What do you think?
Rate this book
Graveyard Queen #2
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 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.
380 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2012
275 people are currently reading
3917 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Stevens
261 books2,224 followersAmanda Stevens is the award-winning author of over fifty novels, including the modern gothic series, The Graveyard Queen. Her books have been described as eerie and atmospheric, “a new take on the classic ghost story.” Born and raised in the rural south, she now resides in Houston, Texas, where she enjoys binge-watching, bike riding and the occasional Horror Night with friends.
The Graveyard Queen trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrCf_e...
http://twitter.com/AmandaStevensTX
http://facebook.com/amandastevensbooks
amandastevensbooks@gmail.com
The Graveyard Queen trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrCf_e...
http://twitter.com/AmandaStevensTX
http://facebook.com/amandastevensbooks
amandastevensbooks@gmail.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,110 reviews
October 21, 2020
I read number one in the seven-book, multi-genre Graveyard Queen series, The Restorer, and loved it, five-star love. Not my usual type of read except Amelia Gray, the protagonist, is a professional cemetery restorer and I'm a taphophile, someone with an interest in old, sculptural, historical cemeteries, the kind she is paid to restore. Her job involves intensive research into each one and she knows the meaning of symbols on gravestones.and of placement of monuments and all kinds of things I find fascinating. And she sees ghosts. I don't believe in ghosts but love to read about them.
She's available and though I don't read romance, mixed with the mystery and the rest of the plot in book one it was fine. She's fallen for the proverbial tall, dark and handsome man, Devlin, whose wife and child died young in a car accident The ghost of his beautiful dead wife, who he can't see, gives Amelia taunting looks whenever she and Devlin touch or are about to. While he's still actively mourning his late wife, he's just as drawn to Amelia as she to him. It's an insta-crush and I have no problem with that. Sometimes they bloom and grow like the moonlight gardens Stevens writes about. Sometimes they work out, sometimes not, but they do happen: chemistry and hormones and fairy dust, I don't know but I don't mind.
And there were two mysteries, something I don't read much of either. The murder mystery was gruesome and compelling. The other is the mystery of how and why Amelia was adopted by the Grays, who have never discussed it with her. It's there but not center stage. The book had a lot of great elements, I loved the flow of Stevens's writing and the generous descriptions of flowers and other natural elements that were a treat, and it all came together.
I loved it so much I bought the other six.
And now I've read #2, The Kingdom, and #2 is a generous two stars for me. As great as I found The Restorer, I found The Kingdom just that flawed. Amelia has accepted a commission in an isolated town in the Appalachian mountains in South Carolina. The ruthless elder of the town's founding family flooded it with a dam, isolating the town and flooding a cemetery with it. Intriguing. But that's not the cemetery she's been hired to restore, it's the old family cemetery.
As are most of the characters in this one, the family are over-the-top caricatures. And that includes Amelia's new insta-crush. One per book? I don't like that. Change his eyes from brown to green, it's that simple? No thanks -- and she hasn't forgotten Devlin, and I don't want her to.
The :biggest weakness, though, is the number of occult creatures and elements. There are not just ghosts here. There's Ancient Evil and, um, Regular Evil?, possession, witches and otherworldly beings that are never made clear. And it's not just people, it's things: carvings and necklaces, symbols, a photograph and sculptured angels. Too many, too much. Stevens has thrown in everything but the kitchen sink --- a possessed kitchen sink.
Again Stevens provides some lovely, descriptive nature writing The landscape, especially the mountain, plays a big role in the plot though the long climax that takes place there bored me. Not good. Most of it isn't. I question why this series of light paranormal-romance-mysteries are all close to 400 pages. Though I thought there wasn't a word wasted in The Restorer; not so for The Kingdom.
The best part for me is that The Kingdom reveals the circumstances of Amelia's birth and adoption. I found the story ludicrous but was relieved that in a seven-book series I didn't have to wait longer to find out. And it's poignant at points. Poignant and ludicrous: two adjectives I've never used to refer to the same thing before but it is.
Book three looks better. It has the elements I loved in one and missed in two. I look forward to reading it...after a break.
She's available and though I don't read romance, mixed with the mystery and the rest of the plot in book one it was fine. She's fallen for the proverbial tall, dark and handsome man, Devlin, whose wife and child died young in a car accident The ghost of his beautiful dead wife, who he can't see, gives Amelia taunting looks whenever she and Devlin touch or are about to. While he's still actively mourning his late wife, he's just as drawn to Amelia as she to him. It's an insta-crush and I have no problem with that. Sometimes they bloom and grow like the moonlight gardens Stevens writes about. Sometimes they work out, sometimes not, but they do happen: chemistry and hormones and fairy dust, I don't know but I don't mind.
And there were two mysteries, something I don't read much of either. The murder mystery was gruesome and compelling. The other is the mystery of how and why Amelia was adopted by the Grays, who have never discussed it with her. It's there but not center stage. The book had a lot of great elements, I loved the flow of Stevens's writing and the generous descriptions of flowers and other natural elements that were a treat, and it all came together.
I loved it so much I bought the other six.
And now I've read #2, The Kingdom, and #2 is a generous two stars for me. As great as I found The Restorer, I found The Kingdom just that flawed. Amelia has accepted a commission in an isolated town in the Appalachian mountains in South Carolina. The ruthless elder of the town's founding family flooded it with a dam, isolating the town and flooding a cemetery with it. Intriguing. But that's not the cemetery she's been hired to restore, it's the old family cemetery.
As are most of the characters in this one, the family are over-the-top caricatures. And that includes Amelia's new insta-crush. One per book? I don't like that. Change his eyes from brown to green, it's that simple? No thanks -- and she hasn't forgotten Devlin, and I don't want her to.
The :biggest weakness, though, is the number of occult creatures and elements. There are not just ghosts here. There's Ancient Evil and, um, Regular Evil?, possession, witches and otherworldly beings that are never made clear. And it's not just people, it's things: carvings and necklaces, symbols, a photograph and sculptured angels. Too many, too much. Stevens has thrown in everything but the kitchen sink --- a possessed kitchen sink.
Again Stevens provides some lovely, descriptive nature writing The landscape, especially the mountain, plays a big role in the plot though the long climax that takes place there bored me. Not good. Most of it isn't. I question why this series of light paranormal-romance-mysteries are all close to 400 pages. Though I thought there wasn't a word wasted in The Restorer; not so for The Kingdom.
The best part for me is that The Kingdom reveals the circumstances of Amelia's birth and adoption. I found the story ludicrous but was relieved that in a seven-book series I didn't have to wait longer to find out. And it's poignant at points. Poignant and ludicrous: two adjectives I've never used to refer to the same thing before but it is.
Book three looks better. It has the elements I loved in one and missed in two. I look forward to reading it...after a break.
January 29, 2020
A bit disappointed here because I did not like this one as much as I did book 1 The Restorer.
I realise that having a main character who sees ghosts means the subject matter of the book is going to be spooky and irrational but The Kingdom seemed to take it to a whole new level. There were so many ghosts, evil beings, mysterious happenings and unpleasant people that I became confused, then blasé and finally bored.
And then my pet hate roused its ugly head. Amelia seemed to be a level headed, fairly reasonable girl in the first book. In this book she spent the entire time knowing she should not be doing something and then doing it anyway. She deserved all she got.
And just as you were thinking that I am a horrible person for knocking one of your favourite books, I will admit there was a good story in there somewhere and I will absolutely be back for book 3.
I realise that having a main character who sees ghosts means the subject matter of the book is going to be spooky and irrational but The Kingdom seemed to take it to a whole new level. There were so many ghosts, evil beings, mysterious happenings and unpleasant people that I became confused, then blasé and finally bored.
And then my pet hate roused its ugly head. Amelia seemed to be a level headed, fairly reasonable girl in the first book. In this book she spent the entire time knowing she should not be doing something and then doing it anyway. She deserved all she got.
And just as you were thinking that I am a horrible person for knocking one of your favourite books, I will admit there was a good story in there somewhere and I will absolutely be back for book 3.
July 16, 2012
4.5 stars
Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seem deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here.
In The Kingdom, second book in The Graveyard Queen series, Amelia Gray is called to restore the local cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, and she gladly accepts, hoping that some time away will help put emotional distance between her and John Devlin, the haunted police detective she desperately loves. The job, however, is not as simple as it seemed to be. Thorngate cemetery and the powerful family that used to own it are surrounded by controversy and not everyone is welcoming. Amelia soon discovers that she has blood ties to the place and she is forced to face not only the ghosts that are everywhere, but her family's history as well.
It is strange but admirable that Stevens decided to distance her heroine from the original love interest for the duration of this book. As much as I missed John Devlin and his dark, brooding personality, that particular storyline is a lot like good wine: the more time Stevens chooses to give it, the better it will become. After all, if Devlin was freed from the ghosts that haunt him – those of his wife and daughter – too quickly, it would make the issue seem less serious than it’s supposed to be, especially if the trigger happened to be his attraction to Amelia. In addition, getting to know Thane Asher, the man who kept Amelia company in this book, was an unexpected pleasure. Like Devlin, he has a lot of baggage and a definite dark side, but they really couldn’t be more different. I could see why Amelia would be attracted to him, especially after everything she went through with and for Devlin.
The heavy atmosphere of Deep South wasn’t as pronounced in The Kingdom, but the creepiness of the minuscule town and the closed mentality of such a small community were portrayed rather excellently. Asher Falls had layers upon layers of shameful and dangerous secrets, and for some unknown reason, Amelia was at the very center of it all.
Amelia Gray is a highly unusual Urban Fantasy heroine. She is gentle, reserved and very quiet, trained to keep her emotions and reactions to herself. She never relies on sarcasm and her entire personality is influenced by her Southern upbringing. Perhaps she is not a real lady like her adoptive mother and her aunt, but she is, above all, polite – towards friends and enemies alike.
My mother and aunt were very beautiful women, exuding a bygone femininity that smelled of honeysuckle, sandalwood and fresh linen. Papa, by contrast, smelled of the earth. Or was that me? To Mama’s horror, I often had little half moons of dirt beneath my nails, the odd leaf or twig stuck to my hair. Even wearing my Sunday best, a bit of graveyard seemed to cling to me.
