Graveyard Queen, Book 3
Synopsis: My name is Amelia Gray.
I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I’ve broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.In order to protect myself, I’ve vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.Now I’m faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.
Review: I think I’m totally in love with this series. Amanda Stevens has a particular writing style I really enjoy. Her books are very different from some we can read. We can find some good investigations, a dark story and a well developed plot all along the story. All these elements make an exceptional novel. It’s a real pleasure to read a book like that.
I was a little disappointed in the second volume to not see Devlin, and I hoped it would have changed in this volume. What can I say? My wish has been granted and more than I thought. We learned so many things about Amelia in the second book but there is so much we could discover about Devlin. Well, you know, he is a mysterious man with a dark past. But in this novel, all the truths are reveled to us all along the story. Like always, everything was a real surprise. Amanda manages each time to astonish us with a coherent and fascinating story.
Amelia is one more time confronted to some events that are beyond her. Fremont asks her to help him for finding his murderer. Does she have any choices? Not at all! And he will stay, haunting her until she could find the truth. But this same truth will lead her in paths where she would never have dared to venture. Overhearing some conversations that will change everything she thought about the persons who evolve around her. It was really intriguing to discover what was going on, to elaborate many hypothesizes, and to understand that I was wrong all the time.
Amelia will cross the path of a really strange character: Darius. We don’t exactly know what he is, or even what his powers are but he is a dark multifaceted man. We ask ourselves a lot of questions about him, but we finally don’t have a lot of answers. He wants something from Amelia but we don’t know what, or his reasons, and I confess it was quite frustrating.
Mariama and Shani are very present in this story. We can really know who Mariama was, and I wonder how Devil was able to endure her for so long. I think we can’t even know how perverse she was from the start until the end. We can understand a lot of things thanks to this novel, about all the characters. Because of course, they all have an important part in the story and we will discover all their nature and personality.
I was hooked by the story all along the book and it was very difficult to put it down. It’s a wonderful book I can only recommend. I still hope I could learn more of course and I will read the next novel with pleasure even if I’m sure it will be difficult to wait.
Lee @shewolfreads
This is on my TBR list! Have to read The Restorer first but I am so excited about this one! Thanks for posting!
Melliane
I hope you”ll like the series as much as I did, it’s sooo interesting! Happy reading!
BookaholicCat
I’m dying to read this book! Great review and thank you for not giving spoilers.
Melliane
I can’t wait ti know your opinion about it! Thank you, I try each time, but I don’t know if it’s really always the case.
Missie, The Unread Reader
Aaaah! I just quickly scanned this review since I have yet to read book one, but I know it’s an extremely popular series that all my favorite readers have been raving about all week! I need to give it a try soon. Thanks for the recommendation, Melliane
Melliane
Ah yes you need to try it, it’s very different but I love it! I can’t wait to know your opinion, I hope you’ll like it as much as I did!
Melissa (Books and Things)
I skimmed the review since I am about to start the second book. THIRD???? NetGalley?? I’m off to check to see if it is there. Even if it’s not, you made my day letting me know about the third book. 😀
Melliane
lol I love NetGalley! (I’s true!). It was, I hope it’s always there. Happy reading! I hope I could see your review soon about it.
Lindsay
Great review! I love the cover of that book, it’s gorgeous. New folower. 🙂
If you’re interested in my blog, click here.
Melliane
thanks, you’re right the cover is really nice!
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
THis author sounds so familiar! I can’t place the first book, but I think it’s one I want. Now I’m going to have to go look and make sure. So glad to see book 3 came back strong for you. 🙂
Melliane
lol I loved all the three books. The first one is The restorer. She wrote a lot of books, I didn’t even know it but I have one in french too. (I was surprised last week when I checked my books).
Mimi Valentine
The very first line of your review caught me hook, line, and sinker — for the rest of your review, I was kind of being dragged along and thinking that it sounded so incredibly awesome! x) I kind of want to hug Devlin for all he’s worth — the dark and mysterious boys are the most fun to read about!
Amazing review, Mel! This is only one more of many awesome-sounding books that you’ve put on my TBR radar! 😉 <3
Melliane
lol, thank you Mimi, it’s really nice. You’re right, it wouldn’t be fun without them, doesn’t it? Lol always terrible to stalk blog, mainly yours too.
Mel
I love this series as well – Amanda’s writing is so atmospheric and haunting (no pun intended!)! I was very happy to hear she signed to write another trilogy about Amelia and Devlin – looking forward to those books! 🙂
Melliane
I was too, really great news! I was so afraid it was the end, there wereso many other possibilities. I can’t wait to read the next trilogy!
Rea
This series is so good! You’re one of the only other bloggers I know who’s hooked on it as much as I am! I agree about Darius – I wanted to understand him better but he was kept cloaked in shadow… too much shadow in my opinion. I could never get a good grasp of how I was supposed to feel about him.
I’m looking forward to reading whatever Amanda Stevens produces next – be that another Amelia Gray book or the first book in her YA series. ^^
Melliane
lol I’m glad I’m not the only one. He is a really interesting character, I can’t wait to learn more. Oh I didn’t know about the YA series, but I’ll look for it as well now. thanks