A dark story with fun characters and a healthy dose of mystery.
937125
This book was a fun read and full of interesting characters! The world that is created is really fascinating and has cool lore and history. The plot builds up a dark atmosphere and was really exciting and had a good deal of mystery and some cool twists. Recommended for any fans of the fantasy genre.
2584506
With a "used to be a nun" heroine tuned PI, this book offers a new and intriguing character to follow. The story offers quirks, mystery, drama and a winning sleuth -- all great ingredients for a good mystery. The writing is a little rough in one or two places but the story carries the book. I'd read the next one in the series without hesitation.
4642675
Fiona and her "brother" Reed live in a tiny village in a simple medieval-feeling culture where the magic is fairly subtle but woven deeply into society.  The book is the story of their discovering who they are and what role they will play as they mature.  There are many dark aspects of the story, including incest and the death of a major character, but the tone is very calm and comfortable.  I liked the variety of characters the author brought to life, and the way they pulled together as a community.

I look forward to reading the other books in this series, and anything else Ms. Shinn writes.  Sure, I'd rather have adult novels from her existing series, but the occasional young adult book is a nice change of pace.
966874
I love this story.  The characters are raw, diverse and weird.  The writing is different and refreshing.  I loved the strange story filled with things that sometimes made me feel uncomfortable.  I loved the characters who were somewhere between sick and awesome.  If you like urban noir type books you will love this.
2318100
Fast paced, funny, entertaining characters, and a dark mystery. What more could anyone want in a book? Ill be waiting for a second story
1296507
HANGING HANNAH is the second mystery in this enjoyable series. Our sleuth is Jane Stuart. She is a sensitive widow and mother of one. She is also a literary agent, which adds some interesting elements to the story for those  who love to learn more about the book business. Winky is her cat. She helps  Jane to solve mysteries in the most unusual ways.
During a birthday party  Jane is throwing for her son, there is a gruesome discovery. When the  mystery begins, everyone reminds Jane that she is the new Miss Marple and  expects her to get involved. One of the perks for getting involved is  meeting a handsome returning detective. Jane juggles her job as parent,  friend, agent and sleuth with more grace than she realizes. She is a  strong, nonsense character surrounded by other well developed and yet to be  developed secondary characters.
I enjoyed this cozy so much I plan to  follow the series in the future. Besides some terrific series characters,  the mystery itself was fascinating. It blended in with Jane and other  characters lives without loosing ground. It took a turn or two that I  wasn't expecting and the ending was a remarkable surprise.
4384698
While I enjoy dark, disturbing paranormal books, sometimes I am glad to find something a little more light-hearted. That is exactly what The Ghost and the Goth is to me. It is a very cute and entertaining YA ghost story that I enjoyed much more than I expected.

There are two protagonists in this book and they are both center stage thanks to alternating points of view. First, you meet Alona who is the ultimate mean girl of her high school. She is pretty, popular, and obsessed with image. Things go awry for Alona when she is run over by a bus and discovers that she has become a ghost. This brings in Will, a loner, who just wants to graduate and leave high school forever. His inherited skills at seeing and talking to ghosts, like the newly deceased Alona, have resulted in his introverted and paranoid nature.

I really liked both of these character...to my utmost surprise when it came to Alona. The author does a great job of portraying each person's unique voice and helping readers understand why each one of them acts the way that they do. What was also nice was that both Will and Alona develop as people throughout the book rather than staying the cliches that they are associated with at the beginning.

I also love opposites attract romances so the relationship between Will and Alona is really fascinating for me. They get on each others' nerves especially at the start, but they slowly start to realize how much they have in common and that each of them as something they can learn from the other. It is so much fun when characters start to discover new things about people they've known for years and that is definitely what happens in this book.

Another thing I loved about this book was the sense of humor. While there are some dark themes in the story, the comedy keeps everything pretty light and fun. Will is very dry and comes up with some of the funniest observations about the world around him. And Alona cracked me up with almost every page with her snarky, and sometimes mean, quips regarding her situation and her former classmates.

