it made my head spin. LOL. But that's love: confusing, indecisive, hot then cold... it's just that the ending was so 'perfect', and filled me with such a sense of 'completion', that I am not sure a third book was really necessary. I mean, all my questions were answered (well, all the important ones) and it's very clear who Aura'll end up with... anyway, I'll still check Shine out, but I'm very satisfied with the way things ended in Shift. :)

If you like complicated YA love stories with paranormal twists to it, then you'll love this series.

Mini-Review: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Twenties Girl 
by Sophie Kinsella

Published July 21st 2009 by The Dial Press

Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they?

When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie—a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance—mysteriously appears, she has one request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, because Sadie cannot rest without it.

Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from and about each other. Written with all the irrepressible charm and humor that have made Sophie Kinsella’s books beloved by millions, Twenties Girl is also a deeply moving testament to the transcendent bonds of friendship and family.

Genre: Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: July 21st 2009

Publisher: Dial

Format: Pocket paperback, 480 pages 

Series: no

Source: My own shelf

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My Review

Favorite Quote: "Oh, my God, you smiled! Mr. American Frown actually smiled!"

"Must have been a mistake. I'll speak to someone about it. Won't happen again."

"Well, good. Because you could do your face an injury, just smiling like that."

Let me start by saying that I almost gave this book up. Really, it happened more times than I can remember... I forgot how annoying Kinsella can be, and how neurotic and exaggerated her main characters can get. But I have this thing for ghost stories, so I persevered. Even if that creepy obssession over that stupid Josh guy almost did it for me.

What I mean is: Good thing I got over those issues and kept reading. 

It was such a lovely trip to the twenties! And, as I happened to read it on the one day of every month in which I actually develop feelings (can you speel PMS?), I sorta cried a bit. Yep. Big deal. All the injustice over the ghost's life was just too much. It broke my heart. But moving on...

After the annoying start, the story takes on a very nice, very pleasant flow and it becomes increasingly enjoyable. Really, almost freaking magical. (that's what happens when you write a review with a soft heart. I should have edited it a bit. LOL). The romance in the book was very sweet and I totally fell for the romantic interest... but then again, maybe it was just the hormones talking. I'm not sure. :P

I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, expecting a super special goodbye or something between Sadie and Lara, but it was nice nonetheless. (And now that I'm typing this with the return of my black heart, I realize that I wish the evil uncle was humiliated a bit further. It really wasn't enough. *evil laugh*).

Have you read Twenties Girl? What did you think about it?

Early Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Velveteen (Velveteen #1)
by Daniel Marks

Expected publication: October 9th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: Oct 9th, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Format: eARC, 464 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

First line: When Velveteen Monrow pictured Bonesaw's house -and she did, more often than could be considered healthy- blood striped the paint a muddy reddish-brown, internal organs floated in jars of formaldehyde, and great big taxidermy crows leered from branches that twisted from the wall like palsied arms.

Last line: Again.

Favorite quote: Could he actually be a decent guy?
Hard to imagine.
He was pretty to look at, though, she thought. Boys weren't objectified nearly enough, and turnabout is always fair play.

Sixteen year-old Velveteen Monroe was murdered by the psychopath/looks-like-the-boy-next-door Bonesaw. Now she's stuck in purgatory for who knows how long. There she is the leader of the Salvage team, i.e., they 'salvage souls  that don't have any business in the daylight'. She works as a body thief, and really enjoys her job. But Velvet won't be able to really rest in purgatory until she can have her revenge on her killer. 

When she finds a hidden crack through the veil between the world of the living and the dead, she goes for it. She starts to haunt him. And that is the WORST thing she could ever do. Haunting is against the law. It's pretty much the only serious offense a soul can be charged with in purgatory... which is why she's keeping it a secret from everyone.

Every once in a while, something triggers small parts of her memory back. Memories from those days. Her days at the mercy of Bonesaw. Bloody, painful scenes that makes us hurt, too. And they just serve to reinforce her decision to make him suffer as much as possible. 