Stevens’s prose is lush and gorgeous, intense and heartbreaking. Her characters come alive so easily, and her talent for creating an eerie atmosphere is enormous. Truth be told, there aren’t that many Urban Fantasy authors like her. With her talent, she could write anything she chooses, anything at all, which is why I’m especially proud that she opted for my favorite genre.
I’m supposed to read the third book, The Prophet, with my friend Heidi over at Rainy Day Ramblings and I’m already so excited about it. If you’re a fan of dark, eerily beautiful stories that will keep you awake at night, please give this series a try. It was, after all, recommended to me by Ann Aguirre, and she’s a lady who knows what she’s talking about.
Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seem deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here.
In The Kingdom, second book in The Graveyard Queen series, Amelia Gray is called to restore the local cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, and she gladly accepts, hoping that some time away will help put emotional distance between her and John Devlin, the haunted police detective she desperately loves. The job, however, is not as simple as it seemed to be. Thorngate cemetery and the powerful family that used to own it are surrounded by controversy and not everyone is welcoming. Amelia soon discovers that she has blood ties to the place and she is forced to face not only the ghosts that are everywhere, but her family's history as well.
It is strange but admirable that Stevens decided to distance her heroine from the original love interest for the duration of this book. As much as I missed John Devlin and his dark, brooding personality, that particular storyline is a lot like good wine: the more time Stevens chooses to give it, the better it will become. After all, if Devlin was freed from the ghosts that haunt him – those of his wife and daughter – too quickly, it would make the issue seem less serious than it’s supposed to be, especially if the trigger happened to be his attraction to Amelia. In addition, getting to know Thane Asher, the man who kept Amelia company in this book, was an unexpected pleasure. Like Devlin, he has a lot of baggage and a definite dark side, but they really couldn’t be more different. I could see why Amelia would be attracted to him, especially after everything she went through with and for Devlin.
The heavy atmosphere of Deep South wasn’t as pronounced in The Kingdom, but the creepiness of the minuscule town and the closed mentality of such a small community were portrayed rather excellently. Asher Falls had layers upon layers of shameful and dangerous secrets, and for some unknown reason, Amelia was at the very center of it all.
Amelia Gray is a highly unusual Urban Fantasy heroine. She is gentle, reserved and very quiet, trained to keep her emotions and reactions to herself. She never relies on sarcasm and her entire personality is influenced by her Southern upbringing. Perhaps she is not a real lady like her adoptive mother and her aunt, but she is, above all, polite – towards friends and enemies alike.
My mother and aunt were very beautiful women, exuding a bygone femininity that smelled of honeysuckle, sandalwood and fresh linen. Papa, by contrast, smelled of the earth. Or was that me? To Mama’s horror, I often had little half moons of dirt beneath my nails, the odd leaf or twig stuck to my hair. Even wearing my Sunday best, a bit of graveyard seemed to cling to me.
Stevens’s prose is lush and gorgeous, intense and heartbreaking. Her characters come alive so easily, and her talent for creating an eerie atmosphere is enormous. Truth be told, there aren’t that many Urban Fantasy authors like her. With her talent, she could write anything she chooses, anything at all, which is why I’m especially proud that she opted for my favorite genre.
I’m supposed to read the third book, The Prophet, with my friend Heidi over at Rainy Day Ramblings and I’m already so excited about it. If you’re a fan of dark, eerily beautiful stories that will keep you awake at night, please give this series a try. It was, after all, recommended to me by Ann Aguirre, and she’s a lady who knows what she’s talking about.
May 27, 2018
Hmmm....
I don’t know how I feel about this one. I did enjoy it, the story was very terrifying and scary, loads of new mysteries on the horizon, some answered questions, like who Amelia is and why is she the way she is, but I got lost sometimes. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, or maybe it wasn’t explained properly, but some things didn’t make quite sense to me.
Well, overall, it was a good read and I’ll continue with the series.
I don’t know how I feel about this one. I did enjoy it, the story was very terrifying and scary, loads of new mysteries on the horizon, some answered questions, like who Amelia is and why is she the way she is, but I got lost sometimes. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, or maybe it wasn’t explained properly, but some things didn’t make quite sense to me.
Well, overall, it was a good read and I’ll continue with the series.
January 3, 2016
Much better than the first one! There wasn't much of a romance, in my opinion, because I didn't think Thane Asher would usurp Devlin's place in Amelia's heart.
The mystery was well plotted and I while I did guess pretty early on what was going on, it was satisfying to be in the know. I have to say, there were some pretty terrible people here! Very sad what selfish people were willing to do. Thankfully, there was some just retribution. I thought The Kingdom was way spookier than The Restorer; the evil lurking was palpable!
I was pleased to learn about Amelia's origins. We get a lot of answers and I wonder how some of the discoveries will impact her familial relationships.
Angus the dog was a bright spot in the story! My heart bleeds when any animal suffers mistreatment, but he didn't let that break him, and now he has Amelia as his friend and protector. To be honest, he offers just as much protection for her, so they make a strong team.
The audio narration was wonderful. Khristine Hvam has a sweet, sultry Southern voice perfect for Amelia. Her male voices are appealing as well.
On to the next one!
The mystery was well plotted and I while I did guess pretty early on what was going on, it was satisfying to be in the know. I have to say, there were some pretty terrible people here! Very sad what selfish people were willing to do. Thankfully, there was some just retribution. I thought The Kingdom was way spookier than The Restorer; the evil lurking was palpable!
I was pleased to learn about Amelia's origins. We get a lot of answers and I wonder how some of the discoveries will impact her familial relationships.
Angus the dog was a bright spot in the story! My heart bleeds when any animal suffers mistreatment, but he didn't let that break him, and now he has Amelia as his friend and protector. To be honest, he offers just as much protection for her, so they make a strong team.
The audio narration was wonderful. Khristine Hvam has a sweet, sultry Southern voice perfect for Amelia. Her male voices are appealing as well.
On to the next one!
June 6, 2020
Excelente continuación de la serie, aunque debo reconocer que no me impactó tanto como La restauradora; no logró mantenerme en ese estado de tensión permanente como la primera novela.
Sin embargo, también se destaca por tener un ritmo muy ágil, con escenas sumamente sobrecogedoras y donde cada pieza encaja perfectamente al llegar a las últimas páginas, lo que se agradece, ya que esta entrega está dedicada precisamente a desvelar uno de los misterios del primer libro: por qué Amelia tiene el mismo don de su padre, siendo hija adoptiva.
Quedo ahora a la espera del tercer libro, en que presumo se resolverá cómo Amelia enfrentará su atracción por John Devlin, el hombre acechado del que se enamoró y que en esta novela sólo se mantuvo presente a través de mensajes intentando localizarla.
Sin embargo, también se destaca por tener un ritmo muy ágil, con escenas sumamente sobrecogedoras y donde cada pieza encaja perfectamente al llegar a las últimas páginas, lo que se agradece, ya que esta entrega está dedicada precisamente a desvelar uno de los misterios del primer libro: por qué Amelia tiene el mismo don de su padre, siendo hija adoptiva.
Quedo ahora a la espera del tercer libro, en que presumo se resolverá cómo Amelia enfrentará su atracción por John Devlin, el hombre acechado del que se enamoró y que en esta novela sólo se mantuvo presente a través de mensajes intentando localizarla.
August 8, 2019
The Kingdom
By: Amanda Stevens
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Series: Graveyard Queen, Book 2
This book really brings a dark and heavy atmosphere feel as the author describes the town Amelia has to work in next. She thinks it is just effecting her but once she arrives in town everyone is feeling something dark and strange. This town has lots of secrets that can cost Amelia her life! Many secrets of the family are explored too! The Graveyard Queen becomes the prey as she is stalked by humans and nonhumans. Great suspense and mysteries.
The narrator performs very well!
By: Amanda Stevens
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Series: Graveyard Queen, Book 2
This book really brings a dark and heavy atmosphere feel as the author describes the town Amelia has to work in next. She thinks it is just effecting her but once she arrives in town everyone is feeling something dark and strange. This town has lots of secrets that can cost Amelia her life! Many secrets of the family are explored too! The Graveyard Queen becomes the prey as she is stalked by humans and nonhumans. Great suspense and mysteries.
The narrator performs very well!
February 17, 2016
Una serie increíble! Única! Realmente poco puedo decir o añadir sobre lo ya dicho, pero la autora consigue con esta segunda parte un relato más oscuro y siniestro, capaz de hacernos sentir el mal que asola en Asher Falls. Mágico!
December 24, 2014
This story really disappointed me.
Honestly, I was expecting a whole lot more from this...
After reading the first volume, Amelia's strange characterization no longer came as a surprise. But while on the first story, the mystery kept me from dwelling on a "couple of things" that I just found irritating; in this one, the mystery wasn't all that interesting...and not all that mysterious.
If the book were to be evaluated only on account of his "photography" aspect,its so called atmosphere and scenario, it would definitely deserve a higher rating. The whole underwater graveyard scenario was creepy as hell...
But then let's talk about the attempted sense of creepy/horror "thing" that tries to "permeate" the story....it didn't work. There wasn't anything new in it, so it just become boring to read.
I am used to reading dark fantasy stories, namely some works by Marion Zimmer Bradley, that I read more than a decade ago.
Stories that I liked reading back then, but I'm betting that were I to read them NOW, they wouldn't get the same reaction from me. Stories in which the horror descriptions are extremely linked to paranormal romance. See where I am going?
That's what happened here.
A nameless EVIL, who influences everyone and everything in a small town. Then you have the "evil witches". Then there's the "powerful patriarch" who rules everything from behind the scenes. Clichés, clichés...
And then there's the love interest.....yeah, I wish! And once again, let the cliché feast begin.
Like what happened with the first book, The "romance" is just pitiable.
We get a new character, who's tall, and handsome. This one, thankfully isn't brooding as Devlin....thank God, for that!
