ghosts - My Shelf Confessions

Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

May 6, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 15 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A super fun paranormal mystery with a side of ahhh sweet.

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!

School Spirits was just what I needed after having read other heavier fantasy. In comparison it was a breathe of fresh air. It was light and funny with endearing somewhat innocent characters.

I know this is categorized as young adult but I would really place it in between middle grade and YA. Mostly because even though these teens are about 16 they seem relatively naive to a lot of things where romance is concerned. I didn’t mind this at all but I’m sure some readers might have issue with it.

Izzy Brannick is descended from a family that make it their life’s mission to hunt and destroy paranormal baddies. Her sister, Finley recently disappeared on a job Izzy was supposed to be helping her with. Now all that’s left of the Brannick family is Izzy and her mom, who seems to think Izzy needs to take things easy. So she packs them off to a small town for ghost haunting which is supposed to be an extremely easy job.

Things get complicated when Izzy starts to make friends despite herself. Her friends are a misfit crew of wannabe ghost hunters, the Paranormal Management Society, PMS – none are cranky that I know of haha.. The members: flamboyant Romy, charming Dex, and distracted Anderson. I adored Dex and his eccentric personality. He feels like an old soul trapped in a young body, he is mischievous and you can see the possible romantic spark between him and Izzy.

The other character I really loved was Torin, a young, yet very old warlock trapped in a mirror. I have a total weakness for bad boys with loose morals.

This adventure moves fast especially considering it wasn’t very action packed. When I finished I immediately bought a copy of Hex Hall also by Rachel Hawkins which School Spirits is a spin off from.

Tabitha the Pabkins

School Spirits

Find: Amazon | BD |Goodreads
Follow: Website

• This advance reader copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 4.5 rating, amazingtastic, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: ghosts, Hex Hall, magic mirror, Rachel Hawkins, School Spirits, spirits, vampires, warlocks, witches, young adult

Review: Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

April 5, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 4 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: Care for a side of pie with that greasy vampire & werewolf? These zombies do!

Bloodier than Fried Green Tomatoes!
Funnier than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Welcome to Gil’s All Night Diner, where zombie attacks are a regular occurrence and you never know what might be lurking in the freezer. . . .

Duke and Earl are just passing through Rockwood county in their pick-up truck when they stop at the diner for a quick bite to eat. They aren’t planning to stick around–until Loretta, the eatery’s owner, offers them one hundred dollars to take care of her zombie problem. Given that Duke is a werewolf and Earl’s a vampire, this looks right up their alley.

But the shambling dead are just the tip of a particularly spiky iceberg. Seems someone’s out to drive Loretta from the diner, and more than willing to raise a little hell on earth if that’s what it takes. Before Duke and Earl get to the bottom of the diner’s troubles, they’ll run into such otherworldly complications as undead cattle, an amorous ghost, a jailbait sorceress, and the terrifying occult power of pig Latin.

And maybe–just maybe–the End of the World, too.

Gory, sexy, and flat-out hilarious, Gil’s All Fright Diner will tickle your funny bone–before ripping it out of its socket!

Gil’s All Fright Diner – the title makes you think WTF is this? – and that cover! I admit that is why I bought it. Come on just look at that baby – There is a huge one eyed monster coming out of that Diner! I love monsters. As soon as I saw it I was like “Oh jeezuz I have to read this!” Maybe thats just me but I’m a total cover whore and I never can tell what I’m going to be attracted to. One thing for sure this had just the right amount of playful and monster for me. I was pleasantly surprised that the main characters were total atypical representations of the paranormal creatures that are so popular right now.

I considered this a paranormal comedy (maybe its a spoof or parody I don’t know) but whatever it is – it was exactly my cup of tea. Our two heroes, Duke and Earl – a werewolf and Vampire, heck if you could even call them heroes haha – are the saddest examples of the famed werewolf and vampire species I have ever read and yet they were PERFECT! Imagine a redneck, at least I couldn’t help that’s how I picture him and you have Duke the werewolf, then picture a greasy dirty looking guy no one wants to date because he just looks that sketchy and that’s Earl our vampire. Can you tell I love him? Toss some zombies in the mix and how could I not love Gil’s All Fright Diner? Yes I know zombies are a bit overdone these days but this isn’t about zombies they are just the bonus cream on top of this pie in your face full of laughs. Plus I have a thing for zombies, I can’t seem to get enough.