However, she starts to slightly waver in her decision when she rescues her fifty-seventh soul: a very handsome, very sweet young guy named Nick. Nick seems to quickly gain everybody's sympathy and friendship, especially from those that are part of her Salvage team, which he soon joins. Velvet is torn between feeling jealous about him becoming so close and dear to her best friends so quickly, and being happy that he is such a good influence to them. Oh, and she can't decide exactly how she feels about him. Annoyed? Absolutely. Attracted? Well... yes! Uncomfortable? That's for sure. Thankful? Sometimes. :P

As if trying not to fall for her newest rescued soul while doing her best to haunt and drive her killer to commit suicide wasn't hard enough, now there's a revolution starting underground, and every single one of Velvet's mentors are acting suspiciously... 

The first chapter of Velveteen really sucks you in. It's very abrupt, very raw, very shocking. It's awesome. But then things slow down. Excessively. There were moments I almost gave the book up, things were so dull... then we get to the middle of the book. And that's when things get interesting. From middle to end, I got totally caught up into it again. I have to say it was worth the waiting. ;)

This is a very different book from the usual YAs out there. It way, after all, written by a guy, even if the main character IS a girl. It somehow just made her more believable, in my opinion. The same goes for her relationship with Nick. Teenagers (and, let's face it, adults, too) aren't nice and cuddly, YA writers! They are mean, horny, and selfish. Even if they do have their good moments. And reality isn't all about cute romance, butterflies and happy endings. The world is NOT a nice place. And Daniel Marks was able to capture every single realistic aspect (while still making it very readable, if slightly gruesome) in this fantastical/paranormal tale. Velveteen rocked.

If you're looking for something different and refreshing, with an imperfect and bloodthirsty heroine (repeatedly called a super bitch) and a very cool, very crushable hero, then you'll go bananas over Velveteen, just like yours truly.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Monstrous Beauty
by Elizabeth Fama

Expected publication: September 4th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: September 4th 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Format: eARC, 295 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

The mermaid Syrenka has loved before and only managed to find pain. But in the year 1872 she can't help but fall in love again, very hard, this time for Ezra, a very hadsome young marine biology student, who's fascinated by every sea creature. Needless to say, he's completely enchanted by her. They are quite happy for a while... but they could never imagine that their 'forbidden' romance would bring a lot of pain and suffering -to themselves and others- for years and years to come.

It's 2002 and seventeen-year-old Hester has just met a very strange, yet very charming man inside a cave by the beach. She is stragenly drawn to him, and can't help but come back and just be close to him. She's falling in love... and it's the worst thing she could ever do. Hester has promised herself to never fall in love. Ever since she was just a kid she's been hearing stories about the women in her family, who always seemed to die just after giving birth to their daughters. Including her mother. So, just to be safe, she decides to not love at all. But no doctor could ever find out what really happened to those women. Not even the modern medicine can tell. Is it some kind of genetic condition? Or could it be something more dangerous, like a curse?

When she mentions the mysterious deaths to the guy from the cave, he suggests she looks deeper into it. And when Hester starts to investigate, she discovers much more than she could ever expect to find. Is teh crypt where her ancestors are buried really haunted? Who is the little girl who used to play with her at the cemetery that no else can see but her? And why is it that everything always leads her back to the ocean? Are the myths of sea creatures really myths?

Gods. So much love, so much tragedy, so much sadness, violence and wasted lives. This book will break your heart and make you cry a freaking river. But you'll love it anyway. Elizabeth Fama is a complete genious. Her writing is perfectly fluid, clearly well planned and well thought of, her characters are very alive and almost spill out of the pages. It is, I daresay, an almost perfect tale. It has it all. Drama, tragedy, romance, true love, action, violence, magic, mystery and paranormal beings. And it all fits superbly.