In fact I was really hoping that Amelia would have a nice, normal relationship with Thane. Who unlike, Devlin, shows that he likes her.
But unfortunately, I'm not seeing that happening... ever.
Because the author, made perfectly clear that part of their mutual attraction was fuelled by EVIL....ugh, ugh, ugh.
Could this explanation be more cheesy? And soap-opera like?
So like the first story_ _ in this one, the scenes where the characters all of a sudden decide to throw themselves at each other in a sudden fit of passion, were really strange, and eye-rolling inducing....you know, because the EVIL was messing with them. (sigh)
One of "those" scenes even takes place in a graveyard....c'mon!
Too much can be TOO MUCH!!
Then she's always thinking about Devlin and his dead wife, and after a while the thing just transformed itself into a creepy soap-opera!
In the end, Amelia is probably one of my least favourite characters, and after this book, I most certainly will not be reading the third one.
Honestly, for me, _and I don't think I ever said this! _ the only way for this series to work would be to skip the romance entirely!
Honestly, I was expecting a whole lot more from this...
After reading the first volume, Amelia's strange characterization no longer came as a surprise. But while on the first story, the mystery kept me from dwelling on a "couple of things" that I just found irritating; in this one, the mystery wasn't all that interesting...and not all that mysterious.
If the book were to be evaluated only on account of his "photography" aspect,its so called atmosphere and scenario, it would definitely deserve a higher rating. The whole underwater graveyard scenario was creepy as hell...
But then let's talk about the attempted sense of creepy/horror "thing" that tries to "permeate" the story....it didn't work. There wasn't anything new in it, so it just become boring to read.
I am used to reading dark fantasy stories, namely some works by Marion Zimmer Bradley, that I read more than a decade ago.
Stories that I liked reading back then, but I'm betting that were I to read them NOW, they wouldn't get the same reaction from me. Stories in which the horror descriptions are extremely linked to paranormal romance. See where I am going?
That's what happened here.
A nameless EVIL, who influences everyone and everything in a small town. Then you have the "evil witches". Then there's the "powerful patriarch" who rules everything from behind the scenes. Clichés, clichés...
And then there's the love interest.....yeah, I wish! And once again, let the cliché feast begin.
Like what happened with the first book, The "romance" is just pitiable.
We get a new character, who's tall, and handsome. This one, thankfully isn't brooding as Devlin....thank God, for that!
In fact I was really hoping that Amelia would have a nice, normal relationship with Thane. Who unlike, Devlin, shows that he likes her.
But unfortunately, I'm not seeing that happening... ever.
Because the author, made perfectly clear that part of their mutual attraction was fuelled by EVIL....ugh, ugh, ugh.
Could this explanation be more cheesy? And soap-opera like?
So like the first story_ _ in this one, the scenes where the characters all of a sudden decide to throw themselves at each other in a sudden fit of passion, were really strange, and eye-rolling inducing....you know, because the EVIL was messing with them. (sigh)
One of "those" scenes even takes place in a graveyard....c'mon!
Too much can be TOO MUCH!!
Then she's always thinking about Devlin and his dead wife, and after a while the thing just transformed itself into a creepy soap-opera!
In the end, Amelia is probably one of my least favourite characters, and after this book, I most certainly will not be reading the third one.
Honestly, for me, _and I don't think I ever said this! _ the only way for this series to work would be to skip the romance entirely!
July 14, 2016
Excepto las últimas 50 páginas la autora no ha sabido atraparme en la historia. Seguro que cosa mía, dadas las buenas críticas que tiene la novela.
No he entendido muchas cosas.... esa relación con Thane... (no recuerdo si se escribe así) ¿con esas escenas que ni merecen comentarse entre ambos, no sé si tanto sigue pensando en Devlin sería para ella les diera suficiente importancia, no? Y ese responsable de todo_!!! No sé, como si ella, que no tiene pareja necesitara excusas... esa moraleja no me ha gustado
En general me ha gustado la ambientación y todos los personajes secundarios, pero mi gran pero es que la historia en general me la imaginé antes de llegar ni tan siguiera a la mitad del libro y eso en una novela de suspense no me convence nada.
Me sigue gustando el estilo de la autora, muy visual, algunas escenas están muy conseguidas, pero... sigue fallando con la construcción de la protagonista. Me sigue sin parecer coherente
No he entendido muchas cosas.... esa relación con Thane... (no recuerdo si se escribe así) ¿con esas escenas que ni merecen comentarse entre ambos, no sé si tanto sigue pensando en Devlin sería para ella les diera suficiente importancia, no? Y ese responsable de todo_!!! No sé, como si ella, que no tiene pareja necesitara excusas... esa moraleja no me ha gustado
En general me ha gustado la ambientación y todos los personajes secundarios, pero mi gran pero es que la historia en general me la imaginé antes de llegar ni tan siguiera a la mitad del libro y eso en una novela de suspense no me convence nada.
Me sigue gustando el estilo de la autora, muy visual, algunas escenas están muy conseguidas, pero... sigue fallando con la construcción de la protagonista. Me sigue sin parecer coherente
July 24, 2016
Pese a tener un inicio muy lento (demasiado para mi gusto), la autora sabe solucionarlo con ese aire misterioso y tenebroso que hace que no te despegues de sus páginas.
La parte del gran misterio ya intuía por donde iban a ir los tiros, pero me ha gustado muchísimo ese giro del final, ha descuadrado todos mis esquemas.
Pero sigo diciendo lo mismo, siento como que Amanda mete mucha paja a la historia y luego todo lo soluciona en las últimas páginas.
Le doy el 4 por el ambiente y por la forma de escribir.
Y lo digo como lo siento, Thane da mil vueltas a Devlin.
La parte del gran misterio ya intuía por donde iban a ir los tiros, pero me ha gustado muchísimo ese giro del final, ha descuadrado todos mis esquemas.
Pero sigo diciendo lo mismo, siento como que Amanda mete mucha paja a la historia y luego todo lo soluciona en las últimas páginas.
Le doy el 4 por el ambiente y por la forma de escribir.
Y lo digo como lo siento, Thane da mil vueltas a Devlin.
June 10, 2016
amo a esta mujer. Me encanta como escribe y sus historias. aunque extrañe a Devlin.
April 26, 2012
4.5 Stars. The Restorer was one of my favorite books of 2011 and I was anxiously awaiting it's sequel. The Kingdom did not disappoint. The spook factor begins on page one, as Amelia makes her way to the remote town of Asher Falls to restore the small town's cemetery. Amelia's grateful for the change in scenery. She needs a break from Charleston, from the events of the past few months, and she's running away from the man she loves, John Devlin, and the ghosts that haunt him.
But Asher Falls turns out to be nothing like Amelia was expecting. From the moment she arrives she knows something is off. The town seems half-empty, and the folks that are around are strange, and not entirely welcoming. She soon learns who the major players are: an eccentric old millionaire, a disfigured sheriff with a chip on his shoulder, a coven of witches, and a smokin' hot playboy, Thane Asher. Amelia thinks his interest in her is easy to figure out: she's new and different and something for Thane to toy with to alleviate the boredom of being trapped in a small town life, as heir to a family legacy he doesn't even want. But Asher Falls starts having a powerful effect on Amelia, as the ghosts start to rise, the cemetery starts to reveal its secrets, and something evil stalks her from the woods, and Thane may be the only person who can protect her physically and mentally. Keeping her secret becomes difficult, as the ghosts she sees seem to have personal connections to her, and as the townspeople watch her as if waiting for a reaction. When she starts digging in to the town's mysteries and how she plays a role in them, someone--or something--becomes determined to stop her.
And that's where I'll stop to avoid spoilers. The plot is tight and twisted and deliciously spooky. The cemetery at the bottom of the lake aspect was creepy as hell, with ghosts rising like mist off the lake each twilight. The small town mentality, family secrets, witches, curses, sexy Thane Asher, and that thing in the woods all combine for a hair-raising good read. Aside from the difference in setting, this book has quite a different feel from the first book. But the story still had that power to suck me in and keep my spine tingling and on the edge of my seat all night long. And it is full of answers. Amelia finally learns who she really is and where she came from. I could not put it down. And though I loved it, I did really miss Charleston and John Devlin, but the last line of the book--what a way to end it!--promises plenty of both in the next installment of the series!
But Asher Falls turns out to be nothing like Amelia was expecting. From the moment she arrives she knows something is off. The town seems half-empty, and the folks that are around are strange, and not entirely welcoming. She soon learns who the major players are: an eccentric old millionaire, a disfigured sheriff with a chip on his shoulder, a coven of witches, and a smokin' hot playboy, Thane Asher. Amelia thinks his interest in her is easy to figure out: she's new and different and something for Thane to toy with to alleviate the boredom of being trapped in a small town life, as heir to a family legacy he doesn't even want. But Asher Falls starts having a powerful effect on Amelia, as the ghosts start to rise, the cemetery starts to reveal its secrets, and something evil stalks her from the woods, and Thane may be the only person who can protect her physically and mentally. Keeping her secret becomes difficult, as the ghosts she sees seem to have personal connections to her, and as the townspeople watch her as if waiting for a reaction. When she starts digging in to the town's mysteries and how she plays a role in them, someone--or something--becomes determined to stop her.
And that's where I'll stop to avoid spoilers. The plot is tight and twisted and deliciously spooky. The cemetery at the bottom of the lake aspect was creepy as hell, with ghosts rising like mist off the lake each twilight. The small town mentality, family secrets, witches, curses, sexy Thane Asher, and that thing in the woods all combine for a hair-raising good read. Aside from the difference in setting, this book has quite a different feel from the first book. But the story still had that power to suck me in and keep my spine tingling and on the edge of my seat all night long. And it is full of answers. Amelia finally learns who she really is and where she came from. I could not put it down. And though I loved it, I did really miss Charleston and John Devlin, but the last line of the book--what a way to end it!--promises plenty of both in the next installment of the series!
