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Jan 14, 2012

Vered rated it:

I loved it! Loved it!! I haven't loved as much as I loved this one for so long. Since Kate I think.
Excellent writing, characters I fell in love with and one unbelievable, heartbreaking, soul gripping Terrible.
I was so afraid of the whole drag adiction issue, but I fell in love with Chess. Yes, she's a drug addict and no, it was never glorified in any way. It was just what it was. Chess was so fucked up yet smart and courageous and strong and vulnerable and at times i just wanted More...

28 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2011

MISS VAIN rated it:

"Debunking often looks like the most appealing of church positions, but very few possess the skill, intelligence and above all, integrity required."
--Careers In The Church: A Guide For Teens, by Praxis Turpin.

My only regret with this book is that I waited so long to read this series. I absolutely LOVE this unique world that even when I'm not reading the book Chess and the Downside World is still on my mind! Fans of the Fever world will fall in live with this world S More...

122 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2012

Jen rated it:

As I try to put my thoughts together about this book, I find myself at a little bit of a loss. It's... strange and disturbing at times. But it's also kind of compelling.

The story takes place in an alternate universe where the existence of magic and ghosts are known fact. Society is run by the church. Not any church of God, but one that rejects faith altogether. Its members keep a tight leash on the ghost world. Chess works for the Church as a "debunker." Essentially, she in More...

5 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Anzu rated it:

The most relevant things you need to know about Unholy Ghosts

A bunch of self-loathing funny talking drug addicts being chased by evil red eyed ghosts in a dirty religionless futuristic city. Nicotine, drugs, ghosts and a freakin’ love triangle. Hip hip hurrah!

This book was very difficult for me to read because of my lack of interest in all of these things. It’s just More...

43 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2011

Regina rated it:

4-4.5 stars. Oh My Goodness! This book blew me away. First, I have to say I really steer clear of movies and books that paint drug use as fun (not talking about pot/marijuana). For some reason it just really turns my stomach. I don't judge the users morally but I just can't watch the downward spiral, the descent. So I really was reluctant to pick up this book. But I am so glad that I did. The lead character Cesaria a/k/a "Chess" is a difficult person to focus on for over 300 pa More...

5 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2011

Steph rated it:

Unholy Ghosts is our first look into the world of Downside. And, yes, at first glance, you might only see dirt, drugs and hoodlums. But, thankfully Kane gives us a deeper insight into a world post-haunting.

Almost 23 years ago, in 1997, during Haunting Week "people huddled together in churches and homes and schools, praying and crying, while silent ghosts, risen from their graves, moved through the walls in search of them. Stealing their lives."

Since then, the More...

10 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2010

Laurie rated it:

For a Urban Fantasy this book was OK for me. The New world is ruled by a church called Church of Real Truth, Stacia explains the world really good and it doesn’t take up the whole storyline. There is lots of hard core action and one somewhat hot scene between Chess and Lex.

Chess has to have her drugs, if not she ends up with the itch. Bump is her supplier. She is in head over heals in debt with him. Bump gives her a ghost hunting job to help pay for what she owes him. From wh More...

18 comments like (12 people liked it)

Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it:

I actually give this 9/10, but Goodreads doesn't offer half stars!

I'm so excited about this book - I LOVED it! I haven't read an Urban Fantasy this good in quite a while. I've read the first in Kane's 'Megan Chase' series, but she's come on leaps and bounds since then, Unholy Ghosts is just so much better in every respect.

The writing is perfectly paced, I didn't get bored once and everything slots together at the right time. The plot is just brilliant and had me engrossed More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2010

Erika rated it:

3.75/5
won from Library thing Arc's.

This was an interesting debut book. I really thought the world and concept were original and interesting. I find I was intrigued by Chess aka Cesaria Putnam. This book had a lot going for it, but It really bugged me with all the drug use. It was extreme, and hard to read and hard for me to figure out how on earth Chess could function while she is snorting lines, popping uppers, downers, speed, and hitting the pipes. I understand that she More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

SubterraneanCatalyst rated it:

I hate to do this but I'm not skilled enough yet to write a review that doesn't have mild spoilers, or even unforgivable spoilers, so forgive me my crutch:

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED THIS IS SPOILER LAND- THIS SHOULD ONLY BE READ IF YOU'VE ALREADY READ THE BOOK OR YOU JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT KNOWING SOME IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE BOOK UPFRONT, because, I'm just too weak to cleanse my thoughts of them. This probably has more "mild" spoilers.

