The Awakening - Amanda Stevens

Shush…lest she awaken… 

My name is Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered. Only I can bring her killer to justice. But the clues that I follow—a haunting melody and an unnamed baby's grave—lead me to a series of disturbing suspects. 

For generations, The Devlins have been members of Charleston's elite. John Devlin once turned his back on the traditions and expectations that came with his birthright, but now he has seemingly accepted his rightful place. His family's secrets make him a questionable ally. When my investigation brings me to the gates of his family's palatial home, I have to wonder if he is about to become my mortal enemy. 

My thoughts:

I am sad to see this series end, but at the same time I am happy that it ended well and did not drag out like some were you just start to feel meh about the whole thing. I will also miss the whole vibe of the series. Southern Gothic mystery, it's spooky, without being scary.

Amelia still misses Devlin, and so do I. They were good together, but he was in deep with...other things.  But this new case she is on takes her back to him and his world. Something was buried in that graveyard, something is haunting it. And she must find out what happened because the ghost will not let go of her.

Ghosts who want answers, bad omens and creepy graveyards. This is such a great world she created. I can feel I was there in then heat, dirt and strange things happening.

Conclusion:
I was happy how it all ended. A good series that I am sad to see end.

Cover
I guess it works

Paperback, 416 pages
Published March 28th 2017 by Mira
Graveyard Queen #6
Mystery /fiction /paranormal
Own

The Sinner - Amanda Stevens

I'm a cemetery restorer by trade, but my calling has evolved from that of ghost seer to death walker to detective of lost souls. I solve the riddles of the dead so the dead will leave me alone. 

I've come to Seven Gates Cemetery nursing a broken heart, but peace is hard to come by…for the ghosts here and for me. When the body of a young woman is discovered in a caged grave, I know that I've been summoned for a reason. Only I can unmask her killer. I want to trust the detective assigned to the case for he is a ghost seer like me. But how can I put my faith in anyone when supernatural forces are manipulating my every thought? When reality is ever-changing? And when the one person I thought I could trust above all others has turned into a diabolical stranger? 

My thoughts:

I could not put it down. I love the feeling of these books, not omg spooky I am scared. Ha, no, not that. But this eerie feeling, which just makes you want to read more to find out what is happening.

In this one, Amelia is working in a graveyard as always and comes across buried secrets. There is something out there, and then there are those secret societies again. She is also missing Devlin (and so am I). And she never gives up, ghosts wont let her. There is a case to be solved and she does have her powers that helps. 

There is suspense, secrets and the supernatural.

Conclusion:
This was a short review, I should say more. But I just want to say that I really enjoyed it. It's a great series that I recommend.

Cover
fits

• Paperback, 384 pages
• Published September 27th 2016 by Mira
• Graveyard Queen #5
• Southern gothic mystery
• Own

The visitor - Amanda Stevens

Restoring lost and abandoned cemeteries is my profession, but I'm starting to believe that my true calling is deciphering the riddles of the dead. Legend has it that Kroll Cemetery is a puzzle no one has ever been able to solve. For over half a century, the answer has remained hidden within the strange headstone inscriptions and intricate engravings. Because uncovering the mystery of that tiny, remote graveyard may come at a terrible price.

Years after their mass death, Ezra Kroll's disciples lie unquiet, their tormented souls trapped within the walls of Kroll Cemetery, waiting to be released by someone strong and clever enough to solve the puzzle. For whatever reason, I'm being summoned to that graveyard by both the living and the dead. Every lead I follow, every clue I unravel brings me closer to an unlikely killer and to a destiny that will threaten my sanity and a future with my love, John Devlin. 

My thoughts:

It has been 3 years since the last book and how I have missed this series. I like the eerie feel to it, I would not call it horror. It doesn't give me any chills, but it's a nice southern Gothic mystery.

Amelia is haunted by things that happened in book 3. But at least she has Devlin now..but alas he has secrets, and I would love to get to the bottom of those secrets. Maybe in the next book. He is just so, no this is not real.

The mystery to solve is what happened to someone called Ezra Kroll and the people in the colony. And why is she getting dragged to solving that by something she can not control? Ohhh, nice, oh those ghosts. Amelia does not have it easy, there are things after her, it gets dark, it gets suspenseful, and the secrets never stop coming.

Conclusion:

This is a great series, and you should totally read it. 

Cover

meh

Paperback, 384 pages
Published March 29th 2016 by Mira
Graveyard Queen #4
Paranormal mystery
Own

Best of 2013

Now where did 2013 go? Anyway, before we start with the best of I will give some stats from a year of blogging :)

I read 211 books last year + 10 short stories

I dnf 9 books (or so)

I listened to 9 audio books (all this fall, I am quite smitten, but I do have a hard time finding good ones)

And now to the Top 5 of 2013, in now real order as that would be too hard

I had planned to make another book best book of the year, but when I had a look back I of course remembered this one from early 2013. I was so caught up in this book and when I finished it I was all o_O Fantastico! Never ever have book 2 in a series made me feel like this. It was an awesome book.