October 16, 2016
I want to praise "The Kingdom" so completely, I wonder at fitting it in coherently. This is the perfect adult ghost mystery! Crime might appear on a branch in the periphery but this is an exceptionally special novel for being free of that pretext. Its impetus is a host of far more creative puzzles, that permeate every page with the most mysterious tones imaginable! The innermost reason for my paranormal mystery search, is precisely to find an exhilarating author like Amanda Stevens! I try letting them simmer, am pulled through her 376 pages in a day, then am stunned to find I had only read her previous oeuvre one month before. I am grateful she published many more to gradually locate, grip in my hands, and read.
I was incredulous at the way suspense increased all the way along. I ate, strolled outside to see the day, and greeted my spouse who was also enthralled with reading but was swept back as if by a magnet. This is an essential, riveting denouement of the protagonist's personal history; the most exhilarating mystery source there can possibly be! Amanda is blessed with constant originality but breaks even a general formula. Most would drag out a heroine's history. I find that revealing it now empowers me to be more excited about how Amelia Gray's family will grow and proceed.
A job brings her to an island. Her instinct about discovering other connections there is right. The best way to show how engrossing this novel is, apart from exclaiming that it surpasses the predecessor already meriting five stars, is to re-enact my journey. "Amelia is on a boat to a semi-defunct town? This is going to be neat. Its original graveyard is UNDERWATER? No way"! That was page one!!!! I need Amanda's books faster!
I was incredulous at the way suspense increased all the way along. I ate, strolled outside to see the day, and greeted my spouse who was also enthralled with reading but was swept back as if by a magnet. This is an essential, riveting denouement of the protagonist's personal history; the most exhilarating mystery source there can possibly be! Amanda is blessed with constant originality but breaks even a general formula. Most would drag out a heroine's history. I find that revealing it now empowers me to be more excited about how Amelia Gray's family will grow and proceed.
A job brings her to an island. Her instinct about discovering other connections there is right. The best way to show how engrossing this novel is, apart from exclaiming that it surpasses the predecessor already meriting five stars, is to re-enact my journey. "Amelia is on a boat to a semi-defunct town? This is going to be neat. Its original graveyard is UNDERWATER? No way"! That was page one!!!! I need Amanda's books faster!
August 28, 2018
3.5 stars
Amelia wanted to escape her problems in Charleston. A chance to escape arose when a cemetery needed to be restored in a small, isolated town. Most of the people there weren’t friendly, and everyone had secrets they were keeping. Something about the town wasn’t right.
I like this book although I still think it’s the worst book in the series. It was odd having the second book in the series take place in a new setting with a whole new cast of characters except for Amelia. These characters were meant to be offsetting and troublesome, but it also meant that I didn’t like most of them. It wasn’t that all of them were unlikable, but I couldn’t get attached to any of them either.
In The Restorer I became rather attached to Devlin. It was disappointing going into this book knowing he wouldn’t be in it. Amelia was still attracted to him which was promising, but I wish this book hadn’t had it’s own romance. I could buy the paranormal romance we’re drawn to each other for no reason with Devlin, but it didn’t work having it happen a second time with another man.
It was entertaining learning about Amelia’s sordid family history. As the mystery unraveled it became predictable. Obviously I hadn’t figured out all the details about her birth, but it was easy to figure out who her relatives were. Some important info about Amelia’s background was revealed in her sojourn to Asher Falls, but IDK if it was really necessary to have devoted a whole book to it.
Amelia wanted to escape her problems in Charleston. A chance to escape arose when a cemetery needed to be restored in a small, isolated town. Most of the people there weren’t friendly, and everyone had secrets they were keeping. Something about the town wasn’t right.
I like this book although I still think it’s the worst book in the series. It was odd having the second book in the series take place in a new setting with a whole new cast of characters except for Amelia. These characters were meant to be offsetting and troublesome, but it also meant that I didn’t like most of them. It wasn’t that all of them were unlikable, but I couldn’t get attached to any of them either.
In The Restorer I became rather attached to Devlin. It was disappointing going into this book knowing he wouldn’t be in it. Amelia was still attracted to him which was promising, but I wish this book hadn’t had it’s own romance. I could buy the paranormal romance we’re drawn to each other for no reason with Devlin, but it didn’t work having it happen a second time with another man.
It was entertaining learning about Amelia’s sordid family history. As the mystery unraveled it became predictable. Obviously I hadn’t figured out all the details about her birth, but it was easy to figure out who her relatives were. Some important info about Amelia’s background was revealed in her sojourn to Asher Falls, but IDK if it was really necessary to have devoted a whole book to it.
May 4, 2013
The Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, North Carolina. One can see why these mountains got their name.
★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Khristine Hvam continues the narration of Amanda Stevens’s eerie mystery series. She does an excellent job reading this in first person POV as Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer. Her Southern accent is perfection, as well as her cadence, tone, inflection, enunciation, and her ability to different voices. There is a reason Ms. Hvam was on my Top Ten Audio List of 2012; so far she's on there for 2013, too!
This time Amelia has ventured outside her Charleston home when she goes to restore Thorngate Cemetery in the eerie and atmospheric Asher Falls. Or is that a dark enchantment in the air? Whatever, Amelia feels drawn to the mountain community, with it ghostly man-made Bell Lake.
Just who commissioned Amelia to do this job, anyway – and why? Was it really Luna Kemper, Real Estate Agent extraordinaire, with an unusually youthful sultriness? Or one of her cliquish friends? Could it be old man Pell Asher, bound to his wheelchair, but still wielding great power? His arrogant son Hugh, with his ‘unnervingly perfect’ features? Or Hugh’s young wallpaper wife, Maris? How about the creepy guy at the cemetery who slithers under and around? Certainly not the scarred Police Chief Wayne Van Zandt; he wants her gone. Though John Devlin is sorely missing, there is the seductive Thane Asher who is attentive to Amelia; does he have ghosts haunting him, too? And what could be his motives for wanting Amelia’s presence?
In addition to an underwater cemetery that casts a pall over Asher Falls, there is a reclusive neighbor, a history of several suspicious deaths, something evil in the woods, a really neat dog named Angus, plenty of ghosts, rebellious teenagers, romantic entanglements – with the resulting jealousies – and a ‘whole lot of mendacity going on’ in a dying community.
We get some answers in The Kingdom, which should make readers happy; however, it is a certainty that the tale isn't complete. I can’t wait for the next one!
<---The Visitor coming October, 2013?
P.S. Just found out that The Restorer is an Audie Award 2013 Finalist - Fantasy! Woohoo!
bee balm, AKA Monarda
sugar maple
Mountain Streams With its stunning view of the Blue Ridge and woods full of rhododendrons, mountain laurel and wildflowers, Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area is truly one of South Carolina’s pretty places.
mountain laurel in South Carolina
[image error]
Natural Bridge at Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area, 12 mi. N.W. of Pickens, South Carolina. Photo by John Burns.
mountain rhododendron
★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Khristine Hvam continues the narration of Amanda Stevens’s eerie mystery series. She does an excellent job reading this in first person POV as Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer. Her Southern accent is perfection, as well as her cadence, tone, inflection, enunciation, and her ability to different voices. There is a reason Ms. Hvam was on my Top Ten Audio List of 2012; so far she's on there for 2013, too!
This time Amelia has ventured outside her Charleston home when she goes to restore Thorngate Cemetery in the eerie and atmospheric Asher Falls. Or is that a dark enchantment in the air? Whatever, Amelia feels drawn to the mountain community, with it ghostly man-made Bell Lake.
Just who commissioned Amelia to do this job, anyway – and why? Was it really Luna Kemper, Real Estate Agent extraordinaire, with an unusually youthful sultriness? Or one of her cliquish friends? Could it be old man Pell Asher, bound to his wheelchair, but still wielding great power? His arrogant son Hugh, with his ‘unnervingly perfect’ features? Or Hugh’s young wallpaper wife, Maris? How about the creepy guy at the cemetery who slithers under and around? Certainly not the scarred Police Chief Wayne Van Zandt; he wants her gone. Though John Devlin is sorely missing, there is the seductive Thane Asher who is attentive to Amelia; does he have ghosts haunting him, too? And what could be his motives for wanting Amelia’s presence?
In addition to an underwater cemetery that casts a pall over Asher Falls, there is a reclusive neighbor, a history of several suspicious deaths, something evil in the woods, a really neat dog named Angus, plenty of ghosts, rebellious teenagers, romantic entanglements – with the resulting jealousies – and a ‘whole lot of mendacity going on’ in a dying community.
We get some answers in The Kingdom, which should make readers happy; however, it is a certainty that the tale isn't complete. I can’t wait for the next one!
<---The Visitor coming October, 2013?P.S. Just found out that The Restorer is an Audie Award 2013 Finalist - Fantasy! Woohoo!
bee balm, AKA Monarda
sugar maple
Mountain Streams With its stunning view of the Blue Ridge and woods full of rhododendrons, mountain laurel and wildflowers, Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area is truly one of South Carolina’s pretty places.
mountain laurel in South Carolina
[image error]
Natural Bridge at Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area, 12 mi. N.W. of Pickens, South Carolina. Photo by John Burns.
mountain rhododendron
March 8, 2020
Amelia Gray has been hired to restore Thornhill Cemetery in the mountains of South Carolina. This is not the Thornhill Cemetery that was flooded and lays at the bottom of Bell Lake. This is the newer cemetery that was donated to the town by the Asher family. Amelia finds the secluded cemetery creepy. Actually, the whole town is creepy. A ghost of a young woman hovers near the lake. Another ghost or demon slinks around the cemetery. Amelia knows not to acknowledge them, but she feels they are trying to contact her for a reason. When Amelia finds a grave outside of the cemetery, she mentions it to the people of the town. Suddenly someone wants Amelia to leave town...on her own or in a casket.
The second book in the Graveyard Queen series quickly pulls you into the story. An anonymous donor wanted Amelia hired for the restoration job. Was there a reason they wanted her to come to this town? Does Amelia have a personal connection to the town? Why is everyone who lives in this town so strange?
I thought the story had a strong beginning, but I kind of lost interest in the second half. Amelia did some things that I thought were just stupid. She was bordering on becoming a TSTL character. I also missed the setting of Charleston in the first book. It was a character in itself. This small town was just weird. I would have been running back home after the first night. My rating: 4 Stars.