There is a crazy teenage girl. She has some mad delusions of grandeur and taking over the world. Talk about a major biznatch, she is trying to call some pretty nasty funk into our reality. And what is a crazy villain without a dopey sidekick, thats right she has a horny lapdog of a boyfriend who will do anything for her…most likely just for a bit of a hump. But the world could come to an end and our unlikely pair Duke and Earl has what it takes to save us from this teeny bopper.

Oh yes, and there is even a tad bit of romance in here for you folks who like a little bit of star crossed love. That’s right I’m talking ghosts and undead vampy – how the hell is that going to work out? It just does.

Gil’s All Fright Diner will give you some damn good laughs and some ‘ah shucks thats sweet Wilbur’ type moments. All’s well that ends well I say and I walked away wanting more. I will be looking into more of this A.Lee Martinez!

Quote I Liked:

“When you cross over into the weird stuff, there’s no going back. Hector has a theory on it. Calls it the law of ‘Anomalous Phenomena Attraction.’ He explained it to me once. Didn’t really pay attention, but it boils down to ‘weird shit pulls in more weird shit.”

Tabitha the Pabkins

Gil’s All Fright Diner

Find: Amazon | BD |Goodreads
Follow: Website | Twitter

• This book was personally purchased. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 5 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: A. Lee Martinez, ghosts, Gil's All Fright Diner, vampires, Zombies

Review: Dark Souls by Paula Morris

September 4, 2012 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 2 Comments

Dark Souls
by Paula Morris

Welcome to York, England.
Mist lingers in the streets.
Narrow buildings cast long shadows.
This is the most haunted city in the world. . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won’t run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York’s hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy — one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York’s haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous — and deadly — is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery — and find redemption.

Mystery and ghost story that tries for depth but misses the mark by just a smidge.

Miranda and her brother Rob were in a car accident that their friend didn’t walk away from. Now, Rob is claustrophobic and ever since that night Miranda has been able to see ghosts.

Their family goes on a trip to England in an attempt to alleviate some tensions. Unfortunately, for Miranda this is one haunted city. The ghosts are everywhere, across the street from the flat they are renting and practically around every corner.

Miranda meets a mysterious boy, Nick, who has the same ability to see ghosts that she does. He shows her around town and tells her about what he knows of their ability. He also has an uncanny way of disappearing or appearing.

Essentially, Nick is the mystery part of this story. Who is he, why does he keep interacting with Miranda, and what is he up to? Interesting yes, but the interactions aren’t quite enough, or built as well as they could be.

Personally, I didn’t feel there was anything remarkable about Miranda or Nick. The story was rather slow until the action quickly picked up the pace at the end with an unexpected turn of events. It had a good ending that I didn’t expect, that salvaged things for me a bit. Plus the fact that I’m glad it wasn’t a YA romance, but overall, it lacked that certain something. Whether it was an absence of character building, or something else, I just never felt like I really got to know Miranda or build a real attachment to any of the characters.

Tabitha the Pabkins

Find Dark Souls by Paula Morris: AMAZON | BD |GOODREADS

Follow Paula Morris: TWITTER | WEBSITE

*Review Copy provided by Publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note there are affiliate links in this post, we thank you for your support.

Filed Under: 2.5, book review, Pabkin's Reviews, paranormal fiction, young adult Tagged With: Dark Souls, ghosts, Paula Morris, young adult

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

August 27, 2012 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 11 Comments

Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood #2)
by Kendare Blake

It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong…these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

Engaging sequel with less punch but just as much oomph.

Girl of Nightmares was an excellent follow up to Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood. It tells us what happens after, which I was definitely curious about. It builds more on the relationships between Cas, Carmen and Thomas and gives us some realistic tensions between them. We even get a taste of a few high school drama moments that fit really well. Personally, even though I read a fair amount of young adult books the high school drama behavior usually just annoys me, but the bits included here were perfect.