On to business::

...Ch

More...

66 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2010

Pamela {Spaz} rated it:

Do you like dark Urban Fantasy? This book IS FOR YOU. I read this book in under 24 hours. Could not put it down and was completely enthralled from start to finish. I am still at that just-finished-this-book phase where I want to gush and obsess on it. Much as I was at the end of Magic Bleeds, though the 2 series are nothing alike.

Unholy Ghosts is quite a unique new twist on Urban Fantasy and is very dark. The story never lets up as it follows the kickass heroine, Chess. Ms Kane never More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2011

Penny rated it:

I'm going to start this review off on a tangent--when do I not? As far as I'm concerned 2011 has been the Year of Meh. Television has been practically unwatchable. Movies released this year: heinous. The books were, at best, mediocre. Admittedly, there were a few notable exceptions but, for the most part, I'm disappointed.

Over the past six months I've grown weary; struggled to finish most of what I've started, and, by the way, failing more often then not--you should see my pi More...

6 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

Donna rated it:

Wow, this was even better than what I was expecting. Chess works for the Church of Truth as a debunker, which means she investigates peoples claims of hauntings and either exorcises the ghost or proves it to be a false claim.
Chess' character is very interesting, she uses drugs to block out the memories of a very traumatizing childhood as well as some of the horrors she has to face from her job each day. I thought she was very realistic in the way she had a hard time trusting people, isolated he More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2011

Cara rated it:

BLURB-

THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased.

Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch, freewheeling Debunker, and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing huma More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

Sian rated it:

This was recommended to me on the Vine newsletter I imagine because I own all of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris and there is even a recommendation on the front cover from Charlaine Harris....however I just could not get into this.
I really thought I was going to enjoy this and was sadly disappointed.

This was the first time I have read anything from this author and maybe I should have read one of her earlier books to get a feel for her style of writing but in m More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2011

Dija rated it:

I really liked the characters, but the plot was extremely confusing. That's mostly my fault because I skimmed through pretty much all the narration, but I seriously couldn't get into the action. I loved the bits with Lex and Terrible, but other than that, I skipped half the book. Ergo, I was really, really confused about what was happening. But the romance part of the book, even though it's like 1/6 of the entire story, is interesting enough that I might read the rest of the series soon.

More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Smokinhotbooks rated it:

I love this series!!! Why? Because it gives us an imperfect heroine who struggles with her past, her addiction, and things that go bump in the night. If you are looking for something different that will grip your heart and have you reading well into the night, you HAVE TO READ UNHOLY GHOSTS!

(Combined review of Unholy Magic and Unholy Ghosts)

It’s not often that you will find me reading a book about a drug- addicted heroine who makes more terrible choices than Lindsey Loha More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 17, 2011

Moss rated it:

I want to be really cool and dissective about this book and give it at least two screens worth of thoughtful, measured critique. I'd like to tease apart the world-building step by step, so you understand how flawless it is, how Kane has fit the societies in the Downside world together like a fractal cube, so that each layer lives within another, drilling down into infinite striation. The theological underpinnings of the Downside world probably deserve a really good going-over too; as a comment More...

37 comments like (9 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2011

Suz rated it:

I really enjoyed this, the first of the Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane. I'd never read any of Ms. Kane's work before and I found this to be a surprising delight.

There are two romance stories with the primary protagonist, but they are approached in a UF way, not PNR. There are sexy times in this first book but, in typical Urban Fantasy way, more tension than sex itself. The sex that's there doesn't just fade to black and leave you hanging, though. Faithful to Urban Fantasy, t More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

Wolfy rated it:

3 1/2 Stars.

I've avoid reading this highly popular UF book for quite some time for multiple reasons. My instincts again were spot on, because this book really didn't do anything for me. I didn't find the book all that engaging, and I found it to be chock full of unlikable characters. I also couldn't bring myself to like or relate to the protagonist either, with her her self-destructive, low self-worth, drug addictted personality. The mystery subplot was hard to get into and the s More...