The second book in the Graveyard Queen series quickly pulls you into the story. An anonymous donor wanted Amelia hired for the restoration job. Was there a reason they wanted her to come to this town? Does Amelia have a personal connection to the town? Why is everyone who lives in this town so strange?
I thought the story had a strong beginning, but I kind of lost interest in the second half. Amelia did some things that I thought were just stupid. She was bordering on becoming a TSTL character. I also missed the setting of Charleston in the first book. It was a character in itself. This small town was just weird. I would have been running back home after the first night. My rating: 4 Stars.
July 17, 2021
Somewhat disappointing after the tour de force of the first novel in this series, The Restorer, but lifted back up to a four-star rating because of the revelations about the first-person narrator Amelia Gray that come towards the end and make her shadowy origins crystal clear. No spoilers here, of course, but if you can make your way through some extremes of Gothic horror a solid reward is waiting for you.
Like its predecessor the writing in this book captivated me and led me along, but this time it was fairly easy to put the book down from time to time. Why? The intensely atmospheric treatment of the Blue Ridge foothills of South Carolina, not far from where we lived for a few months in North Carolina, is thoroughly appropriate to the woods and thickets of that region. The author certainly brought my memories of those beautiful slopes back to life. Add the well-described isolation of a small Southern community that was cut off by the damming of its river, so that people can only get in or out by car ferry.
In the classic tradition of Gothic fiction, though, everything is seen through the eyes of an extremely sensitive, imaginative, and vulnerable soul who's aware of supernatural threats--not just specific ones like all the ghosts she can see and must avoid but, more important, a powerful force named Evil that is somehow centered in or near this community and, as she is repeatedly warned, makes its threat from within a person, now including herself. Detail after detail of the meticulously described locale seem linked to this unknown threat--or is it just her imagination?
So after a while, always enjoying the delicious prose, I started to wish for something definite to happen. It took a long time, but things do get quite definite towards the end, as Amelia becomes involved in a remarkable tangle of evil deeds, present and past, that have a variety of very human motives. Or maybe that unknown force of Evil has worked within each perpetrator to create motives for murder and other crimes.
At any rate, Amelia's role in all this is foreshadowed vaguely but effectively from the beginning as she arrives in Asher Falls to carry out a graveyard restoration contract and meets Thane Asher, scion of the Asher family whose wealth is now mainly in their stock holdings and who quite thoroughly dominate their eponymous community.
Thane is clearly interested in Amelia, but her strong attraction to him cannot replace her feelings for Devlin, whom she left behind in Charleston. She can't have Devlin because he's haunted by the ghosts of his late wife and daughter, and ghosts are very dangerous to Amelia, as we saw in the first book.
Even though Amelia dare not let a ghost know she can see it (or it will attach itself to her and drain her life force), one of the ghosts she sees in Asher Falls, named Freya, appears to want to help her in some way. She feels impelled to investigate Freya's tragic end, and she is rescued more than once by Freya's mother Tilly, a strange woman who lives by herself out in the woods. An alliance with Tilly may put her on the outs with the powerful Asher family.
Amelia mustn't appear to townsfolk to be anything but a graveyard restorer--no hint of seeing ghosts--and the dynamics of the three generations of townspeople she meets are somehow putting her life in danger out of motives she can't fathom. She's tempted to quit and return to Charleston, and for the life of me, with each thing that happens to her, I can't see why she doesn't leave by the next ferry.
Of course, she has to stay and do her job so that we can get all those revelations that I wish had started coming a lot earlier in the story!
Like its predecessor the writing in this book captivated me and led me along, but this time it was fairly easy to put the book down from time to time. Why? The intensely atmospheric treatment of the Blue Ridge foothills of South Carolina, not far from where we lived for a few months in North Carolina, is thoroughly appropriate to the woods and thickets of that region. The author certainly brought my memories of those beautiful slopes back to life. Add the well-described isolation of a small Southern community that was cut off by the damming of its river, so that people can only get in or out by car ferry.
In the classic tradition of Gothic fiction, though, everything is seen through the eyes of an extremely sensitive, imaginative, and vulnerable soul who's aware of supernatural threats--not just specific ones like all the ghosts she can see and must avoid but, more important, a powerful force named Evil that is somehow centered in or near this community and, as she is repeatedly warned, makes its threat from within a person, now including herself. Detail after detail of the meticulously described locale seem linked to this unknown threat--or is it just her imagination?
So after a while, always enjoying the delicious prose, I started to wish for something definite to happen. It took a long time, but things do get quite definite towards the end, as Amelia becomes involved in a remarkable tangle of evil deeds, present and past, that have a variety of very human motives. Or maybe that unknown force of Evil has worked within each perpetrator to create motives for murder and other crimes.
At any rate, Amelia's role in all this is foreshadowed vaguely but effectively from the beginning as she arrives in Asher Falls to carry out a graveyard restoration contract and meets Thane Asher, scion of the Asher family whose wealth is now mainly in their stock holdings and who quite thoroughly dominate their eponymous community.
Thane is clearly interested in Amelia, but her strong attraction to him cannot replace her feelings for Devlin, whom she left behind in Charleston. She can't have Devlin because he's haunted by the ghosts of his late wife and daughter, and ghosts are very dangerous to Amelia, as we saw in the first book.
Even though Amelia dare not let a ghost know she can see it (or it will attach itself to her and drain her life force), one of the ghosts she sees in Asher Falls, named Freya, appears to want to help her in some way. She feels impelled to investigate Freya's tragic end, and she is rescued more than once by Freya's mother Tilly, a strange woman who lives by herself out in the woods. An alliance with Tilly may put her on the outs with the powerful Asher family.
Amelia mustn't appear to townsfolk to be anything but a graveyard restorer--no hint of seeing ghosts--and the dynamics of the three generations of townspeople she meets are somehow putting her life in danger out of motives she can't fathom. She's tempted to quit and return to Charleston, and for the life of me, with each thing that happens to her, I can't see why she doesn't leave by the next ferry.
Of course, she has to stay and do her job so that we can get all those revelations that I wish had started coming a lot earlier in the story!
June 21, 2013
Amelia Gray is commissioned to restore a cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, not far from Charleston. From the moment she steps on the ferry that will take her to that destination, Amelia begins to sense a personal connection and something unsettling about this place.
As with the first book, there is an odd, intriguing mix of eeriness, Southernness and romance at play that just works. Amelia is immediately swept up into the politics and personalities of Asher Falls, all the while feeling a familiarity that she can't identify. From Thane Asher, who she met on the ferry to Luna Kemper, the town librarian who hired her, the residents of this place seem to have ulterior motives. It soon becomes clear that she's been brought to this town for more than a restoration.
I loved this story, made even more special because of the audiobook narration being so pitch perfect. That whole ghostly, creepy, Southern, romantic vibe was seriously at play. While I missed John Devlin's presence, I was more than compensated for his absence by learning more about Amelia and getting answers to all those secrets surrounding her past. And, Angus...the utterly tragic and adorable dog that Amelia discovers and takes in shortly after her arrival. I am completely captivated by this series.
As with the first book, there is an odd, intriguing mix of eeriness, Southernness and romance at play that just works. Amelia is immediately swept up into the politics and personalities of Asher Falls, all the while feeling a familiarity that she can't identify. From Thane Asher, who she met on the ferry to Luna Kemper, the town librarian who hired her, the residents of this place seem to have ulterior motives. It soon becomes clear that she's been brought to this town for more than a restoration.
I loved this story, made even more special because of the audiobook narration being so pitch perfect. That whole ghostly, creepy, Southern, romantic vibe was seriously at play. While I missed John Devlin's presence, I was more than compensated for his absence by learning more about Amelia and getting answers to all those secrets surrounding her past. And, Angus...the utterly tragic and adorable dog that Amelia discovers and takes in shortly after her arrival. I am completely captivated by this series.
February 21, 2014
Trochu složité rozhodování, jak tuhle knížku ohodnotit. Zprvu jsem si za živýho boha nemohla vzpomenout na konec prvního dílu! Matně jsem si ho vybavovala, ale nevěděla jsem, co bylo za problém s duchy, kteří pronásledovaly Devlina. Kdo byl vlastně vrah a bla, bla, bla. Celý ten konec se mi vykouřil z hlavy.
Pamatuji si, že jsem z toho dílu nadšená a Devlin se mi nehorázně líbil... V tomhle dílě mě každá zmínka o něm vytáčila k nepříčetnosti. No vážně! Zprotivila se mi postava, která tam ani nebyla...
Zato Thane se mi dostal do srdíčka, takové zlatíčko! Doufám, že jsem se s ním neviděli naposledy! Jsem Team Thane, jestli teda v téhle sérii něco jako Team Devlin a Team Thane existuje;).
Celá ta skupinka kolem Luny byla dost přitažená za vlasy a hlavně NEVYŘEŠENÁ. Jako co ten konec měl znamenat? Trochu mi přišlo, že autorka nevěděla, co s tím. Ale líbilo se mi, jak celou situaci nazval Thane: "incestní". Jo, to sedí.
Uznávám, bylo to pěkně creepy jako první díl. Zatopený hřbitov? Zvonky? Ble :D vyděsil mě pak i můj medvídek v posteli!!! Chudáček, takovou facku si nezasloužil...
Pamatuji si, že jsem z toho dílu nadšená a Devlin se mi nehorázně líbil... V tomhle dílě mě každá zmínka o něm vytáčila k nepříčetnosti. No vážně! Zprotivila se mi postava, která tam ani nebyla...
Zato Thane se mi dostal do srdíčka, takové zlatíčko! Doufám, že jsem se s ním neviděli naposledy! Jsem Team Thane, jestli teda v téhle sérii něco jako Team Devlin a Team Thane existuje;).
Celá ta skupinka kolem Luny byla dost přitažená za vlasy a hlavně NEVYŘEŠENÁ. Jako co ten konec měl znamenat? Trochu mi přišlo, že autorka nevěděla, co s tím. Ale líbilo se mi, jak celou situaci nazval Thane: "incestní". Jo, to sedí.