Overall, I really enjoyed this ghost story. The paranormal aspect is interesting and I'm excited to see where the author goes with it in the future especially with the events that happened at the end. If you are looking for a supernatural romance that doesn't take itself too seriously, I recommend you try The Ghost and the Goth.
2340896
Super fun for a darker read. Thrilling end and a cool think piece.
1175350
A little darker than a cozy mystery but not too graphic. Good story and I'm enjoying getting to know the characters.
4426571
entertaining,good characters,engaging story, and a few twists
4714467
The Queen and her only living heir, Princess Felicia, have been murdered. The Queens nephew, the evil Terric, has taken the throne and now rules by fear and death. For the people of Zanna their only hope is a myth, passed down through the generations, that the Child of the Gods will one day free them from Terrics rule.

Low Fantasy would have to be one of my favourite reads and The Bloodstone Key didn't disappoint.
Other reviewers have mentioned that the start of the story is confusing and I will have to agree. Its like hang on, what just happened? But this is all part of the mystery. The Bloodstone Key is full of mystery and the full explanation of what happened on that fateful night comes later in the story. So don't despair if you feel a little lost, all will be revealed.
The Bloodstone Key is shrouded in mystery, romance, suspense and danger. The characters are likeable and well developed which makes you want them to survive and prosper. My favourite characters being little Henry, Matthew, Hamond, Edwin and David.
I found the violence is kept to a minimum with more telling than showing as the main theme kept to one of hope and courage.
There are brief appearances of mythical creatures and minimal magic, so maybe not for High Fantasy fans.
A wonderful story for fans of good overcoming evil and love overcoming adversity.
4884697
One of my favorite types of mysteries include those with a sane protagonist and lots of goofy characters.  This book doesn't disappoint.  The mystery is good and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Boyer's books.
2064019
It's Halloween and the Members of the Comic Book Club, (that meets at the Chocolates and Chapters), seem to be  involved in a murder.  When one of the members is held in connection with a woman's murder, Erica and Michelle start asking questions.

I found the writing in this book to be smooth and it caught my attention in the first line.  I enjoy that you see more characters than only those necessary for the murder mystery.  The family and friends who surround Michelle and Erica make the story and the main characters fully involved individuals that I want to know.

Watching out for the next book.
2286759
Dark and twisty, but you won't want to put it down.  This is a new world and it is all about human evils, with a version of a romance thrown in.  Violence, murder, and other horror are every day living and for some they don't just live in it, they thrive in it. The characters are complex and the story is well developed.

The story line is interesting and I want to read the next book, but I must also say there was quite a bit of spelling and formatting errors in this book. I checked it on my iPad, iPhone and kindle and the errors appeared on all three.
1753623
I read some of the other reviews, and don't understand the people who didn't enjoy it. Of course it has a "dark theme" because it's about domestic violence... and it's a serious topic that was refreshing in a mystery because it's a serious problem that people constantly hide from. Although I've never experienced it, I know enough about it to understand the story perfectly. The characters were very clear as always. As I read it, I learned to despise the abused victim's mother. The family dynamics and characters made for an interesting story. This is another great read.
2822012
I enjoyed this book. It introduces an interesting and quirky set of characters, and, in this book, we see that there is a lot more in each one's backstory that has not yet been revealed. There is a little magic, a vampire that is everyone in town's good friend, an internet psychic, and much more. There is also a murder mystery that the residents of this tiny Texas town must solve.

I am looking forward to the second book in this new series that will be out later this year.
2993315
A really interesting, and well done mystery. I really liked the atmosphere, and tone of the story. It was dark, gritty, and there was a good balance of motivations, and personalities in the story so it never felt like there were characters that were too good to believed or just plain pure evil either. Sure there are characters that aren't good, but nothing like one that was just evil for the sake of evil.

I did have a hard time buying the "love" Henry supposedly felt for Hugh Paris. I knew they had a connection, but Henry never fully trusted Hugh, and refused to believe many of the things Hugh told him while he was still alive. I wondered if love was almost an excuse, and if guilt was more the driving factor. I like that there is no clear cut romantic relationship, and that this story is very clearly a mystery.

I look forward to reading more of these books. I like the messy feeling to the plot. Too often mystery stories have conclusions that are too simple, and pat. The questions have easy answers, and nothing feels unfinished. This felt much more like real life too me, and I appreciated that.