19 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Jan rated it:

Reread it, so finally able to write a review for it.

What's left to say? I think this book is what good Urban-Fantasy should be. I feel like there must be a reason for creating a world that has a contemporary urban feel to it and still has paranormal elements. There must be something the author wants to explore about the Urban facets of the world, and yet so often it seems like the only reason a book is Urban Fantasy is because then the heroine can wear leather pants.

A lot More...

40 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 29, 2011

Mrs.Vishous-Kattalakis-Belikov rated it:

I love this sooo much I can barely contain myself!! Chess' inner dialog is fecking brilliant:

If Mrs. Morton would stop verbally jacking off her husband and son this would al be done so much more quickly,but then Chess figured it was just about the only sex the woman got.

And her thoughts on Bumps style and decor:

"Bump stood in the middle of the room, wrapped in a heavy fur coat, with a silk top hat covering his fuzzy head and unnecessary sunglasses coveri More...

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 13, 2011

Galla rated it:

I put off reading this one for a while, but I'm glad I finally got around to it. I knew the main character, Chess, was a drug addict and that her addiction would play a strong role in the novel. That's just not a big selling point for me, not so much because I object to drug addiction as fictional content, but because it frankly can be just tedious to read about (Phury, I'm looking at you. You and your Wizard).

It's not tedious here, largely because while it's a big part of Chess's c More...

7 comments like (10 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Marsha rated it:

I am actually leaning toward 3 1/2 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the book, but I had a hard time with the beginning. Not because the writing was bad or the character development lacked something, but because - well, I don't know. I pushed on because of the many good reviews. And, I'm glad that I did.

Chess Putnam is a pill popping Debunker that works for the Church of Truth - she determines if a given haunting is real or false and then if it is real, she b More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2012

Carolyn F. rated it:

Reread by audiobook. I also read the library book.

I ended up liking this book a whole lot more but I think that has the most to do with the later books that I read and loved. Now I'm getting all of the reasons behind a lot of the drug use. Also Chess finding small bits of happiness wherever she can find them. I still love Terrible and this book reminds me of that. I'm going to listen to book #2 right after this one.

First read 10/22/10 and this is my review at that t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2011

Isamlq rated it:

It took me quite some time to get accustomed to the world she lived in and the language that some of the people used. It was not the drug use that I disliked (facts of life after all) rather it was the constant introspection going on that I could not abide. For most of the book it’s Chess thinking to herself considering the motives of others or thinking about how someoned did something, or thinking about needing/wanting another hit that you read about.

Only when she interacted with t More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Mariya rated it:

Basically you either love it or hate it. I had started UNHOLY GHOSTS let's see....October and dropped it. All my GR friends love it. I am wanting to know why? because I obviously don't see the appeal. SO this kind of drove me crazy so I decided to finish it because I never made it to the end.

I will say that I am glad that I finished the book this time. But I cannot give this book a high rating because it took me more than halfway through this book to actually understand what the hel More...

15 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2010

Kt from A Book Obsession.. rated it:

Chess is a church witch whose job as a debunker is to disband rouge ghosts and disprove false haunting claims against the church. She is a broken character with many flaws and weaknesses. In the middle of a fight she will pop pills or snort up. She is completely unable to function without being high. Surprisingly though, I couldn't help caring for Chess. Her past is a little murky, but based on what was revealed its no wonder she is a user. Despite her weaknesses, she has a tremendous underlying More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 13, 2011

Sunny rated it:

Very different book than I am use to but not in a bad way. I don't know what Urban Fantasy is but I am guessing this is it. Very dark, bad environment but real entertaining. And yes, there is romance. A diffent kind but it is in there. If you can get thru the first 40% you will be hooked. I just love "Terrible". I am off to read the next one :) BTW - the slang is hard to get use to, I believe all of the thugs must be from Ireland. They all say "Aye" and other Irish wo More...

9 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2011

Cindyg rated it:

Definitely a change of pace for me. It was an okay read, got better towards the end. I will be reading the next book in the series. From the reviews that I've read, it has been a well liked series. I sure hope so.
I do like Chess and even Terrible and Lex grew on me.
We see how the next one goes.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)