There isn’t as much spine tingling action, or blood curdling chills as the first book, which I was somewhat disappointed in, but there are plenty of interesting tidbits to keep you turning pages. I enjoyed the new character we are introduced to in the second half of Girl of Nightmares, and would say it would be nice to see more of her. We also get to learn about the athame, it’s origins, as well as Cas’ father’s past. Though I didn’t feel there were as many creeptastic scenes, one particular scene toward the end seriously helped make up for the lack through earlier parts of the book.

However, what was really missing was more Anna. But I suppose that was the point of Girl of Nightmares after all, to find out what happened to her, so we really don’t see her until the end. Such a pity.

Overall it was a great read and I am seriously looking forward to reading anything else Kendare Blake writes.

Tabitha the Pabkins

Find Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake: AMAZON | BD |GOODREADS

Follow Kendare Blake: TWITTER | WEBSITE

*Final Copy provided by Publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Post may contain affiliate links, we thank you for your support!

Filed Under: 4 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews, young adult Tagged With: Anna Dressed in Blood, ghosts, Kendare Blake, paranormal, young adult

Review: The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki

August 10, 2012 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 9 Comments

The Ghost of Graylock
by Dan Poblocki

Does an abandoned asylum hold the key to a frightful haunting? Everyone’s heard the stories about Graylock Hall. It was meant to be a place of healing – a hospital where children and teenagers with mental disorders would be cared for and perhaps even cured. But something went wrong. Several young patients died under mysterious circumstances. Eventually, the hospital was shut down, the building abandoned and left to rot deep in the woods. As the new kid in town, Neil Cady wants to see Graylock for himself. Especially since rumor has it that the building is haunted. He’s got fresh batteries in his flashlight, a camera to document the adventure, and a new best friend watching his back. Neil might think he’s prepared for what he’ll find in the dark and decrepit asylum. But he’s certainly not prepared for what follows him home. . . . Scary, suspenseful, and surprising, Dan Poblocki’s latest ghost story will keep you turning pages deep into the dead of night.

Packed with thrills and chills to keep you in suspense and quickly turning pages!

The Ghost of Graylock was such a pleasant surprise! I enjoy a good bone chilling ghost story and this one definitely delivered. Young Neil and Bree are staying the summer with their aunts in Hedston because their mother is having a hard time coping with their father having left them all to “follow his dream” of being an actor. Neil is our main character and though it never outright says it I believe he is 12 – as it was mentioned he’s 4 years younger than his 16 year old sister Bree.

Neil is such an interesting young character, he is a thinker and its so fascinating to read how his mind works. He occasionally thinks about his mother’s behavior over the past few months in response to their father leaving and he thinks about this new mom that they’ve been seeing as a “shadow person.” He wanders if we all have a shadow person that is inside of us. I love how the author put this in because the way he works it out in his dead REALLY seems like how I would imagine a young teen thinking.

We get to the main plot because Neil likes to think of himself as a paranormal investigator, trying to emulate his favorite TV show Ghostly Investigators. So when he meets a local kid in town and hears about the closed mental hospital Graylock that is out in the woods and the ghost story tied to it – he simply must investigate and try to gather evidence. So off he goes to have a look, along with his sister, friend Wesley and his brother Eric.

While there, Neil and Bree have a close encounter and the tale takes off from there and the momentum barely slows down right up til the end. I thought because of how young the characters were that this wouldn’t be as suspenseful as it was but I have to admit there were points where I really was on the edge of my seat. There is a great mystery aspect to the book where the kids are trying to figure out who the ghost is and why it is haunting Neil and Bree. I couldn’t guess it right! – to me that’s a good thing.

Seeing them work through the mystery and trying to figure it out along with them was a treat. I didn’t figure it out until they did and I absolutely LOVED that. If you fancy a good quick ghost story this is for you – I devoured it in one night!

Tabitha the Pabkins

Find The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki: AMAZON | BD |GOODREADS

Follow Dan Poblocki: WEBSITE

*Review Copy provided by Publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: 4 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews, paranormal fiction Tagged With: asylum, Dan Poblocki, ghosts, mystery, The Ghost of Graylock, young adult