The Restorer

Amelia is a sheltered southern girl. Who has always followed her father's rules.
1. Never acknowledge the Dead
2. Never stray far from Hallowed Ground
3. Never get close to someone who is haunted by the Dead.
4. Never tempt fate.
But when Devlin walks into her life all these rules go out the window and Amelia realizes just how little she knows.

This book was entertaining. The Mystery was great. You are constantly questioning yourself and after deciding who the killer was you find out how wrong you where. There was definitely some forbidden attraction going on and the sexual tension is well developed in mini scenes. But I had some issues with the character development.

Amelia is supposed to be 27 years old, with a career, and a business that she has committed her life to. And yet the relationship with her parents. How they've protected her over the years and have kept secrets. Has stunted her growth as a woman, as an individual. The fact she follows their restrictions and does not ask questions, contradicts with the inquisitive investigator she becomes while working. It doesn't fit for me. I understand a character who wants to appease and please her parents, believe me I understand that, but not questioning them. It dosent mix with the woman she is while working. These actions do not seem genuine to this character. After I saw the relationship she had with her parents and how much she allowed THEM to control it. It made it hard for me to connect with Amelia.

I also had an issue with the scene at his house. Amanda Stevens did not follow through with the build up of sexual tension. Which is common in a series, build the tension more and more until they finally combust. But the scene felt fake and tainted. It unsettled me especially with how much she was paying attention to the ghosts and not Devlin. It implied that she did not have control of what she was doing, but it was never confirmed by the author. It made me very uncomfortable and I have replayed the scene in my head over and over again.

Amanda Stevens wrote a compelling mystery and I will read the next one in the series. I want answers. But I am not drivin with the need to start the next book ASAP, like I normally am with a really good book.

I picked this one up in October hoping to bring a little spookiness to my reading, but not so much that I had trouble sleeping. This one fit the bill much better than I anticipated.

The atmosphere of this book is so chilling. I felt like I was held in suspense the entire time I was reading it and it just gives off that kind of gothic spookiness. It also helps that the wind has been crazy, so the sound of loud wind while reading this book just put me in the right state of creepiness.

The story is mysterious and I kept trying to figure out what was going on. This isn't a mystery in the strictest sense, because she doesn't try to solve anything, she is just helping on the sidelines and does little things that move the bad guy to make moves. So, it makes it more of a horror genre than a mystery. Still, reading about her as she has to live with ghosts trying to get her attention and a murderer on the loose kept me hooked.

The only thing I wasn't too keen on is how Amelia acts/thinks about Devlin. She can't control herself around him, can barely speak around him it seems, and it causes eye-rolling on occasion. Sometimes it does seem to help the atmosphere though.

I totally recommend this to someone looking for a book with a spooky atmosphere, but not anything truly scary. It is an entertaining read and definitely one that convinced me to continue reading the series.