The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Madness Underneath
Series: Shades of London #2
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: February 26th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 290 pages
Format: Audio Book

Summary from Goodreads:
After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city's secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late.

In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Rory is back home, with her parents seeing a therapist to try and cope with her run in with The Ripper. Surprisingly, her therapist suggests going back to Wexford, so Rory returns back to where it all happened. Rory’s role as a human terminus (she can touch ghosts to send them on) becomes a bit of a point of contention with the secret organization, The Shades. (Those who can see ghosts). Meanwhile, there are more killings happening near Wexford; Rory feels like there is something weird about these killings, something the Shades should investigate. Tangled up in her role in the Shades and her personal life, Rory stumbles into bad situation.

Audio book Review: I would actually give the audio book 3 stars. The audio did not really add anything to the story but it did not hinder or take away from the story at all. So overall it was not bad but not great. A bonus though, it is not terribly long!

What I liked: Rory had some funny lines.“Don’t get stabbed… it makes things awkward.” She says this when talking about making out with a guy. Her witty lines saved the story; they were a nice blend to the horror/murder mystery setting. I continue to enjoy the idea of The Shades of London and the work they do. The dreary London setting if perfectly described for the haunting murders of the story.

What I did not like: I did not like Rory’s relationships and how she handled them. The story starts of slow and takes quite some time to get interesting. Yes there are murders happening but they are not exactly tied to Rory. I could not figure out the point or where the plot was going for a while. And when the story started to actually pick up, some of the twists (like who the bad guy was) were quite obvious. The plot itself was very one dimensional, no real side stories or anything else going on besides the mediocre story. AND to top it off the ending… without spoiling anything… I will just say, I was not a fan. The story seemed to try and make sense of everything in the last couple chapters.


Overall, I gave The Madness Underneath two and a half  stars; I enjoyed the first book and was hoping for an exciting sequel but the story just couldn't get off the ground. The plot fell flat, the characters did not continue to develop and the ending seemed rush and part seemed unnecessary.

BLOG TOUR {Review #47 and Giveaway}: Ever by Jessa Russo

Title: Ever
Author: Jessa Russo
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Release Date: October 1st 2012
Pages: Paperback, 295 pages
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Source: Author provided copy

Summary from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

Ever is not your typical senior in high school, she is in love with her best friend Frankie who just happens to be a ghost. Frankie and Ever were in a car crash, Frankie did not make it but his ghost gave Ever the courage to get away from the wreck, find help and survive. Ever feels almost obligated to Frankie, she has not moved on in two years instead she continues an awkward friendship with the ghost version of Frankie. Frankie lives with Ever and her family, the family and Ever’s best friend have somewhat accept the concept that Frankie is a ghost that lives with them.

Ever’s life is tossed upside down when Toby, the mysterious, older new neighbor moves into Frankie’s old house. The two eventually start dating, Ever ignoring some of the warning signs that Toby might not be who he claims to be. And to make matters better, Frankie now seems to have feelings for her which further complicates her love life.  The drama continues to unfold throughout the story, as the reader learns the truth about Toby and adjusts to the changes in Frankie.

The first couple chapters confused me a bit, Ever seemed to have this deep unrequited love for Frankie but as soon Toby came along BOOM she really wanted him too. Then as soon as Toby and Ever start to date, Frankie of course decides he wants Ever and beings to flirt with her. It was not even the love triangle that really bothered me, it was Ever. She was so flip floppity with who she wanted to be with, one chapter she loves Toby the next she is back to pining for Frankie. She seemed overdramatic at times. I was not a huge fan of Frankie either, I was definitely voting for Toby. Frankie seemed to always be there at the right time to comfort poor Ever after a nightmare or a fight with Toby.

I did like the dynamic between Ever and her best friend Jessie; Jessie is the exact opposite, she loves pink, guys, and her best friend, Ever. Jessie was full of witty comments and spunk. Even though Toby was sometimes a jerk, Jessa Russo did an excellent job of developing the character. When the Toby’s secrets were discovered it gave clarity to all his actions and some of the original issues I had with him as a character dissipated. There was method to the insta-love madness!

The plot pacing was a bit off, sometimes slow and other times full of action.  The beginning was not my favorite but the story did pick up, the last 75 pages really brought the story back to life.

Overall I would have to give Ever 2.5 stars; the complicated and sometimes confusing love triangle was not for me. That being said, I think the story line itself has potential and I do intend to read the next book in the series. The elements outside of the love triangle (Toby’s secrets) were unexpected and I look forward to reading what will come of Frankie’s “new” self.  

GIVEAWAY: Signed Copy of Ever

Jessa's Website|Jessa on Twitter|EVER on Amazon|On Barnes & Noble| GoodReads/EVER|GoodReads/EVADE 

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: Paper Valentine
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: RazorBill
Release Date: January 8th, 2013
Pages: 306, Hardcover
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:
The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

Paper Valentine begins by introducing us to Hannah and her best friend Lillian; Lillian, having recently died, is now a ghost who "haunts" Hannah. Haunt is a strong word though, Lillian mostly hangs around keeping Hannah company. Hannah, her sister Ariel and her parents live in Ludlow, a small town where everyone knows everyone. Not only is the town facing one of it's hottest summers in history, there is a killer loose and to make matters worse, the first victim is a young girl.

