Review : The Madness Underneath

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

(Shades of London #2)
Genre : Paranormal, Young Adult, Ghosts, Mystery, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Romance
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Purchase Link: Amazon
Pages : 290

Synopsis:

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Deveaux 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 to get back to her friends. 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. 

Review:

After being slashed by a wannabe Jack the Ripper ghost, Rory wants nothing more than to attend school, go back to her friends and live a normal life. With the help of a counselor she's allowed to go back to see how things are as a trial but soon realize that life went on and she is way behind in school. Overwhelmed by school and her relationship with her boyfriend, she decides with the recommendation of a friend to go to a certain Counselor that seems to work miracles. Not only that a string of murder seems to be occurring near where her school is and she's going to help with a couple of friends solve that mystery.

I was going to add more to the description but I think I might give away too much away. I was worried at first that this book wasn't going to be as good as the first one but it actually turned out really great and I enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting how Rory is,it's got to be tough what she went though and not being able to tell a single soul and not being allowed to tell the people she loves what real happen and not being able to talk to the people who experience with happened cause of confidentiality agreement. I was very surprised what was happening through out the book I was not at all expecting many of the situations. Oh,and that ending! With how it turned out I need to get to the next book pronto because I can only see it going up from here hopefully I'm not disappointed. I can't wait to see what next.

Review : The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

(Shades of London)
Pages: 372
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal, Fantasy, Ghosts, Young Adult
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Synopsis:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Review:

Rory is excited about starting a new school year in a London boarding school.Things start to get interesting when a series of murders occur near her school very much like the Jack The Ripper Murders. Thing is no one can see the murderer which frightens everyone. Whats strange is that she is able to see this murderer and unfortunately caught his eye. 

Overall I thought that this was really interesting book.I wasn't sure how it would turnout. I've never read a book that had anything to do with Jack the Ripper. I know of the story maybe little snippets of heard on t. but nothing really that stood out to me. After this reading this it's really got me interested I kind of want to look into it. The story was really well written and I was hooked from the very start. I loved it there was so much details that looks quite vivid in my mind with how things were described.

I can't wait for the next book to see what happens next. I would wait this book 5 of 5 stars and because it was a really fun books to read and it's the type of book I would  reread and recommends others.

Review : Reveal

Reveal by Brina Courtney

Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters, Magic, Ghosts, Fantasy
Age Group : Young Adult, New Adult
Paperback, 220 pages
Published December 16th 2011
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Shay could be the key to ending a war that humans don't know exist. Of a race of beings that aren't real, or are they?

Shay Tafford's childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to the dead. She is forced to hide her unique ability from those living around her. That's why it's been comforting to have Jeremy, a child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he's been absent, perhaps lost as her father is. When Shay meets Hugh, the guy she's had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too she's just starting to find a normalcy in her life.

But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases all chances she had at a normal existence. Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save the entire race of cryptids. But can she?

My Thoughts:

This was an interesting introduction. But my problems were that this book felt rushed. Then there was the instant love that bothered me, nothing really happened to make her want love him. There was no romance or anything must between each other other then that one similarity. I would want to say more about but I don't want to give out spoilers. What I did love was the idea of cryptids and how it ties to ghosts. I thought the characters were good but wished there was more to them. The story line was great and I think that this book is good for an introductory. Oh and with an ending like that I'll be sure to check out the next books to see what happens. See I'm going to rate this book 3.5 because I really liked the book so far but I wasn't in love with it. I hope to see more from this series in the next book.