This one was meant to be the best, but then in a way it was still the best book of the year cos I really can't compare The Kingdom and this book. The Kingdom was a masterpiece of emotions while Promise of Blood was a masterpiece of writing. The best fantasy book of this year and a chunkster I could not put down. I fell in love.

And the rest are in no real order

The first 150 pages I was all holy F this is exciting! Omg Hugh!!! Squeeee. Best Kate book so far.

This was epic fantasy at it's best, it was just so bloody epic. Never have there been a city like this city.

This series had NOT compared to Mercy and when I started book 3 I did not really have any hopes for it. But it showed to be the best in the series so far and I do love this series now. This is was Briggs rule.

And here are some of the other good books I have read this year, all awesome 4 stars

Series started this year: Too many
Series finished: Too few

Most read Author this year: Karen Miller
Fav genre of the year. Still Fantasy













Best covers of the year, I can't decide between these 3:

Here is to hoping 2014 will be awesome too!

2x Amanda Stevens: The Prophet and The Kingdom

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.

My thoughts:

Omg, omg people! This book was so good. Yes I liked book 1 and it was so hard to put down but this one was even better! I started it and was unable to put it down, I realized that I had missed lunch and tore myself away for 5 minutes. I was utterly lost in this world and did not stop until I reached the end. The only thing stopping me from reading the next one at once is that I need to breathe.

The eerie feeling echoed through out the whole book. A creepy town, freaky things in the woods and questions needed to be answered. And the answers were just as creepy as the questions. What an atmosphere she builds!

I could keep on gushing. I even felt the urge to give it a 5. I know right, from me?! Crazy. I wont though even if it deserves it. I reserve those for books I will re-read over and over again. This one, well the eeriness is there, but now I know. So leave it at 4,5. Best book so far this year. It left me empty now. I have only one book left in the series and I will sad. Especially if it's not equally good.

Conclusion:

I recommend it. I love when a story pulls me in and refuses to let me go. I could not have torn myself even if I had wanted to.

Series: Graveyard Queen #2

Genre: Southern Gothic mystery

Pages: 376

Published: 2012 by Mira

Source: own

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.

My thoughts:

This book had another feel to it than the intense book 2. That one was eerie and haunted me. This one is more calm, but not in the good way that calm is. No it's more like being drugged and calm. Waking around in a mist.

“Never acknowledge the Dead. Never stray from hallowed ground. Never associate with the haunted. Never tempt fate.”

All things Amelia has done and in this book we see what it does to her. She is on the case to find a murdered, she associate with a ghost, and she is back in Charleston and can't stay away from Devlin and his ghosts.

Strange drugs, old magic and trickery. A Charleston where the darker side is shown. Amelia meets new friends, and new enemies and we get a few questions answered. But when the book ends, there is still so much left to be told and I was happy to read that Stevens is working in 3 more books. Things are yet to be told and Amelia will surely deal with the darkness that is gathering.

Sure it was not as good as book 2 but then that book was utterly amazing! It was because it was intense while this one had that weird calmness over it.

Conclusion:

A southern Gothic mystery. A series I recommend to everyone.

Series: the Graveyard Queen #3

Pages: 347

Published: 2012 by Mira

Review: The Restorer - Amanda Stevens + The Abandoned

My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer--and to his other victims--lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

My thoughts:

 I really do not understand how I rate. Here I wondered if I should give it a 3 or 4. It was good, a compelling story, chilling feelings, and great writing, still I felt unsure. But the good writing tips it over to a 4 this time. Which is the best you can get.

I do not really know how to classify this one, southern Gothic mystery? With a touch of romance and yes of course paranormal. I like the mix, I like how it stands out.

Amelia can see ghosts, but she must NEVER let the ghosts know. Which gives the whole book an eerie feeling. Ghosts are present a lot, but she can't acknowledge them. That would open the door to unknown dangers. Not to mention that ghosts here are not kind. They suck the life force out from those they haunt. It did make me look over my shoulder. I hope no ghosts are around me, looking over my shoulder.

There is also that hint of romance, just a hint as it can not happen. I shall not say why. But the pull of passion is there and I wonder...

The mystery is good. A body in the cemetery where Amelia is working, dark dealings going on and in comes Devlin, the officer who tries to solve the crime. All while those ghosts are there. And the setting is of course perfect for this.

Conclusion:

A book that made me want more.

Cover: Works

Series: Graveyard Queen #1
Genre: Southern, Gothic Mystery, ghost-story, paranormal suspense, romance ;)
Pages: 376
Published: 2011 by Mira
Source: Own

There are rules for dealing with ghosts. Too bad Ree Hutchins doesn't know them.

When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her.

Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as The Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest--before she is locked away forever....

My thoughts:

I remembered I had this book while reading The Restorer so I quickly changed books. But, I did not think the stories went hand in hand. I would have had a story from long before. Than a story about a girl haunted by a ghost and looking into a shady society.

It was still good, as it was. But when I then think about The Restorer I find holes.

So it works better as it is, than as a prequel.

Series: Graveyard Queen 0,5
Pages: 73
Published: 2011 by Mira
Source: Own