Behold the Bones by Natalie C. Parker

Series: Beware the Wild (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Southern Gothic

Subjects: swamps, folklore, supernatural, mystery, ghosts, spirits, ghost hunters

Setting: Sticks, Louisiana (A town near a swamp/Bayou)

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Candy (Candace) Craven Pickens

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 356 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Candace “Candy” Pickens has been obsessed with the swamp lore of her tiny Louisiana town for…forever.

That doesn’t mean Candy’s a believer, however. She and her friends entered the swamp at the start of summer and left it changed, but Candy’s the only one who can’t see or feel the magical Shine. She’s also the only one who can’t see the ghosts that have been appearing in town ever since. So Candy concentrates on other things—real things. Like fighting with her mother and plotting her escape from her crazy town.

But ghosts aren’t the only newcomers in Sticks, Louisiana. The King family arrives like a hurricane: in a blur and unwanted—at least by Candy. Mr. King is intent on filming the rumored ghostly activity for his hit TV show, Local Haunts. And while Candy can’t ignore how attracted she is to eighteen-year-old Gage King and how much his sister, Nova, wants to be friends, she’s still suspicious of the family.

As Candy tries to figure out why the Kings are really in town and why the swamp now seems to be invading every crack in her logical, cynical mind, she stumbles across the one piece of swamp lore she didn’t know. It’s a tale that’s more truth than myth, and may have all the answers…and its roots are in Candy’s own family tree.”

My Review: Behold the Bones is a companion novel to Beware the Wild, which was told in Sterling POV. This book is from the POV of Sterling’s skeptic friend, Candy Pickens. It’s set in the small town of Sticks in the Louisiana bayou. Candy, unlike most of the town, can’t see the wasting Shine. Sterling says that the Shine actually goes out of its way to avoid Candy. Candy also can’t see the ghost that other folk are seeing.

Candy is scientifically minded and very much a skeptic of the southern superstitions. She sees the swamp stories that she’s read and herd as a fun thrills used for manipulation. Until people in Sticks report ghost siting’s that sound like the ones from the stories. Candy feels left out because she can’t see the ghost. Sterling, Abigail and Candy trek into the swamp to the Shine tree and try performing a ritual that Candy hope will let her see the Shine. Nothing seems to happen.

A few days later the producer and star of the hit TV show, Local Haunts, Mr. Roosevelt King moves into the Lillard house historical site and they renovate it. Sticks is now in the spotlight. Mr. King hopes to film his show there and find answers to what’s happening. Candy meets his children: Gage, an attractive 18-year-old guy, Nova, his sister who’s in Candy’s grade, and their kid brother Thad. 

Candy  (and the whole town) goes to a gala for Gage’s 18^th birthday. A ghost crashes the party and it’s the first ghost Candy’s ever truly sited. She touches the ghost and the ghost disappears and now the whole town thinks she’s got a superpower for banishing ghosts. It’s caught on camera and Mr. King wants it for his show and Candy believe that this will ruin her life. Candy wants out of Sticks and she doesn’t want any country baggage following her.

Natalie C. Parker really knows how to write a southern story full of creepy atmosphere. I’ve never been to the South before (unless Kentucky counts), but her books make you feel like you’re there. Since the book is set in late summer, you can imagine the sticky heat and stick that the swamp must bring. Sometimes in summer, it feels like that here in Illinois too (we have lots of mashes and it gets very humid). The swamp becomes like a character in itself. The Shine is some kind of magic that lives in the swamp and comes from a cherry tree that’s always in bloom.

Candy’s perspective is actually more interesting than I remember Sterling’s being. Sterling described by Candy actually seems a lot more peppy and sweet than I remember, possibly because she got together with Heath, and also she’s got her brother back. Abigail is very quiet and she’s African American and like girls. I forgot about her in the first book. Anyways, these three girls and a great bond of friendship. Sometimes things become strained. Candy’s sometimes to bold, and Sterling is like the glue and Abigail tends to be bottled up. They make friends with Nova King because she seems nice, but she may actually just want their help and information.

These books are really enjoyable and fun. If you enjoyed paranormal stories set in the south, like Beautiful Creature, The Magnolia League, Ghost Huntress, or TV shows like the Originals, you may enjoy this. Also, if you love anything related to New Orleans or Louisiana, swamps and gators. Even horror stories not set in the south, like the Creeping.

Cover Art Review: I love the colors of this cover. The Payne’s gray-blue and magenta contrast really well. There’s a face in the fog above Behold with eyes made of branches. The title treatment is cool and creepy.

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Series: The Madman’s Daughter (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Gothic Horror/Historical Fiction/Sci-fi

Subjects: retellings, experiments, scientists, love, death

Setting: An estate in the Scottish Moors

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Juliet Moreau

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 388 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Balzer & Bray

Summary/ product description: “After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.”

