The Restorer (Graveyard Queen, #1) in Vampires, Weres and Fae!

Mar 03, 2011 Yodamom rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite

4.5
Finally, a great ghost story ! I had good old fashioned goose bumps while reading this wonderful tale. It was scary with a subtle touch, slowly unraveling. I was enchanted, by the characters, the mystery, and the hint of a romance.
The Amelia Grey, a cemetery restorer, loves her job, repairing the forgotten treasures of our ancestors. She is a southern girl, her father a cemetery grounds keeper. She see’s her first ghost at nine years old. Her father warns her and gives her a set or rules sh ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Mar 27, 2011 Lori {Romancing the Dark Side} rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, my-favorites, netgalley-reviews, paranormal-romance, reviewed, gothic, mystery, re-read

Blew me away!

Amelia Gray has a unique ability and an even more unique occupation. Not only can she see spirits, she spends her days as a cemetery restorer in the beautiful and historically rich city of Charleston. She's learned everything she knows from her dad who also has the same ability and has taught Amelia there are rules to follow when dealing with the dead. When the body of a murdered young woman is found in the cemetery she's currently restoring, Amelia is asked to help Detective Devlin Blew me away!

Amelia Gray has a unique ability and an even more unique occupation. Not only can she see spirits, she spends her days as a cemetery restorer in the beautiful and historically rich city of Charleston. She's learned everything she knows from her dad who also has the same ability and has taught Amelia there are rules to follow when dealing with the dead. When the body of a murdered young woman is found in the cemetery she's currently restoring, Amelia is asked to help Detective Devlin and provide her expertise to decipher clues the killer has left. She feels drawn to Devlin but knows he's definitely off limits when she realizes he's haunted by two spirits, a young woman and a little girl.

Informing him of his haunting would be unlocking a door that should never open and a rule Amelia is not willing to break. The more distance she tries to create between herself and Devlin, the more fate interferes in bringing them closer. As she uses her skills of deciphering epitaphs to find the killer before he strikes again, Amelia uncovers long buried truths that make her question those around her. The information she finds puts her in the sights of the sadistic killer and her unique gift might be the only key to her survival.

Amelia is a charming protagonist who enchants you with her realness and determination. She's just a woman living her life who happens to have a special ability, a refreshing change in a sea of drop dead gorgeous heroines that encompass the genre. Her internal struggles and secrets force her to lead a lonely life and show just how strong she really is. Devlin is just as charismatic and enthralling. He's mysterious and sexy with a dark past he is unwilling to let go of. Both characters are haunted in their own way and fight the intense attraction for each other but finally succumb and find comfort in each other. I love that both Amelia and Devlin accept each other for who they are, secrets and all.

This story is beautifully written and draws you in from the first page. From the charming characters to the intricate descriptions of the historic South and it's traditions, The Restorer is both chilling and romantic. It's fast paced with plenty of mystery, suspense and twists that will have you turning the pages in anticipation. The romantic tension that builds between the two main characters throughout the story is thrilling and is woven perfectly into the story. Gothic graveyards, brutal murders and secret societies up the creepiness factor to hair raising, I wouldn't recommend reading this one late at night during a storm like I did. This is bewitching start to what I'm sure will be a hauntingly beautiful series!

{ebook courtesy of NetGalley for review}

Originally reviewed on Romancing the Darkside:
http://wp.me/p3OSyN-bs

...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 Vannessa rated it really liked it

Shelves: murder-thrillers, kindle-books

Amelia Gray, also known as the Graveyard Queen, is a cemetery restorer with a difference - she can see the ghosts that have not yet passed on to wherever it is that ghosts may go. Her father can also see them and at the age of nine, when she encountered her first ghost, he lay down a very strict set of rules she is to follow where the ghosts are concerned. She has followed these rules to the letter until the day she meets John Devlin, a detective who needs her helps in a murder investigation.

Dev Amelia Gray, also known as the Graveyard Queen, is a cemetery restorer with a difference - she can see the ghosts that have not yet passed on to wherever it is that ghosts may go. Her father can also see them and at the age of nine, when she encountered her first ghost, he lay down a very strict set of rules she is to follow where the ghosts are concerned. She has followed these rules to the letter until the day she meets John Devlin, a detective who needs her helps in a murder investigation.

Devlin is haunted by the ghosts of his dead wife and daughter and until he chooses to let go he will always have them by his side. Amelia knows she shouldn't get involved with him - it's one of her dad's strict rules about the haunted - but she feels drawn to him anyway.

The day after Amelia starts photographing the cemetery in Charleston she is currently restoring a dead body is found in a shallow grave, washed up partly by the horrendous rain. Because of her expertise in graveyards she is brought into the case as a consultant to try and solve the murder. However when a second body is found, things start to get a little more difficult and scary for our Amelia.

I really enjoyed this book, but had a big sense of deja vu all the way through it, but I know I haven't read it before - very weird! I liked the characters - John Devlin was an intriguing sort, with lots of secrets to be discovered. I do hope he appears in the next one and we find out more about him.

The only things that really bothered me about the book were the ending - it was over far too quickly for my liking and I would have like Amelia to have fought back a bit more. And the other things was there was no explanation for why Amelia and her father could both see ghosts, especially as she was adopted and therefore it couldn't have been a blood related thing! Maybe this will be addressed more in the next book.

Although I was expecting more of an urban fantasy/horror ghost story, I got more of a murder mystery thriller, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next one in the series. ...more

1 like · Like · see review