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.

Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Series: Assassin’s Heart (bk. 1)

Genera(s): High Fantasy/Romance

Subjects: assassins, murder, revenge, adventure, gods and goddesses, love, supernatural, ghosts, spirits

Setting: The kingdom of Lovero

POV/Tense: 1^st person, past tense: Lea (Oleander) Saldana

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 420 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.”

My Review:  I had no idea what to expect with this book. When I first saw it coming out, I didn’t think it would be my kind of fantasy. The cover was kind of interesting. Then I read the description. I was a bit more intrigued. I tried reading it and I was pulled in. This is a really awesome unique fantasy story.

There are assassins, Families, ghosts and gods. Lea’s a Saldana and bear a mask that’s half bone white and half black with a design, like the rest of her Family. She has dirty blond hair and brown eye and she’s a Clipper, an assassin who takes jobs to murder in the name of the goddess Safraella. Lea is romantically involved with a rival Family member, Val Da Via, who’s blonde, sexy and arrogant. This forbidden romance between rival families has the influence of the play Romeo and Juliet.

Lea’s Family is killed in a fire set by the Da Vias and she’s the last Saldana left. Lea wants revenge and meets with the king, who’s a friend of her now dead father. He gives her the location of her only living relative, her uncle. Lea travels to another country full of canals and angry ghosts that haunt the night. There she meets dark-haired Alessio (Les). He’s a wannabe Clipper. She agrees to train him in exchange for his help in making a fire-bomb.

A romance develop between them. I really liked Alessio. I know rightaway her was going to be important, even before we know his name. Just based off the way he was described in the market. He’s funny and sweet. Lea’s a badass and trains him. It made me think of Wren and Callum from Reboot, or other relationships from YA books. I enjoy the humor and banter between them. The ending was pretty good. I found out there’s a sequel that possibly a companion. I’m guessing it’s from another character, maybe in the future (Allegra maybe…)

I recommend this to fans of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Young Elites or Legend by Marie Lu, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page, The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Defiance by C.J. Redwine, Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch, and Shadow and Bone by Leugh Bardugo.

Cover Art Review: This cover put me off because I didn’t understand it. Now I read the book and know that’s the holy coin of the Saldanas and not some strange medallion. I like the velvet texture of the paper.

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

Series: Standalone spin-off to Hex Hall

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Mystery

Subjects: supernatural, ghosts, hauntings, spirits, hunters, magic, witches

Setting: mainly in Ideal, Mississippi

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Izzy Brannik

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 297 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover originally, now in Paperback

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!”

My Review:  This is a very fun spin-off. I am disappointed that there is no sequel to it since the ending wasn’t completely satisfying, with Izzy’s missing sister. There’s no cliffhanger, so it works as a standalone. Izzy Brannik was a character introduced in Spellbound, the final Hex Hall novel. She was a tween in that book and now she’s almost 16. So this takes place a few years after the events of Spellbound.

Finley, her sister went missing and her mother send Izzy out on her first job alone. She goes after a vampire, but her mom has to save her. They find out about a violent haunting in Ideal, Mississippi and move there. There’s a deadly ghost at the high school and Izzy gets her first chance of going to a real school. She makes friends with the ghost-hunting club member Romy, Dex and Anderson.

She learns about what happened to the biology teacher that was killed. Another student in threatened similarly. Also Izzy feel magic when she touches Dex. It’s very usually since she can usually sense Prodigium at a distance, not only by touch. So, what is Dex? He’s quirky, fashionably dressed, and likes to talk fancy, but he’s not a vampire or warlock and he doesn’t smell like a werewolf. Izzy’s falling for him. He reminds me a lot of Archer (who had blue eyes too) with his humor.

I really enjoyed this and the series that it came from. Rachel Hawkins’s humor is pretty awesome. Sure, Izzy is more tough-girl than Sophie, who was a total smart-alec. I notice that she uses “Fair enough” too much and family disfunctionality stuff. Some humor is dialogue get repetitive, but I still love it. If you never read the Hex Hall series and love magic and paranormal romance, then you should check it out.

Cover Art Review: Funky and fun like the covers for the previous books.