The dynamic of Hannah and her school friends remind me a bit of Pretty Little Liars (the TV show version). Lillian was the ring leader of the 'cool/popular kids' with her group of friends/followers; some of her lines remind me of Alison from PLL. She has the potential to be a good friend but she also makes Hannah feel like the smallest person and instills competition among the group of girls. With Lillian gone, Hannah begins to slip away from the group of girls straight into bad boy, Finny's arms. Finny is one of the town's bad boys; he rocks bleached blonde hair, white tanks tops, and an overall tough demeanor. Hannah seems to be his weakness and the two form what seems to be typical but cute bad boy, good girl relationship.

With Lillian breathing down her neck, Hannah feels obligated to stop the killings, piece together the clues Lillian left,and determine who is the Valentine Killer before he kills someone close to her or even Hannah, herself.

Beginning: I thought beginning of Paper Valentine was a bit slow and hard to wrap my head around. I just did not feel immersed in the book, felt like the plot pace was just a bit off and I had a lot of questions. Firstly: Why did Lillian die? and Why is Hannah being haunted?

Middle: Once the story and characters developed more I began to find the book more enjoyable. Yovanoff's use of small details kept the creepy factor high. She introduced more ghosts, more voices, and more murder victims. Yet she balanced the eerie, intense murder mystery with a genuine high school love story. I was reading and BAM, I was like "HA, I know I had awkward moments like that in high school."

"Finny's mouth is open a little, and I wonder if we're about to get into the reasons for things, or if this is one of those awkward moments that we never talk about and spend the rest of high school pretending didn't happen."

Then Yovanoff later describes another moment between Finny and Hannah that I thought was perfectly captured.

"For a long time, Finny and I just stand there. It's one of those excruciating silence where you can't focus on anything else. The ones that feel so fatal and weigh so much you think you'll go deaf from the pressure."

On the other hand, I am not sure what I though of Lillian's cause of death, it made sense and fit the character yet felt a bit forced, like it was a taboo topic that was just thrown into the story.


End: I really liked the ending. I went from...

Are you joking, that's it?!? That can't be it.

to

Well done, ya got me! I was not expecting that.

Overall, Paper Valentine was 3.5 stars, the slow start and (even though I think their relationship is cute) the stereotypical bad boy falls for good girl relationship was predictable. I did really enjoyed this book and would recommend it but just couldn't say I loved it. I did find the rest of the story beautifully haunting with a nice blend of suspense, creepy ghosts, and a murder mystery that kept me guessing.

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Title: The Dead and Buried

Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Pages: 304, Hardcover
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

I thought this book was fun. Jade’s new home is being haunted by the ghost of Kayla Sloane, the old Queen B of her high school. If Kayla was ruthless when she was alive, it’s nothing compared to what she’s willing to do now to get the truth. Kayla wants answers and she’s using Jade to get them. But Jade soon discovers that a lot of people had cause to want Kayla Sloane dead.

Did Kayla’s best guy friend finally get tired of being in the friend-zone after pining for her always? Did the loner smart girl take out her only competition for valedictorian because Kayla didn't deserve it? Did one of Kayla's closes minions want the spotlight? Or what about the countless others that Kalya bullied, manipulated, took advantage of, overshadowed, etc? Even though I had a feeling about the killer early on, I didn’t understand the motive and that kept me interested in the story. I kept second guessing myself because so many people fit the bill. I enjoyed trying to puzzle out the mystery.

To get answers, Jade inserts herself into the life that Kayla used to lead, but she doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe. She befriended the quirky smart girl and doesn’t think she’s capable of murder but her unusual show of emotion concerns Jade. She also finds herself drawn to Donovan, who, ironically, is the person that the rest of the school thinks killed Kayla. He was the last one to see her alive and a witness saw him leave her house right around the time of the murder. Jade also thinks he might be hiding something from her. But Jade follows her heart and employs the powers of sleuthing to eventaully solve the murder. I thought the clues were well laid out and everything came together nicely at the end. It wasn't the best mystery I ever read but I thought it was pretty decently executed.

Even though this book involved ghosts, it wasn’t that creepy. I was more creeped out by the old neighbor who seems to always be watching than Kayla's ghost. And I thought Kayla was an awesome antagonist. I actually wish we saw more of her as Queen B but we have to settle for pages from her diary to get glimpses of her ruthless, cunning behavior. Something about mean girls I find so entertaining. I also liked Jade as the main character. She was level-headed and smart, and even though she wasn’t as exciting as Kayla, she had enough personality to capture my attention.

Overall, I liked this book; there just wasn’t anything particularly amazing about it to warrant a higher rating. It was a good story with a puzzling mystery, one fantastically bitchy ghost (that we didn't see enough of), a bit of romance, and some good ol' high school drama.