The Restorer (Graveyard Queen, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Feb 04, 2012 Shannon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: color-blue, mystery, adult, ghosts, paranormal, color-black, novels, paranormal-mystery

Can't give this quite 4 stars, though it's a very high 3. The ghosts were creepy and the setting was appropriately atmospheric and I rarely think books are scary and there were some definitely freaky parts so I have to give it points for that. Amelia is a bit bland (though not as bad as some of the plain in YA I've read) but she's your typical cozy mystery heroine. Devlin was hot though.

Longer review to come, possibly. ...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Literary Ames rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, series-abandoned, urban-fantasy, death-reapers-zombies, bought-in-2012, 1st-in-series, kindle, read-in-2012

Unfortunately The Restorer reminded me of Prophecy of the Sisters due to the dreadfully slow pace and verbose prose reminiscent of 19th century literature but without the flair and beauty of the prominent writers of the time who could effortlessly produce graceful descriptions of a haunting nature, Victorian gothic-style. Edgar Allan Poe, for example. The dialogue, also, had an oddly formal quality to it that most modern English speakers don't use anymore. This made the book seem unnecessarily l Unfortunately The Restorer reminded me of Prophecy of the Sisters due to the dreadfully slow pace and verbose prose reminiscent of 19th century literature but without the flair and beauty of the prominent writers of the time who could effortlessly produce graceful descriptions of a haunting nature, Victorian gothic-style. Edgar Allan Poe, for example. The dialogue, also, had an oddly formal quality to it that most modern English speakers don't use anymore. This made the book seem unnecessarily long-winded like an incessantly chatty person who goes on and on about nothing in particular.

Very little happened in the first half, it was painfully boring and repetitive (her father's damn rules), and the second was almost as bad. The scenes down in the well and it's tunnels were the most fascinating sections in the book but they only constitute perhaps 50 pages in total. Within those pages we get a glimpse at Amelia and Devlin's psyches as they explored those ancient and neglected passageways, trying to find a way out, hoping they wouldn't stumble upon the murderer in the dark shadows where he would have the upper hand.

Amelia is hollow. Devoid of meaningful experiences. Virginal. Naive. She's an eternal good girl with a lifeless but practical life, a perfectionist. Almost robotic. Constrained by her father's rules and her own fear that she'll attract the attention of a ghost which could attach itself to her and psychically drain her energy, she's never thought to break them even once to see what would happen. Until now, sort of. Passively. She doesn't actively break them, she just lets things naturally progress instead of stepping back as she was told to by her father. This makes her both an uninteresting and irksome heroine who's only appearance of growth is the emergence of curiosity as she turns amateur detective. What is there to like about that?

Devlin, the homicide detective, is almost the opposite. He has spirit (dulled somewhat by his guilt and grief over the loss of his wife and child, whose ghosts are sucking the life out of him), and from what others have said; he once was a very passionate man. But still, we don't really get to know him past his strong sense of honor, justice and nobility.

The romance aspect isn't one I cared for. Stevens appears to snap her fingers, forcing their chemistry, their kiss. The tug of war: Devlin's unconscious succubus-like siphoning of Amelia's strength when they're physically close, her father's warnings telling her to walk away, together with Devlin's reluctance to let his dead wife and daughter go so he can move on plus the ever-presence of their ghosts, against their mutual attraction, was tiresome and in no way was that war resolved here.

Pushed into the background was the mystery. Everything was concentrated on the deaths and burials but not the hunt for the killer. Also, too many other things were going on, too many unrevealed secrets and answers to questions Amelia's never been brave enough to ask her parents about. Ones that aren't unveiled in this book. My mind didn't try to solve the mystery of the murderer, I think, because I didn't care.

I didn't care. I wasn't invested in the outcome, the characters or the writing. I wasn't enchanted by the imagery or chilled by the ghosts. I felt the book was unfocused and aimless, unproductive. It needed tightening up, to be whipped into shape for a faster pace and a clearer message would've made Amelia's first journey out into the real world far more enjoyable. ...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Katyana rated it really liked it

Shelves: ghosts-spirits, uf, mystery, pnr

Fantastic start to the series. I'm a tad frustrated, only because I want more info on the real rules and structure of this world and Amelia's ability. But for now, I can live with wanting more. I like the world and the characters, and the layers and layers to the story... I just have my fingers crossed that there's a payoff.

Re-read August 2022
There's something lyrical about the narrative, something haunting and lovely. Perfect for this kind of story, honestly. I like Amelia a lot. Devlin less so ...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Arlene rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ghosts, detective-mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 13, 2012 Marsha rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

I think I would have given this book 3.5 stars if I could, but since I can't, I'll round up.

Amelia can see dead people - okay, not exactly like the movie The 6th Sense, but it still gave me chills like that movie did. Amelia restores graves and graveyards that have been neglected over the years. While restoring one that has been particularly overgrown, a dead body (or actually a series of them) are discovered there and she is drawn into the murder investigation. And, of course, her safety is al ...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Lara rated it really liked it

Debated about giving this one a 3 star rating.....but since I finally did get drawn into this story at around the 60% mark and could not deny that even if the 1st 1/2 of this story was like taking a slowly dissolving sleeping pill, that the writing was beautiful and full of imagery so I decided to bump it up to a 4 star. I tend to lean towards books with more action and this felt way too much like blah blah bleh blah......for a looooong time - and I guess it didn't help I had the same problem wi ...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

The premise of the Restorer immediately intrigued me, a heroine who works to repair graveyards, scary ghosts and serial murder, a combination I find almost irresistible.
From the first I found Amelia Gray engaging. As the story is told in the first person it creates an immediate intimacy as we are privy to her thoughts and emotions. She is reserved and self contained, a product of her father's rules of protection from the ghosts that linger behind the veil. Her occupation as a graveyard restorer The premise of the Restorer immediately intrigued me, a heroine who works to repair graveyards, scary ghosts and serial murder, a combination I find almost irresistible.
From the first I found Amelia Gray engaging. As the story is told in the first person it creates an immediate intimacy as we are privy to her thoughts and emotions. She is reserved and self contained, a product of her father's rules of protection from the ghosts that linger behind the veil. Her occupation as a graveyard restorer is something unusual and Stevens weaves Amelia's knowledge seamlessly into the storyline. While I have always been fascinated by gravestone epitaph's I had never given much thought to the symbolism that permeates old cemeteries.
Amelia's unconventional relationship with Devlin offers elements of romance without overwhelming the plot. Devlin is handsome, aloof and enigmatic as hero's tend to be but his mysterious background gives him some depth that I expect will be explored in further installments.
Stevens plays up the stereotypes of southern eccentrics and the old monied privileged with several characters but also includes a lesbian colleague and Gullah mystic. The varied cast allows for a wide pool of suspects in the murders.
One of the particular strengths of this book lies in the atmosphere that Steven's creates with lyrical description and a menacing undertone that builds to the climax as Amelia is stalked by both human and ghost. There are moments that gave me goosebumps as I imagined the ghost child swaying slowly on the backyard swing.
Despite a majority of wonderfully well written scenes I was regularly jarred out of the narrative when some desperately melodramatic sentences slipped into the prose. Since I have read a galley I will not quote them, but I found them disruptive.
The Restorer is a solid debut for the Graveyard Queen southern gothic mystery/urban fantasy series. I look forward to continuing the series with The Kingdom due to be released later this year (2011) ...more

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