Uznávám, bylo to pěkně creepy jako první díl. Zatopený hřbitov? Zvonky? Ble :D vyděsil mě pak i můj medvídek v posteli!!! Chudáček, takovou facku si nezasloužil...
November 6, 2012
4.5 I am totally in love with the Graveyard Queen series! It has all of the elements I love in a good urban fantasy. We have excellent characters, a little paranormal woo-woo and lots of mystery and suspense. I totally want to be a cemetery restorer now! The Kingdom delivers a creepy-tasitc tale and is perfect for fall.
The tale picks up shortly after the Restorer ends and Amelia Gray has accepted a commission to restore Thorngate cemetery located in Asher Falls, South Carolina. She is happy for the distance it puts between her and John Devlin. On the ferry ride over she learns some creepy things about Bell Lake from Thane Asher; grandson of the powerful family residing there. As soon as she arrives, the creepiness I have come to love from Stevens begins. The strange Realtor and the rental home on hollow ground, makes Amelia wonder who exactly requested she be given this job. The tale that unfolds is filled with suspense, mystery and things that go bump in the night! Amelia begins to feel a pull from this place and what she uncovers …Eep!
Steven’s has created some really unique characters with the residence of Asher Falls and I for one will never visit. Amelia is slowly dealing with her abilities and despite all the rules her father taught her; she takes chances and experiments. She is not without fear, but fearless in the face of danger. I love that she just does not run. I mean if all of this freaky stuff was happening to me, I think I would be on the next ferry out! She is inquisitive, pushes people’s buttons to gauge their reactions and does not like to be warned away. She gains a new friend in an injured dog, and he becomes her constant companion. Thane is handsome, broken and aids Amelia. There is a little romance that develops and it’s wrapped in a little woo-woo. Amelia struggles with feelings for Devlin and her attraction to Thane. While I like Thane and he was certainly swoon-worthy, I was never really sure if I trusted him. From the women Thane refers to as the “witches of Asher Falls” to the sociopath teen who has a crush on Thane these secondary characters add to the ominous feel of the town and its secrets.
Steven’s did a fantastic job of describing Asher Falls, its people and Thorngate cemetery. I became completely immersed in the tale and it felt so genuine that I had goosebumps. She provided just enough details about the townsfolk to que the creepy music in my head, and let my imagination run wild. The Asher’s, their home and the cemetery oozed with supernatural elements. If you are a Doctor Who fan like me the statues in the Asher family plot will have you running and shouting, “ Don't Blink.” We learned more about Amelia herself and I found the details fascinating. While Devlin did not make an appearance, his presence was felt. I was still left with a few unanswered questions and felt some things were rushed, but I cannot wait for book three. I am secretly hoping to see the CW pick this up as a series; to air right after Supernatural. I would totally watch it!
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
The tale picks up shortly after the Restorer ends and Amelia Gray has accepted a commission to restore Thorngate cemetery located in Asher Falls, South Carolina. She is happy for the distance it puts between her and John Devlin. On the ferry ride over she learns some creepy things about Bell Lake from Thane Asher; grandson of the powerful family residing there. As soon as she arrives, the creepiness I have come to love from Stevens begins. The strange Realtor and the rental home on hollow ground, makes Amelia wonder who exactly requested she be given this job. The tale that unfolds is filled with suspense, mystery and things that go bump in the night! Amelia begins to feel a pull from this place and what she uncovers …Eep!
Steven’s has created some really unique characters with the residence of Asher Falls and I for one will never visit. Amelia is slowly dealing with her abilities and despite all the rules her father taught her; she takes chances and experiments. She is not without fear, but fearless in the face of danger. I love that she just does not run. I mean if all of this freaky stuff was happening to me, I think I would be on the next ferry out! She is inquisitive, pushes people’s buttons to gauge their reactions and does not like to be warned away. She gains a new friend in an injured dog, and he becomes her constant companion. Thane is handsome, broken and aids Amelia. There is a little romance that develops and it’s wrapped in a little woo-woo. Amelia struggles with feelings for Devlin and her attraction to Thane. While I like Thane and he was certainly swoon-worthy, I was never really sure if I trusted him. From the women Thane refers to as the “witches of Asher Falls” to the sociopath teen who has a crush on Thane these secondary characters add to the ominous feel of the town and its secrets.
Steven’s did a fantastic job of describing Asher Falls, its people and Thorngate cemetery. I became completely immersed in the tale and it felt so genuine that I had goosebumps. She provided just enough details about the townsfolk to que the creepy music in my head, and let my imagination run wild. The Asher’s, their home and the cemetery oozed with supernatural elements. If you are a Doctor Who fan like me the statues in the Asher family plot will have you running and shouting, “ Don't Blink.” We learned more about Amelia herself and I found the details fascinating. While Devlin did not make an appearance, his presence was felt. I was still left with a few unanswered questions and felt some things were rushed, but I cannot wait for book three. I am secretly hoping to see the CW pick this up as a series; to air right after Supernatural. I would totally watch it!
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
March 14, 2012
I fell in love with this series after I read The Restorer. The second book in the series, The Kingdom continues Amelia Gray’s story. Amelia is a young woman who has an unlikely occupation: she restores old and abandoned cemeteries. The Kingdom finds Amelia commissioned to restore the Thorngate Cemetery in the town of Asher Falls, South Carolina.
Asher Falls is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is an isolated town and the population is eccentric. They seem friendly, but something is off. The town itself is spooky, full of mystery and strange things.
Amelia settles in to stay at a house overlooking the lake. The house is built on hallowed ground, a bonus for Amelia as it offers her a sense of security. Amelia has been able to see ghosts from a young age and she recognizes the dangers of being haunted. Amelia soon finds out that part of the cemetery lies beneath the lake and she sees ghosts in the water.
Amelia is still not over her relationship with Devlin and she thinks of him often. She is distracted by the handsome Thane Asher but is not willing to commit. Thane is part of the prominent Asher family, after whom the town is named. I liked Thane, but I also found that I missed Devlin too.
Asher Falls is full of secrets, some of them surrounding the circumstances of Amelia’s birth. Amelia learns about her background and her destiny…
I loved the atmosphere of this book. The author creates an eerie, mysterious world. The book has a gothic feel about it, it is both suspense and a horror story (but it is not gory). The addition of witchcraft hex symbols was a nice touch. I also liked the description of the crows. The author’s writing style is eloquent and visually descriptive, evoking mood and emotion.
There is a lot to like about this series. The characters are well developed and intelligently written. I enjoyed Amelia's character. She is one brave lady. Personally, I would have run away from that town at the first opportunity. Then again, I am not a cemetery restorer in real life. I found it difficult to relate to Thane at first - I saw him as kind of a bad boy. Then I started rooting for him and hoping that Amelia could find happiness with him. I also enjoyed the addition of Angus, the rescued dog.
The Graveyard Queen series is highly recommended.
Series reading order:
1. The Abandoned – Prequel, available for free download
2. The Restorer
3. The Kingdom – March 27, 2012
4. The Prophet - April 24, 2012
Favorite quote:
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
Asher Falls is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is an isolated town and the population is eccentric. They seem friendly, but something is off. The town itself is spooky, full of mystery and strange things.
Amelia settles in to stay at a house overlooking the lake. The house is built on hallowed ground, a bonus for Amelia as it offers her a sense of security. Amelia has been able to see ghosts from a young age and she recognizes the dangers of being haunted. Amelia soon finds out that part of the cemetery lies beneath the lake and she sees ghosts in the water.
Amelia is still not over her relationship with Devlin and she thinks of him often. She is distracted by the handsome Thane Asher but is not willing to commit. Thane is part of the prominent Asher family, after whom the town is named. I liked Thane, but I also found that I missed Devlin too.
Asher Falls is full of secrets, some of them surrounding the circumstances of Amelia’s birth. Amelia learns about her background and her destiny…
I loved the atmosphere of this book. The author creates an eerie, mysterious world. The book has a gothic feel about it, it is both suspense and a horror story (but it is not gory). The addition of witchcraft hex symbols was a nice touch. I also liked the description of the crows. The author’s writing style is eloquent and visually descriptive, evoking mood and emotion.
“The graveyard seemed almost surreal in its stillness. A dreamscape aglow in the moonlight.”
There is a lot to like about this series. The characters are well developed and intelligently written. I enjoyed Amelia's character. She is one brave lady. Personally, I would have run away from that town at the first opportunity. Then again, I am not a cemetery restorer in real life. I found it difficult to relate to Thane at first - I saw him as kind of a bad boy. Then I started rooting for him and hoping that Amelia could find happiness with him. I also enjoyed the addition of Angus, the rescued dog.
The Graveyard Queen series is highly recommended.
Series reading order:
1. The Abandoned – Prequel, available for free download
2. The Restorer
3. The Kingdom – March 27, 2012
4. The Prophet - April 24, 2012
Favorite quote:
“I should seek sanctuary. I knew that. By acknowledging the dead, I was once again tempting fate. But the door had already opened and I needed to know why I had been brought here. I needed to know the secrets of my destiny. I needed to know why I was so drawn to Thane Asher.”
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
November 20, 2017
Sulla copertina c'è scritto: "Spettrale, inquietante, grandioso. Da pelle d'oca."... beh, avevano proprio ragione!
L'ho adorato anche più del precedente volume ♡
In questo secondo libro vengono alla luce i misteri relativi alla nascita di Amelia: il suo collegamento con Asher Falls, chi sono i suoi veri genitori...
Un libro che mi ha presa dalla prima all'ultima pagina!
L'ho adorato anche più del precedente volume ♡
In questo secondo libro vengono alla luce i misteri relativi alla nascita di Amelia: il suo collegamento con Asher Falls, chi sono i suoi veri genitori...
Un libro che mi ha presa dalla prima all'ultima pagina!
May 2, 2012
Read my review on Demon Lover's
In Asher Falls, the cemetery was flooded when the river was dammed up. Now the townsfolk are living with the aftermath.
"...around here we call it Bell Lake."
"Why?"
