Posts Tagged 'supernatural'

Honeysuckle and Bone by Trisha Tobias

Genre: Suspense/Mystery

Carina is looking to start over after a mysterious incident left her a social pariah back home. She takes the opportunity to be a nanny for a wealthy and powerful family in Jamaica. Her mother originally comes from Jamaica but for some reason has never wanted Carina to go so she must keep her whereabouts secret. The moment she steps foot into the beautiful house where she will be working she notices mysterious things, such as the scent of honeysuckle, and begins to wonder if there is a ghost haunting her. Other workers also believe there is a mysterious force that keeps renovations from progressing, items getting destroyed, and extreme heat, amongst other things. One friend even offers to take Carina to a local woman who claims to be able to help with such supernatural occurrences. Meanwhile, Carina starts to realize that the perfect family she works for has some dark secrets of their own. Is there someone out to get her? Is there anyone she can trust at this estate? Can she get to the bottom of who is haunting her before it is too late?

This suspenseful supernatural story will keep readers guessing until the end because there is so much going on. Carina is clearly running away from something at home, but what that is and how she came to be in Jamaica remain mysterious for much of the book. The Hall family and their beautiful estate also harbor some secrets of their own, which is why Carina often feels a supernatural presence. Is the presence someone from Carina’s past or the Hall’s past? Does it mean to harm them or reveal inconvenient truths? Fans of supernatural mysteries will love the setting and vast array of characters and will find the ending exciting and satisfying.

All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

Genre: Fantasy

Emrys is one of the faery bodyguards for the British royal family. The royal family is considered sacred and protected and therefore each member has a protective faery bodyguard, but of course they do not know that and cannot see them unless the faery chooses to show him or herself to that person. Emrys has been doing this for a long time and is therefore surprised when she begins to form a connection to Prince Richard. She also starts noticing that there seem to be more attacks on the royal family than normal and several of them seem extra strong. Faerys lose strength in cities and must take breaks in the countryside to build their strength back up, but as Emrys becomes more concerned about Richard the more she fears what will happen if she leaves his side, even if other faerys step in to help. Then, when tragedy strikes, she knows that someone is organizing forces against the royal family and most likely there is someone that has betrayed them. Who can she trust and what must she do to protect the royal family? Can Richard ever know who she really is?

Fans looking for fun fantasy stories will enjoy this title because there is a lot to the plot and the characters are really engaging. The setting is very unique as several different types of fantasy creatures make an appearance in modern day London. Fans of fantasy romances such as Twilight will enjoy this title.

Jillian Cade: Fake paranormal investigator by Jen Klein

 


jillian cade

Genre:  Mystery/Fantasy

# of pages:  277

RAC:  Yes

Jillian does not believe in paranormal activity, but yet she works running her father’s paranormal investigation firm ever since he left her to fend for herself and her dying mother.  She tells clients what they want to hear in order to earn money to pay the electric bill, but that does not stop her from judging those who do believe in the paranormal.  When a high school classmate offers to pay big money for her to find her missing boyfriend, Jillian jumps at the chance until the mysterious new student, Sky, inserts himself into the investigation claiming that there is supernatural activity at work here.  As Jillian and Sky work the case she faces the possibility that supernatural occurrences might actually exist.

Fans of mysteries and fantasy will enjoy this light, fun story about a teenage girl trying to do it all.  There is a lot about Jillian’s backstory that has not been uncovered yet, including a mysterious obituary she finds of herself dated six months in the future listing a sister among her family whom she’s never heard of.  There’s plenty more stories Jillian can and probably will tell in future volumes.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

miss peregrine

Genre:  Supernatural

# of Pages:  382

RAC:  Yes

As a child Jacob was always told fantastic stories about the orphanage his grandfather grew up in headed by Miss Peregrine.  He even had photos depicting the many hidden talents of the children who came to live there including levitation, invisibility, and incredible strength.  As Jacob grew up he began to doubt his grandfather’s stories, but   nevertheless he and his grandfather were very close until the day he received a frantic call from his grandfather claiming he needed to get into his gun safe.  Jacob went to see him thinking it was merely an episode of senility brought on by old age, but when he arrived he sees his grandfather has been murdered by a creature he has never see or heard of before. After, his parents send Jacob to a psychiatrist to help him through the trauma he has experienced and he ends up deciding to go visit the little island where his grandfather’s stories came from.  He hopes this trip will bring him closure, but what he sees when he gets to this place is most unexpected and Jacob finds himself pulled into the past on that fateful day when Miss Peregrine’s home had become yet another casualty of WWII.  Were his grandfather’s stories true?  How is Jacob connected to all of this?

This is truly a very unique story that blends the present and the past through actual photos recovered from past archives and attics.  The characters and the story pull the reader in simply because it is so different than a lot of fiction out there currently.  The underlying problems and motivations of the characters are very relatable to everyone, but yet they are manifested through very unusual circumstances.  Fans of mystery, historical fiction, and supernatural fiction will all enjoy this title.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

madness underneath

Genre: Fantasy

# of Pages:  290

RAC:  Yes

In this sequel to The Name of the Star Rory is recovering from her near fatal encounter with a deadly ghost in Bristol with her parents.  After a few weeks, her therapist surprisingly advises she return to school in London to resume her schoolwork and begin to move forward.  Rory is thrilled at the idea of returning to school, but she is very far behind on her schoolwork and has no idea how she can make it up.  Meanwhile, Stephen and the other shades are trying to solve an unusual murder that occurred very close to where Rory’s attack was.  Are they connected? Did her encounter somehow trigger other supernatural attacks in the immediate area of the school where all of her friends go?

This sequel moves very quickly and has a very exciting ending.  Fans of the first novel will enjoy this title as the Shades are detailed a little more and the challenges of their group’s existence are explained in a bit more detail.  Rory’s future in London seems very unsure at this point, but there are possibilities for how she will proceed laid out that could come into play in future books.   The supporting characters from the school are still just as colorful as ever, but are not featured as much as they were in the first book.  Overall, it’s a good sequel, but a tad fast and fans will be eager to see another one sooner rather than later.

The Vision by Jen Nadol

**Special Review**

Genre:  Fantasy

# of Pages:  229

RAC Book:  Yes

In this sequel to The Mark, Cassie is now living in a new place with a roommate and trying to make it on her own.  She has the ability to see marks that mean a person is going to die soon.  She has found that if she intervenes it can save a person’s life, but she does not know if it has any negative affects and decides to find out more about her gift.  One way she studies death is by working at a funeral home and studying the different ways people handle death.   When her roommate informs her of a girl at a nearby mental ward, Cassie begins to wonder if they in fact share the same gift.   When she goes to meet with the girl she sees a mysterious boy from her class and begins to wonder about his intentions and motivations.  As the two get closer she learns that he may have more to teach her than she thought.  Can she trust this mysterious boy, Zander?  Are there others out there like her?

Cassie’s gift creates an interesting premise for a book and there are many worthwhile situations that help her better understand how her gift can affect people.  One great example is when the father of a classmate dies.  There are a few mentions of her past from the first book that may confuse some readers if they have not read it, but the new characters in this book prove to be engaging.  The relationship dynamic between Cassie and Zander changes with every revelation they learn about each other, but it is still unclear what their ultimate relationship will be like.  Fans of supernatural and fantasy will enjoy the story, but will probably want to start with the first in the series.


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