This is part two of the Darkest Powers series (Book One being The Summoning). So this story picks up pretty much where the first left off. Minus the zombies.

Chloe again finds herself in captivity and has to devise and escape. Who she brings along with her on the escapade is surprising. Good guys become bad, bad guys become good, and Chloe discovers early on who can be trusted.

We learn more about supernaturals and what they can do. There is more magic from the witches, more Changing from the werewolves, and more accidental raising of the dead from the necromancer.

I love the relationship between Chloe and Derek and I wish it would grow into something else. Though there seems to be something brewing between Simon and Chloe as well. Talk about sibling rivalry.

Unfortunately, there is no further mention of the raising of the thousand corpses from the cemetary nearby. On the plus side, the cliffhanger isn’t as bad as book #1. We know that this is going to be a trilogy so we can expect to be left with the feeling of wanting more. At least this one didn’t end mid-sentence.

Which I know that the first didn’t, but it certainly felt that way.

Good read, good edition to the series and I look forward to the finale.

This is the story about a clairvoyant named Cassandra. She has the ability to see, hear, and speak to ghosts. She also gets unpredictable glimpses at the future and the past. She owns and wears a jewelled necklace that is haunted by a ghost named Billy Joe. She was raised by the vampire mafia.

Because vampires are able to ‘feed’ without actually biting, almost everyone is unaware of their existence. Cassie also has a hard time deciphering between myth and legend as she has been told one too many bedtime stories.

In Touch the Dark, Cassie comes across everything including vampires, Mages, Were-animals, witches, fairies, and ghosts obviously. She’s on the run from all of these things it seems. Everyone wants to use her for something or other, or they just want her dead. So she’s got the Vampire Senate looking for her along with the Vampire Mafia and two Mage Circles (one good and one evil). Each group seems to be aligning themselves with some other mythical being.

At this point, I don’t fully have an opinion despite the fact that I’ve completed the novel. So much happens but so little happens. It took half of the book (no exaggeration) before it picked up. The first half of the book is just explanations on how everything works. This is a bunch of stories from Cassandra’s past. The second half, things get quite interesting as the story starts moving forward. I wish the whole book kept this pace, but so much is needed to be explained prior to.

It was a different perspective on vampirism but I found it hard to stay captivated. I almost feel that this should have been two separate books. But that would make the first book, more like a rule book and by itself would probably be boring.

I also found that there was nothing to relate to. This might not sound so surprising as it’s a book about fictional and mythical characters, but there should always be something we can relate to. There was a very graphic sex scene towards the end. I was slightly embarrassed to be reading this on the public transit for fear that someone was looking over my shoulder. I loved the scene and how it was written, so no disrespect, but considering Cassie’s history, it’s just not believable.

Without giving too much of the story away, I feel that anyone with Cassie’s sexual history would also not be able to relate to this scene. Considering that this is the only part in the story that’s remotely realistic, it’s kind of disappointing that it’s not ‘relatable’.

I guess I wanted more in some parts and less in others. Overall the book isn’t bad, but I’d recommend reading it when you can focus all of your attention. Because if you blink, you might miss something important.

This is the story of Chloe Saunders, a young teen who hits puberty and begins seeing ghosts. The trouble is that she can’t tell the difference between living and non-living, and she isn’t fully aware that she has this new ability. After an unfortunate incident at high school, she ends up in a group home for teens with mental disorders.

She is quickly diagnosed and told that her ‘hallucinations’ will go away with time and medication. After talking to the other teens, she soon feels misdiagnosed but isn’t sure whether to believe that she is ‘crazy’ and hallucinating or actually seeing the ghosts of dead people.

I found this book quite exciting and I could see it being made into a movie. It was a page turner for me because I absolutely loved Chloe’s attitude and sarcasm. Her aunt Lauren bothered me a bit because she didn’t seem to listen to Chloe. I really wanted her to show support as Chloe goes through these changes, whether she understood or not. I also really enjoyed Derek. He’s got quite the attitude as well but he seems to keep Chloe on her toes and he challenges her to think outside the box. Once you get past his rough exterior, he’s really not so bad.

What I didn’t like about this book, was the extreme cliffhanger. I do like books that end this way, but where the story ends, it just seems too soon. I will be reading the next book in the series for sure, and I recommend this book to anyone who likes the paranormal. It will raise the hair on your skin for sure!

This is a story about four people who stay at a place called Hill House. The house itself was designed and built by a crazy, abstract thinker. Everything is angled and crooked but only slightly, not enough to be visible. The house is said to be corrupt and never inhabited for more than three days at a time.

Dr. Montague searched high and low for the best haunted house for his experiment. He chooses three others to join him in the house. Eleanor (Nell) and Theodora were chosen for their unique past experiences with clairvoyance and poltergeists. Luke is the fourth who agrees to stay in Hill House as the rightful heir to watch over Dr. Montague’s ‘experiments.’

The caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Dudley make brief appearances throughout the day but never past sundown. The four are joined by Mrs. Montague and her right-hand man, Arthur. Each night they find a new paranormal occurrence and we’re left to wonder if it’s all in their heads, or if it is truly possible for a house to be so corrupt and evil.

I chose this novel because it appears on a top 5 scariest books ever written list. I believe that this probably should NOT have made the cut. I found it to be more humourous than anything – particularly the “introduction” scene where everyone declares who they are based on who they are not, “I must be Eleanor, because you are wearing the red sweater.” I thought this was clever.

After some time, I found that Eleanor’s insecurities become quite annoying, and her conspiracy theories are a little off the wall. Maybe that was the point, to show how she slowly goes crazy in the house, but I found myself rolling my eyes more than anything. I also wanted Mrs. Montague to die a horrible death. THAT would have made for a great ending, or at least have some sort of secret affair between her and Arthur.

But alas, my overactive imagination has gotten the best of me. The end of this novel leaves you saying “that’s it?”

This is a classic novel, supposedly thrilling in the sense of the word. From what I gather it’s about a woman who babysits two very odd children.

The two kids (brother and sister) have been expelled from school for reasons unknown and have no one to care for them. Not really sure how the woman gets the job but she’s basically a live-in nanny.

Shortly after her “custody” the woman realizes that she can see ghosts. These ghosts are targeting the children and the woman feels it’s her duty to protect them.

 This story is strange, but it’s not scary in the least. Maybe it was in it’s time, but certainly not now. I found it to be overly wordy. “I said to the man, because I felt like saying so, what a wonderful day it is, if I do say so myself, which I indeed did say to the man.” Maybe this is also a trait of classical writing? This is NOT an example from the book – I don’t dare pick that retched thing up again – it’s my personal example of “wordyness.”

I believe the point of the story is to ask the question “are ghosts for real?” If you already have an answer for that question then don’t waste your time with the book. If you have a curiosity in the subject matter and a passion for classics – this may be the book for you. I won’t dismiss it entirely, it really just wasn’t my style.