I can't say I was terribly excited about starting this book. I didn't care much about the other mermaid books I've read recently (found them to be very childish, weak or even downright mediocre...), but, oh, boy. Was I surprised by Monstrous Beauty!!! It blew my mind. I just couldn't stop reading it. I could barely blink! (even bloodshot eyes are totally worth it, I promise!). It's not everyday I give a book 5 stars, so that alone should tell you how much I loved it.

Hester was so strong, so smart and likeable! I usually find main heroines annoying, but this one was just absolutely incredible. Ezra was definitely charming, if quite pitiable. He deserved so much more of life... Syrenka was one of the most fascinating characters I've ever read about. I really wanted her to find the happiness she had been looking for her very long life. Even if she did some very gruesome things while trying to achieve it. And the secondary characters were all captivating in their own ways. Peter, Sam, the priest, Nellie... they were all very complex, even if they had short appearances. Oh, and the double POVs were awesome.

There was nothing I didn't like in this book, except that it was too short. LOL. I wanted to keep on reading it forever. ;) Even if it did make me cry quite a bit.

If you like tales of true love with tons of mystery, drama and quite a bit of action and adventure thrown in the mix, you'll love Mostrous Beauty just like I did, especially if you're not a fan of mermaid books, like I was. And you'll follow my example and pre-order it right away, because it's so freaking good you have to have it. (My beautiful precioussssssss must be on its way. *-*).

* I'm so happy I received an eARC for this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

P.P. (Post posting): I sort of liked the eARC cover better, buuuut.... what's a girl to do, right?

So, do you think you'd like to read this book? If you've read it, what did you think? :3

Early Review: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

The Unquiet
by Jeannine Garsee

Expected publication: July 17th 2012 by Bloomsbury

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother. 

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists. 

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: July 17th 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: eARC, 388 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

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My Review:

First line: Sometimes, when I dream, the deadliest moment in my life happens all over again.

Last line: I don't believe you. 

Favorite quote: As someone who's always drawn to the "bad boy" type, I can't explain my attraction to a certified band geek who'll probably major in animal husbandry and end up inseminating cows for a living.

Corinne Jacobs has been a good girl, taking all of her meds everyday, for 3 months and 13 days. Why she's being so careful and counting all the days like that? Because of what happened 3 months and 13 days ago. The time when she decided to stop with her bipolar meds and ended up killing her grandmother.

Now her stepfather hates her and her mother has dragged her from sunny California to chilling middle-of-nowhere Ohio, where she grew up. Rinn doesn't think that moving to this dinky little town will make anything better. But then she actually starts making friends. And the cute farmer boy next door is starting to look way too yummy. Oh, and she absolutely loves her new house and room up in the attic. Until she finds out that the previous owner killed herself up there, of course. Right after her granddaughter was found dead in the pool at Rinn's new school. Awwwwkward. 

And, as if that wasn't freaky enough, she finds out that very strange things have been happening to the people who cross the 'Tunnel' (the part of the gym with the pool where Annaliese's body was found). Weird things have always happened there before, but now another student is found dead by the pool and Rinn's new friends start to act very bizarre. Is it the ghost of Annaliese? Is she haunting the pool area? Is she haunting Corinne? If so, why?

This book had so much in it! So much mystery, so much drama, so much angst and romance!! It really had everything a good book should have. I especially liked knowing/seeing more about how bipolar people act, what they have to deal and fight with everyday, how they really feel about themselves and everyone else. The pressure. The fear. The regret. The desire to just let go. The strength needed not to. 

The Unquiet gives you very strange vibes throughout the book. You start to think that things are getting better, that Rinn herself is getting better and everything and everyone is going to be alright... then the creepiness starts and you have to control yourself not freak out over what's happening in a freaking book! LOL. Miss Garsee has such an engrossing, enrapturing and right-to-the-pont way of writing things that it sucks you right in and makes you feel comfortable... and that's when you should be careful. She makes you forget, repeatedly, that you're actually reading a ghost story, not an ordinary teenage tale. And it sneaks right up to you. Every. Single. Time. O.o

It's been a while since I've found a book's title that is as absolutely perfect or as fitting as this one is. Unquiet. That's exactly how you'll feel during the entire 'ride' that is Corinne's story. And afterwards. Yup. Even after you close the book and start to try to think of something else. It will stick with you. That unquiet feeling. That little chill behind your neck. And you'll love it.

