Early Review - The Prophet (The Graveyard Queen, Book 3) by Amanda Stevens (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0778313397
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Graveyard Queen series
Source: eARC through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third book in the Graveyard Queen series by Stevens. I've heard rumors that a fourth book is planned for this series but haven't found the title yet. I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was a very good addition to the series, I did think it was the weakest book of the series, but given how much I loved the last two book in this series...this book was still a good book.

Amelia returns to Charleston somewhat beat up about everything that happened during The Kingdom
. She is happy to be able to be near Devlin again, but unsure of her reception. Things start getting complicated for Amelia right away. Devlin's daughter constantly haunts Amelia pleading for help and then another ghost blackmails Amelia into hunting down his killer. The mystery draws Amelia deep into the dark side of Charleston; full of root doctors and other questionable magic.

The writing in this book is just as beautiful and haunting as in the previous books and I really enjoyed it. There is an interesting mystery and it ends up being somewhat complex but is intriguing to read about.

I did have some problems with this book though. Amelia doesn't spend much time doing cemetary restoration; not like she did in the last two books. The history and strange peacefulness that accompany the cemetary restoration scenes are part of what drew me to this series, it is just such an interesting career. So I was disappointed that we don't' get to read much about the cemetery restoration in this book.

This book also did not have as high of an eerie or creepiness factor as previous books in the series. I love that this series has been creepy and strange without getting super scary. This book was more of a mystery and had less of a creepy gothic overtone than previous books.

The last problem I had was Amelia herself. When she is around Devlin she gets so...well...weak. She lets Devlin make all of the decisions and her personality seems to fade in his presence. After all the backbone she shows in The Kingdom I didn't enjoy seeing her like this. It made me kind of sad that this was where she ended up. Devlin is kind of a secretive jerk at times in this book and I didn't like how Amelia just put up with it.

The above complaints aside, this book was still a beautifully written and well done mystery. A lot of the strands that were presented in the first two books are nicely tied together and wrapped up in this book. It was just that a lot of the things that made this series really special to me weren't as present as they were in the last two books.

Overall this was a good addition to the series. There is a lot of great mystery in here and a lot of questions answered. The writing is absolutely beautiful. Amelia seems weaker than in the last book and doesn't spend as much time doing cemetary restoration. The gothic creepiness factor was less than in previous books as well. So there is some good and some bad here; but overall I think this is the weakest book in the series so far. I am curious to see if there is a fourth book and, if so, where this story ends up going. I would recommend to people who were fans of the first two books. I also recommend to those who like a gothic tone to their urban fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - The Kingdom (The Graveyard Queen, Book 2) by Amanda Stevens (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: March 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0778312772
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Graveyard Queen series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Graveyard Queen series. The third book in the series, The Prophet, release in April 2012. I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. I absolutely loved the first book in this series, The Restorer, and was very excited to read this book. I loved the haunting setting, the beautiful writing, and the tragic characters. We learn a lot about Amelia's past in this book and it was a wonderful read.

Amelia is leaving Charleston behind to travel to the isolated mountain village of Asher Falls to restore a cemetery there. Upon arrival she meets the dashing Thane Asher who tells her about the first cemetary underneath what is now Bell Lake. Why did they flood this cemetary? Who hired Amelia to restore the newer, Asher cemetary? Why is Amelia so drawn to this town and to the secret grave she finds at the bottom of the cliffs? There is an evil the haunts this town and Amelia needs to solve the riddle behind it before the evil takes her too.

I love Stevens writing style; it is haunting, mysterious, and beautiful...just an absolute joy to read. The plot is creepy, compelling, and made the book impossible to put down. This book has a very southern gothic feel to it.

Amelia is a great character. She has a backbone and is brave, yet still comes across as vulnerable at times. There were a few times in this book where Amelia did some really stupid and dangerous things, these were those moments in a horror movie where you yell "No! Don't go into the dark forest by yourself!" So a couple times I was exasperated with her, but I still just love her character so much and love how her curiousity drives her.

Devlin isn't in this book at all. We see a couple letters to Amelia from him and Amelia pines for him, but he is never present. Instead the playboyish Asher Thane is the male lead. I enjoyed Asher; he was a complex character, that had mysterious motives. His character worked wonderfully with Amelia and he gives Devlin a run for his money.

The plot is wonderfully woven; elements from the first book are woven into the story seemlessly and you can really tell that Stevens meticulously planned this whole story out. I loved the mystery, the creepiness, and the way everything was woven so neatly together. Some of the things revealed in the second half of the book will absolutely blow you away; I was surprised and stunned. The book does end with a pretty big cliffhanger...so I am excited that I got the third book The Prophet for review last week....I will be reading it soon.