"In the old days, coffins were equipped with a warning system-a chain attached to a bell on the grave in case of a premature burial. They say at night, when the mist rolls in, you can hear those bells."
Amelia hears those bells. She hears them every time there is a mist, and with that mist is a spirit who not only won’t leave her alone, but who has been able to project her emotions and thoughts into Amelia. This particular spirit latched on to Amelia and wouldn’t let go, but Amelia has let her fear of spirits rule her for too long. She finally decides she’s going to figure out what’s going on around here, and possibly help the spirit.
In this second full-length novel in the Graveyard Queen series, Amelia has left Charleston for a while. She was offered a job restoring the cemetery in Asher Falls, and the majority of this book is away from her beloved Charleston. Dealing with the aftermath of being nearly murdered, and having Devlin, the man she loves, still being haunted by his dead wife and daughter, Amelia is ready for a chance to get away.
She has a new love interest, but he stands very little chance against Devlin. And Amelia has an incredible mystery on her hands. This is more than just restoring a cemetery, this is more than just an unmarked grave. This whole story is Amelia finding out about herself.
I must admit I was really upset when I realized it didn’t have Devlin in it, and I was kind of annoyed that we got a whole new cast of characters, but I think it was necessary for her to leave Devlin for a while. It didn’t hurt that Asher Falls has a lot of trouble mixed in. I wasn’t sure I’d like it very much, but I think this is my favorite in the series. (And I’ve read the next book The Prophet, so I’m not just saying that).
As we all know, the Highland Hussy here likes her romances. When I don’t have romance, I get crabby. So when I say that I liked how the heroine escaped the hero for a few months it’s really unusual for me. I would want him to go charging in and retrieve her, growl "You’re mine" and they’d have the sex, living happily ever after.
This is different. I was so entranced in this world Ms. Stevens has created, that I went over my book allowance to make sure I could read all of them. I even (it turns out) bought The Kingdom twice! Lol
But because there is so much going on in this book that I can’t reveal, I’m going to leave you with this.
This book is so well-written and eerily beautiful that it will haunt you for days.
In Asher Falls, the cemetery was flooded when the river was dammed up. Now the townsfolk are living with the aftermath.
"...around here we call it Bell Lake."
"Why?"
"In the old days, coffins were equipped with a warning system-a chain attached to a bell on the grave in case of a premature burial. They say at night, when the mist rolls in, you can hear those bells."
Amelia hears those bells. She hears them every time there is a mist, and with that mist is a spirit who not only won’t leave her alone, but who has been able to project her emotions and thoughts into Amelia. This particular spirit latched on to Amelia and wouldn’t let go, but Amelia has let her fear of spirits rule her for too long. She finally decides she’s going to figure out what’s going on around here, and possibly help the spirit.
In this second full-length novel in the Graveyard Queen series, Amelia has left Charleston for a while. She was offered a job restoring the cemetery in Asher Falls, and the majority of this book is away from her beloved Charleston. Dealing with the aftermath of being nearly murdered, and having Devlin, the man she loves, still being haunted by his dead wife and daughter, Amelia is ready for a chance to get away.
She has a new love interest, but he stands very little chance against Devlin. And Amelia has an incredible mystery on her hands. This is more than just restoring a cemetery, this is more than just an unmarked grave. This whole story is Amelia finding out about herself.
I must admit I was really upset when I realized it didn’t have Devlin in it, and I was kind of annoyed that we got a whole new cast of characters, but I think it was necessary for her to leave Devlin for a while. It didn’t hurt that Asher Falls has a lot of trouble mixed in. I wasn’t sure I’d like it very much, but I think this is my favorite in the series. (And I’ve read the next book The Prophet, so I’m not just saying that).
As we all know, the Highland Hussy here likes her romances. When I don’t have romance, I get crabby. So when I say that I liked how the heroine escaped the hero for a few months it’s really unusual for me. I would want him to go charging in and retrieve her, growl "You’re mine" and they’d have the sex, living happily ever after.
This is different. I was so entranced in this world Ms. Stevens has created, that I went over my book allowance to make sure I could read all of them. I even (it turns out) bought The Kingdom twice! Lol
But because there is so much going on in this book that I can’t reveal, I’m going to leave you with this.
This book is so well-written and eerily beautiful that it will haunt you for days.
November 6, 2014
Definitely my favorite in the series!
I loved how Amelia is brought into a new setting and learns of her past while figuring out her future. Will it be Devlin or Thane?
Will she even make it out of Asher Falls?
I loved how Amelia is brought into a new setting and learns of her past while figuring out her future. Will it be Devlin or Thane?
Will she even make it out of Asher Falls?
July 18, 2015
I read The Restorer more than two years ago and every time I thought of reading the next I remembered the level of angst in the first book. On the one hand, what a hell was I thinking? On the other, though, I am glad I waited. I needed distance from the Devlin situation. You know when you don't have anyone to blame (or hate) in a book and it's still messed up? That.
Amelia accepted a new commission in an isolated small town called Asher Falls. She needs distance and piece from everything and this job seems perfect. There are two graveyards in Asher Falls though. One is under the lake.
Soon she finds a hidden old grave that nobody can explain. The oppressive air of the area, the town and the mountains, close-mouthed and even sinister people don't help either.
There is absolutely no way I could do this story justice with some vague comments because the best of it is a spoiler.
I loved the pace and the resolution. They are perfect for the story and for the main character.
Amelia accepted a new commission in an isolated small town called Asher Falls. She needs distance and piece from everything and this job seems perfect. There are two graveyards in Asher Falls though. One is under the lake.
Soon she finds a hidden old grave that nobody can explain. The oppressive air of the area, the town and the mountains, close-mouthed and even sinister people don't help either.
There is absolutely no way I could do this story justice with some vague comments because the best of it is a spoiler.
I loved the pace and the resolution. They are perfect for the story and for the main character.
February 1, 2018
5 Intensely Frightening Stars... The way in which Amanda Stevens guides her audience through these ghostly encounters allows them to become quite sensual for the reader; allowing them to experience all facets of the moment just like her characters... In this read, Amelia Gray is thrust into a true ghost town filled with secrets that seem to speak directly to her; opening doors to her unknown past that may have deadly consequences... From start to finish this haunting tale takes the reader on an exciting albeit frightening journey into the heart of the supernatural realms.... absolutely brilliant:)
March 14, 2019
4.5* https://lalettricesullenuvole.blogspo...
Questo secondo libro mi è piaciuto forse ancora più del primo. Ritroviamo Amelia alle prese con un nuovo lavoro, in una città che mette i brividi, Asher Falls, dove i segreti non mancano.
"Eccoci arrivati" annunciò allora in tono allegro. "Asher Falls. Benvenuta nel nostro regno, Amelia Grey."
Di nuovo ho avuto l'impressione di trovarmi di fronte a un horror, genere che non amo molto, ma la magia si è compiuta un'altra volta. Lo stile coinvolgente e introspettivo della Stevens mi ha catturata da subito, per non lasciarmi fino alla fine. Sono contenta di poter dire che questa serie è veramente bella e particolare e sono contenta di averla finalmente iniziata.
Nonostante sia molto psicologico, scritto pure in prima persona, a tratti mi è sembrato cinematografico. Le descrizioni dell'ambiente, del bosco, la molta suspense e i colpi di scena hanno fatto la magia. Mi è anche venuto in mente un film che ho adorato, le streghe di Eastwick, per alcuni aspetti.
C'era qualcosa di terribilmente strano in quella città. Lo avevo percepito durante l'attraversamento di Bell Lake. Le ombre lì sembravano più fitte, le notti più lunghe, i segreti più antichi. Perfino il vento era diverso.
All'inizio ho sofferto un po' la mancanza di Devlin ma questo libro, per me, è stato come una parentesi nella macrostoria della serie. É servito a spiegare le origini di Amelia.
... continua sul blog
Questo secondo libro mi è piaciuto forse ancora più del primo. Ritroviamo Amelia alle prese con un nuovo lavoro, in una città che mette i brividi, Asher Falls, dove i segreti non mancano.
"Eccoci arrivati" annunciò allora in tono allegro. "Asher Falls. Benvenuta nel nostro regno, Amelia Grey."
Di nuovo ho avuto l'impressione di trovarmi di fronte a un horror, genere che non amo molto, ma la magia si è compiuta un'altra volta. Lo stile coinvolgente e introspettivo della Stevens mi ha catturata da subito, per non lasciarmi fino alla fine. Sono contenta di poter dire che questa serie è veramente bella e particolare e sono contenta di averla finalmente iniziata.
Nonostante sia molto psicologico, scritto pure in prima persona, a tratti mi è sembrato cinematografico. Le descrizioni dell'ambiente, del bosco, la molta suspense e i colpi di scena hanno fatto la magia. Mi è anche venuto in mente un film che ho adorato, le streghe di Eastwick, per alcuni aspetti.
C'era qualcosa di terribilmente strano in quella città. Lo avevo percepito durante l'attraversamento di Bell Lake. Le ombre lì sembravano più fitte, le notti più lunghe, i segreti più antichi. Perfino il vento era diverso.
All'inizio ho sofferto un po' la mancanza di Devlin ma questo libro, per me, è stato come una parentesi nella macrostoria della serie. É servito a spiegare le origini di Amelia.
... continua sul blog
May 6, 2019
After the stunning introduction to Amelia the Graveyard Queen and the subsequent hair-raising events in the Restorer, you bet your britches I was in for more of this series. Hauntingly gothic and suspenseful where a shadow isn't just a shadow and the dark brings more than nightmares for Amelia.
The Kingdom is book two in the Graveyard Queen and follows on previous events in book one so doesn't standalone well. In fact, I think the prequel actually works good between the first two books since I caught a reference to that tale in this book.
The Kingdom takes place months after the first book and finds Amelia headed into the foothills where she was hired to do the graveyard restoration on a small town cemetery. The town is isolated now that a major landowner sold land that was part of a river damming project that buried part of the town and cemetery under what is now Bell Lake. And, Bell Lake didn't get its name from some sweet and innocent reason. Amelia is uneasy about a graveyard below a lake and the legend of the graveyard bells tolling in the night, but the spooky dying town and its people on the shores of the lake are what really give her the chills. Something dark is there and the people are full of secrets, but Amelia has the oddest feeling that she is personally connected to the place and the past. She is the catalyst for rousing something dangerous.