P.S.: And Nate was so adorable!!! *-* It makes me want to move to Ohio, too. Like, right now.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

The Prophet (Graveyard Queen #3)
by Amanda Stevens

Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Mira

My name is Amelia Gray.I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

Genre: Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: April 24th 2012

Publisher: Mira

Format: eARC, 352 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

In this exciting new stallment of the thrilling paranormal series, our Graveyard Queen, Amelia Gray, returns to Charleston, home of her love, John Devlin and all of his ghosts. 

The ghost of Shani, Devlin's daughter continues to follow Amelia around, like she started in the last book, but this time more insistently, begging to be found and to be helped.... but every time Amelia comes even a bit close to finding answers, Mariama's ghost pushes her away. And now Darius, a master of the dark arts and Mariama's cousin, is also in the picture, ready to terrorize  and confuse Amelia.

But his time the ghost Prophet needs her help as well. Robert Fremont, a murdered cop and an old friend of Devlin's, wants Amelia to find his killer. Except that with his memory loss and erratic prophetic powers in the way, the investigation promises to be not only difficult, but very dangerous.

Amelia has broken all of her father's rules. Rules she's been raised with, created to keep her safe from the darkness and evil creatures that walk between worlds. Now she's being followed by something. Something very strong and very dark. And this murder investigation involves much more than she first thought it would. Dark magic, blackmail, betrayal and even more murders threaten to be unveiled...

Surrounded and bothered by ghosts most of the time, Amelia sometimes forget that the living can be just as frightening as the dead... and she's just about to discover that when they work together, things can get very, very ugly.

I can't believe I forgot how mysterious and exciting Amanda Stevens' writing can be! She drives us crazy with curiosity over every small detail that is slowly unearthed throughout the story, tempting us to join in the investigating process, making us writhe with the urge to discover everything that is going on as quickly as possible. Nothing is as simple as we first thought, nobody is completely innocent and everything is somehow interconnected. Really, this author has the gift of writing the best thrillers! With such a thick cloud of mystery over every case, it should become a tiring, even repetitive read, but it's not! It's always powerful, provoking and stimulating tales! She surprises us at every page. With this one you can be sure you'll NEVER guess the ending before you should. And that is such a relief, let me tell you.

It probably sounds a bit like over-gushing, but this series deserve every praise. As soon as we finish one volume we start to think that there's no way the next one will be as good... but then the author comes and hits us over the head with the awesomeness that is her new story. Every single one turns out even better than the next. I have no idea how she does it, but I'm glad her already fantastic writing always manages to improve!

Amelia is such a smart, gifted, independent character. I just love her. And her feelings for Devlin? Gods, they are almost palpable! Their awareness is so strong, their physical link so intense that you almost expect them to slip off the pages. It's almost unsettling, stirring and compelling, all at the same time. I especially like this romance because it didn't just spring up from nowhere. It slowly built up. It was violently ended. It built up again, was denied, tried to be ignored... but they still can't stay away from each other! Even when everything and everyone seems to be against them. Pretty much themselves included, most of the time. That is real, powerful love. Not the instant, fleeting, weak thing that wants to be called real that we get from most books these days.

But, obviously, the book is not all about romance. It is just a part of it, a very important part, sure, but the story is so much more complex than just that. You get horrified over the haunting ghosts and creepy entities and their actions, you get intrigued over the clues and old secrets that are slowly discovered, you get suspicious over new odd characters we are introduced to and very surprised over the actions of old characters you thought you knew. There is never a boring moment with Amelia, that's for sure. That ending was supposed to make us readers feel better, to have some sort of completion... but it only managed to make us even more distressed and desperate to read the next volume! LOL. Way to go, Miss Stevens.