Overall I just loved this book. The writing is so beautiful and easy to read; it just flows so nicely. The characters are realistic, complicated, and absolutely endearing. The plot is complex, mysterious, and very well woven together. The book was incredibly engaging and I just had a ton of trouble putting it down. This book is very much a gothic paranormal mystery of sorts. It is different from all the other urban fantasy out there, but should really appeal to fans of that genre. I highly, highly recommend this series to fans of gothic literature or fans of urban fantasy/paranormal stories. This is seriously one of my favorite series right now. I cannot wait to read The Prophet!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Short Story Review - The Abandoned by Amanda Stevens (3.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 228 KB

Publisher: Mira
Release Date: April 1, 2011
ASIN:  B004RQD3J8
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel to Graveyard Queen series
Source: Kindle Freebie
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I read, The Restorer, the first book in The Graveyard Queen series and really loved it.  So I picked up this prequel freebie.  While the story is good, it doesn't represent the series very well.  In fact the story doesn't even follow Amelia Grey, but a side character named Ree.

Ree works at a mental hospital.  When one of her patients dies she overhears some shadey secrets.  Then Ree finds herself sleeping walking strange places and thinks maybe a ghost is involved.  Now she has to figure out what the ghost wants so it will leave her alone.

I was a bit disappointed that Amelia is only in this story very briefly.  Most of the story is told from Ree's perspective.  It is mainly a mystery romance type of story and I didn't think it had any of the magic that the first book in the series had.  The romance is cute and some of the graveyard descriptions are beautiful and haunting.

While the story is decently written, I didn't find Ree an engaging character and didn't really enjoy reading about her that much.  This story is definitely not a good intro to this series; it touches on ghosts but doesn't have any of the beauty and mystery of Amelia's character.

Overall this was an okay short story.  I do not recommend reading this for a preview of the Graveyard Queen series; this story only loosely touches on Amelia and what she does and wasn't nearly as well-written as the book was.  So if you have read the book and want to read a little more, then by all means pick it up.  Please do not read this and then decide not to read the book, the book was a million times better than this brief story.

This goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Show Me the Free Challenge

 

Review - The Restorer (The Graveyard Queen, Book 1) by Amanda Stevens (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: April 19, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0778329817
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in the Graveyard Queen series
Source: eGalley from netgalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got an eGalley of this book through netgalley(dot)com.  I was drawn to it by the haunting cover and the interesting synopsis. I absolutely loved this book.  I loved the beautiful writing style, the engaging mystery, the wonderful characters, and the supernatural overtones to the story.  My understanding is that this is the first book in a trilogy: Book 2 will be titled The Kingdom and is scheduled for a Nov 2011 release and book 3 will be titled The Prophet and is scheduled for a May 2012 release.  There is also supposed to be a prequel story called "The Abandoned" which I plan on downloading soon.

Amelia restores graveyards for a living and was brought up by her father who was a Graveyard keeper.  The only twist is; Amelia can actually see ghosts.  Amelia has lived her life by a strict set of rules to prevent the ghosts from taking over her life.  All those rules fly out the window during her current graveyard restoration.  Amelia is restoring Oak Park Cemetery when a body is found on site; a fresh one.  This brings Officer Devlin into Amelia's life.  Devlin is mysterious and always accompanied by two mysterious ghosts.  As Amelia is asked to act as a consultant for the investigation she is drawn deep into the politics and secrets that surround both the town and the graveyard.

I loved this book.  The writing is full of beautiful description and is so lyrical; it was easy to read and created such beautiful imagery.  There is a Southern Gothic feel to the story that gives it a unique and endearing flavor. 

The characters were also wonderful.  Amelia is a pretty down to earth girl, but she has rules she needs to follow and a sense of honor about her work.  Devlin is a wonderfully brooding male lead and is shrouded in mystery that really keeps the reader wanting to know more.  All of the characters in this book are interesting and well-fleshed out.

The mystery is masterfully woven.  Details are slowly revealed and, as the mystery deepens, Amelia finds herself in more and more danger.  I love how this plot was put together and how it unfolded.  I loved how every clicked together so nicely in the end.

I wasn't sure if reading about a character who restores graveyards would be interesting but it really was.  You can tell that Stevens did a lot of research on graveyard restoration and I enjoyed learning about what various symbolism meant on the gravestones and also learning about restoration techniques.

The main story thread is wrapped up neatly but some mysteries are left to be dealt with in the next book.  This is my favorite kind of series: I love it when each book has its own story to tell but you also have a greater mystery that spans multiple books.

Overall I absolutely loved this book.  I read it straight through, it was very hard to put down.  I loved the beautiful descriptions and writing, the heartfelt and mysterious characters, and the masterful way the plot was woven together.  I just pretty much loved everything about this book and cannot wait to read the next one in this series. 

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge

- 100+ Reading Challenge

- E-book Reading Challenge