My Review:  As I’ve said before, this is the only Historical Fiction series I have enjoyed, and the only hist fic series I had read to completion. These books are dark, gothic tales with a mix of horror and sci-fi. They are very different from most Hist Fic YA out there that usually fall into two categories: Steam Punk/Hist Fantasy and Realistic. These books have mystery and romance and horrifying acts of science.

A Cold Legacy is the third and final book in the Madman’s Daughter trilogy. All the books are retelling of classics that have Doctor in the title. This one is the retelling of Dr. Frankenstein. The first book was a retelling of the Island or Dr. Moreau and the second was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Retellings are wonderful because they take elements from stories you already know about and change them or twist them in some way. I personally have not read any of the books that these books are based off of, but I’ve seen some movies.

Set with a backdrop of the Scottish moors, a cold legacy is especially creepy. It’s winter in the book. Likely February. There’s misty fog and storms, but no snow. The setting becomes a character itself. There’s characters from the previous book and new characters. There are many twists and unexpected ones at that. I was caught by surprise by some of the events. One near then end didn’t surprise me so much, but it wasn’t fixed the way I thought it would be.

Without spoiling the book, I can tell you that Juliet learn about the secrets of Dr. Frankenstein from Elizabeth and she tries to revive someone. Lucy becomes less of an airhead and more determined and important. Juliet and Montgomery plan to have a wedding at the mansion. There is no long triangle issue at all here. Juliet helps Lucy find a way to rid Edward of the Beast since Lucy and Edward love each other, and the Beast is still obsessed with Juliet. Stuff happens in this book. The climax is epic and the story isn’t open ended, but I would like to read an enovella from a different character’s POV. I can’t wait to read Megan’s next series, The Cage. If she can make Hist Fic interesting to me, then I’m sure her regular sci-fi will be just as awesome.

Cover Art Review: Interesting landscape image. The girl is wearing a red bow on her dress like the previous books. The cover when printed looks too dark compared to the image online.

~Haley G

My blog:

http://breathlessbookreviews.blogspot

Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker

Series: Beware the Wild (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Southern Gothic

Subjects: swamps, folklore, supernatural, mystery, missing persons, memory, siblings

Setting: Sticks, Louisiana (A town near a swamp/Bayou)

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Sterling Saucier

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 327 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “It's an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp -- the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn't return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp's done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance -- and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her.

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance.”

My Review:  I went into Beware the Wild without knowing what it was about. I only knew that it was paranormal and set in the Louisiana bayou. With such a creepy cover, I couldn’t help but be interested. I started out by introducing us to our main character Sterling whose brother disappeared into the swamps only hours before. She’s pretty different from the usual heroines I read about. She’s was starting to develop an anorexic eating disorder ever since her brother decided he was going away to college. Her father was abusive and her brother protected her. Now they have an African American stepfather who’s a deputy of their town’s police department. Her mother is much happier with Darold that she was with Sterling’s dad.

Sterling and her best friend Candy are looking out at the swamp and talking about Phin. Sterlign sees swamp lights and Candy tells her it’s called the Wasting Shine, and usually only the drunk and crazy claim to see it. Candy is a very logical girl. When Sterling is at home and by her self in her yard, a girl comes out of the swamps and everyone believed her to be Sterling’s sister and everyone has forgotten Phin. A person disappears and you are the only one who remembers then, and they are replaced. People though Sterling was losing it to heat stroke or lack of food. They say Lenora May has always been her sister. Sterling knows she’s not crazy. I wanted to know what happened and with that the story pulled me in. It was like something out of the Twilight Zone. That’s only about 30 pages into the book. It starts out with a bang, for lack of a better phrase.

As the book goes on we find out what happened and who or what’s behind it. There’s lots of creepy, disturbing and heat wrenching things that happen. Also there some romance between Heath and Sterling. I love the complete uniqueness of this book. I realize it’s a standalone and I won’t get more, but wish there was more. It’s this amazing mix of mystery and southern gothic. It takes folklore to a new level. I love stories and show about the bayou and swamps. I never been to the south and now I’m intrigued. I would never venture into the swamp without being in a larger group because I heard all these stories on TV about people being lost forever, or losing time. Lots of ghost stories. And alligators, of course. There are gators in this book too.

If you pick up Beware the Wild, you are in for a unique treat. If you enjoyed paranormal stories set in the south, like Beautiful Creature, Ghost Huntresses, or TV shows like the Originals, you may enjoy this. Also, if you love anything related to New Orleans or Louisiana, swamps and gators, then check it out.

Cover Art Review: Love the creep title treatment for the word wild. The swamp tree background with the wasting shine looking like fireflies is very cool.