So, yes, the wonder of book one was not a fluke. The brooding, sensual Devlin may be back in Charleston and Amelia is still pulled toward him though she knows she needs to stay away. But, she has stumbled upon a place and people that she feels she has been sent to help and not just their graveyard. A stray dog, a lonely man, a broken woman who cares for birds, three women nick-named witches, and a rich old family headed by a patriarch who watches her with cunning, knowing eyes. Do they all know about her? About the ghosts and the darkness in this place? I enjoyed the shivers and thrills of being along with Amelia as she dug out the secrets and ripped out the thorns and weeds that are choking things there. The mystery was a nice one, but the author has a gift for painting in the atmosphere and giving the characters a brooding and secretive quality that hovers on the edge of horror without quite crossing the line.
All those questions that Amelia had about her past rise up again in this one as does her concern for her family. She wants to be over Devlin and move on from her sadness, but I loved how she also has a strong sense of what is right and doesn't shirk it when she faces danger and evil. I can't wait to get more of this series that I can definitely recommend to others who want ghosts, mysteries, and atmosphere.
The Kingdom is book two in the Graveyard Queen and follows on previous events in book one so doesn't standalone well. In fact, I think the prequel actually works good between the first two books since I caught a reference to that tale in this book.
The Kingdom takes place months after the first book and finds Amelia headed into the foothills where she was hired to do the graveyard restoration on a small town cemetery. The town is isolated now that a major landowner sold land that was part of a river damming project that buried part of the town and cemetery under what is now Bell Lake. And, Bell Lake didn't get its name from some sweet and innocent reason. Amelia is uneasy about a graveyard below a lake and the legend of the graveyard bells tolling in the night, but the spooky dying town and its people on the shores of the lake are what really give her the chills. Something dark is there and the people are full of secrets, but Amelia has the oddest feeling that she is personally connected to the place and the past. She is the catalyst for rousing something dangerous.
So, yes, the wonder of book one was not a fluke. The brooding, sensual Devlin may be back in Charleston and Amelia is still pulled toward him though she knows she needs to stay away. But, she has stumbled upon a place and people that she feels she has been sent to help and not just their graveyard. A stray dog, a lonely man, a broken woman who cares for birds, three women nick-named witches, and a rich old family headed by a patriarch who watches her with cunning, knowing eyes. Do they all know about her? About the ghosts and the darkness in this place? I enjoyed the shivers and thrills of being along with Amelia as she dug out the secrets and ripped out the thorns and weeds that are choking things there. The mystery was a nice one, but the author has a gift for painting in the atmosphere and giving the characters a brooding and secretive quality that hovers on the edge of horror without quite crossing the line.
All those questions that Amelia had about her past rise up again in this one as does her concern for her family. She wants to be over Devlin and move on from her sadness, but I loved how she also has a strong sense of what is right and doesn't shirk it when she faces danger and evil. I can't wait to get more of this series that I can definitely recommend to others who want ghosts, mysteries, and atmosphere.
February 29, 2016
Book two in the Graveyard Queen series picks up a few months after the events of book one, The Restorer, and finds Amelia heading out to Asher Falls on a new restoration project. Needing to clear her mind and, possibly, her heart, Amelia feels that a change of scenery will help her get over the frightening events of book one as well as the man she loves (but whom she feels she can never have).
As much as I enjoyed and was engrossed by the first book, I can't truthfully say that this book held the same level of interest for me. It still did an admirable job of maintaining that creepy, southern gothic feel so I really had to wonder why this book just didn't quite hit the mark and I think I've narrowed it down to a few factors.
First of all, one thing that really stood out for me with book one was just the sense of realism. Yes, it was chock full of ghosts but the city was real and the characters all felt like people I could actually meet in real life. That sense of realism was in such contrast with the creepiness and the more supernatural elements that the clashing of worlds felt more ominous. In comparison, Asher falls and its inhabitants felt too...out there which I know sounds odd, considering this is a book about a woman who sees dead people, but that's rather the point. The supernatural elements of the story need a realistic backdrop to ground them and keep it all from spinning off its axis. Instead of feeling real, Asher Falls and its citizens came off as more Witches of Eastwick (to borrow an in-book reference) and there's nothing wrong with that but the result, for me, is that I never felt like a part of the story. I was more a disconnected observer.
Another thing that niggled at me is that Amelia herself felt less like the practical woman she was in the first book and more like some of the more typical heroines who stubbornly proceed into the fire despite repeated warnings to turn back. Now I realize that certain things had to happen in order for Amelia to discover certain truths but here's the thing...I'm not certain that the truths that were learned really matter. They certainly didn't clear up what is, for me, the most basic question I have about our heroine. Maybe it will all become important later in the series but as it stands right now the cliff notes version of this book would have sufficed for me. I also found it extremely difficult to believe that Amelia could just bounce back after some of the more truly frightening (for her) events in this book and just continue on, sometimes within minutes, like nothing major just happened. It felt too much like character serving the plot rather than the other way around.
Then there were all the new characters. It's understandable given that Amelia is in a totally new city but I found this to be a bit of a momentum killer coming off the events of the last book. Rather than seeing a continuation of the friendships/relationships from that book, I found myself jerked to this completely new setting. With The Restorer there were several characters that I liked (and felt invested in) well enough that I was hoping they would not be complicit in that book's murder. Here, the characters were so odd and left of center that I found I didn't really care if any of them were the guilty party. They all felt more like exactly what they are, characters in a creepy story, rather than real, living and breathing individuals (which of course they're not, but a book should make me feel as though they are).
And, I'm not going to lie, I missed John Devlin. In the first book I was as intrigued by the mystery of his backstory as much as I was in the murder mystery itself. There was no character equivalent for me in this book. There is Thane Asher, the man who takes a liking to Amelia, but I couldn't drum up any interest in him. For crying out loud, he has so he was just a little too derivative for me to do anything other than shake my head at him.
And finally, I admit that some of this story felt overly long. There was nothing wrong with the writing style and the author still does an admirable job of creating a mood, but I guessed the twist early on so then I was just waiting for Amelia to catch up. In the first book I kept going back and forth between the possible guilty parties so I was in it right next to Amelia until the end.
Now, all of this may sound like I didn't like the book but that wouldn't be true. I did like it. I just didn't have that same personal connection with it as I did with book one. I was an observer rather than a participant. As I said, the author still sets a foreboding mood like no one's business and I enjoy her prose immensely. And Amelia's past needed to come out one way or another. That said, I am more than ready to get back to Charleston and characters who feel less like mustache twirling caricatures.
As much as I enjoyed and was engrossed by the first book, I can't truthfully say that this book held the same level of interest for me. It still did an admirable job of maintaining that creepy, southern gothic feel so I really had to wonder why this book just didn't quite hit the mark and I think I've narrowed it down to a few factors.
First of all, one thing that really stood out for me with book one was just the sense of realism. Yes, it was chock full of ghosts but the city was real and the characters all felt like people I could actually meet in real life. That sense of realism was in such contrast with the creepiness and the more supernatural elements that the clashing of worlds felt more ominous. In comparison, Asher falls and its inhabitants felt too...out there which I know sounds odd, considering this is a book about a woman who sees dead people, but that's rather the point. The supernatural elements of the story need a realistic backdrop to ground them and keep it all from spinning off its axis. Instead of feeling real, Asher Falls and its citizens came off as more Witches of Eastwick (to borrow an in-book reference) and there's nothing wrong with that but the result, for me, is that I never felt like a part of the story. I was more a disconnected observer.
Another thing that niggled at me is that Amelia herself felt less like the practical woman she was in the first book and more like some of the more typical heroines who stubbornly proceed into the fire despite repeated warnings to turn back. Now I realize that certain things had to happen in order for Amelia to discover certain truths but here's the thing...I'm not certain that the truths that were learned really matter. They certainly didn't clear up what is, for me, the most basic question I have about our heroine. Maybe it will all become important later in the series but as it stands right now the cliff notes version of this book would have sufficed for me. I also found it extremely difficult to believe that Amelia could just bounce back after some of the more truly frightening (for her) events in this book and just continue on, sometimes within minutes, like nothing major just happened. It felt too much like character serving the plot rather than the other way around.
Then there were all the new characters. It's understandable given that Amelia is in a totally new city but I found this to be a bit of a momentum killer coming off the events of the last book. Rather than seeing a continuation of the friendships/relationships from that book, I found myself jerked to this completely new setting. With The Restorer there were several characters that I liked (and felt invested in) well enough that I was hoping they would not be complicit in that book's murder. Here, the characters were so odd and left of center that I found I didn't really care if any of them were the guilty party. They all felt more like exactly what they are, characters in a creepy story, rather than real, living and breathing individuals (which of course they're not, but a book should make me feel as though they are).
And, I'm not going to lie, I missed John Devlin. In the first book I was as intrigued by the mystery of his backstory as much as I was in the murder mystery itself. There was no character equivalent for me in this book. There is Thane Asher, the man who takes a liking to Amelia, but I couldn't drum up any interest in him. For crying out loud, he has so he was just a little too derivative for me to do anything other than shake my head at him.
And finally, I admit that some of this story felt overly long. There was nothing wrong with the writing style and the author still does an admirable job of creating a mood, but I guessed the twist early on so then I was just waiting for Amelia to catch up. In the first book I kept going back and forth between the possible guilty parties so I was in it right next to Amelia until the end.
Now, all of this may sound like I didn't like the book but that wouldn't be true. I did like it. I just didn't have that same personal connection with it as I did with book one. I was an observer rather than a participant. As I said, the author still sets a foreboding mood like no one's business and I enjoy her prose immensely. And Amelia's past needed to come out one way or another. That said, I am more than ready to get back to Charleston and characters who feel less like mustache twirling caricatures.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,110 reviews