If you like surprises, a romantic and mysterious thriller with a fast pace and very creepy moments, then you'll go insane over this series. I know I did.


* I was lucky enough to receive an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

The Kingdom 
(Graveyard Queen #2)

by Amanda Stevens

Expected publication: March 27th 2012 by Mira


Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town...


My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I’ve been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I’m coming to think I have another purpose here.


Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I’ve discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

Genre: Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: March 27th 2012

Publisher: Mira

Format: eARC, 400 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

I'm so glad I had the chance to review this book in advance! I had just finished The Restorer and was dying to read the next book when I saw it available on Netgalley. It was fate, surely. *-* LOL. Well, The Kingdom picks up right where The Restorer ended, but this time, unfortunately, there's no Devlin in sight. There is, however, a much darker story for Amelia Gray to get caught into.

Amelia needs some time away from Charleston and John Devlin, so it was a very good thing she got a job to restore the Thorngate Cemetery in Asher Falls, a small town located in the lush Blue Ridge foothills of South Carolina. Even if the money to bring her there was donated anonymously and the woman who contacted her, Luna Kemper, turns out to be a very strange woman. Oh, and the city is almost deserted. A real ghost town. Literally.

On her way there, Amelia meets the charming Thane Asher, the 'apparent heir' of the Ashers, the family who has ruled Asher Falls for years. He's the one who tells her about the other Thorngate Cemetery. The one that was submerged in the flood that destroyed part of the town in the past. The one now residing under Bell Lake, which graces the view from the house Luna has chosen for her to stay during the restoration process. A house built on hallowed ground, very secluded and almost hidden by the forest. At night, the place is surrounded by the ghosts of the people buried in the flooded cemetery. But a ghost in special seems to be haunting her. And something more, something bigger, something even more dangerous, haunts the forest close by. And it wants her.

Very soon, Amelia realizes that Asher Falls hides many, many secrets. Hidden grave, murders unsolved, dog fights, dark magic, possessions and Evil unleashed. And most of these secrets have something to do with her. But  the people from Asher Falls want to leave the past in the past, and will do anything to stop her from investigating it.

The Kingdom was so beautifully written! Amanda Stevens doesn't disappoint us at all! She still has such a fantastic way with words and descriptions, she really makes you feel like you're there. The story has a very mysterious setting, a plot that thickens but doesn't tire and some passages are downright creepy! Really, this sequel is even darker than The Restorer, and it completely sucks you into a very complicated web of mystery and the Unknown. You can't put it down. Even if you try. LOL. Oh, Amelia is, no doubt about it, one of my favorite main characters ever.

I loved to meet Angus, a 'bait dog' used in dog fights that was left to starve in the forest, only to be rescued by Amelia. Their relationship was very heart-warming and it was so interesting to see how he reacted to the ghosts and how much he helped her throughout the book. Another fascinating character was Sidra, a young teen who happens to share Amelia's burden. Both of them had been behind 'The Veil', and now walk the paths of the living and the dead. 

Thane, the momentary love interest, was very intense and made for great moments in the book, but he's just wasn't for Amelia. And, oh, dear!!! It was SO very satisfying to finally find out about Amelia's past and origins! I can't say the whole thing wasn't predictable, but how   the murder and hidden grave came to be... WOW. It was very eery. Seriouly, it made my skin crawl. Even after I finished the book, it still took me a while to finally quit thinking about it and actually go to bed. (BTW, you might not want to end this book before bedtime. LOL). The secondary characters were all very bizarre, but so very curious! I really wanted to read more about them and their past actions. I hope to see more of some of them in the future.

The book ends with a huge cliffhanger!!! I can't wait to see what happens in The Prophet! And I can't wait to see more of Devlin!! :) Let's just hope the book comes out in the promised date this time. :P

If you like ghost stories with A LOT of mystery, a great, strong main character and generous touches of horror and creepiness (don't you just love this word?), go and devour this book right now!!! And if you haven't started the series yet, what are you waiting for? You're totally missing out!

*I was very lucky to receive an advanced e-copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*