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I must have read twenty books in the last two months since I blogged last. I’ve meant to blog, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been reading at a frantic pace, unable to write between the rush to get to the next book. Now that summer is winding down and the kids are back to school, I am ready to spread my inexperienced blogging wings and pray to anyone listening that you look past the fact that I’m not a great writer and remember that I’m just a girl who loves to read.

I’ve been going through my head for days, trying to decide the book with which I should begin again. I couldn’t pick any of the new books that I’ve read in the past two months… A book that I’ve read several times over the last couple of years kept banging at the door of my subconscious, willing itself to be let into this shabby little blog. Before I start with the review, let it be said that I fiercely love this book. While I have been known to passionately share it with others, I love it in such a way that I sometimes have to remind myself not to jealously hug it to my chest, refusing to share, with demented selfishness akin to Bilbo Baggins and his Precious. So, happily, yet begrudgingly, I introduce you to the world of Amelia Gray, the Graveyard Queen.

Amelia Gray is a cemetery restorer. She also can see ghosts.

Amelia’s father, a cemetery caretaker, lays out a set of rules for Amelia on the day that she first sees a ghost at the age of nine. He tells her to never acknowledge the ghosts, never stray far from hallowed ground and to keep her distance from those who are haunted. His rules will keep her safe, his rules will keep the door to the supernatural world shut. Since the age of nine, Amelia has kept his rules.

Then Amelia is hired to restore Oak Grove Cemetery.

On the night that Detective John Devlin steps out of the fog with the spirits of a haughty, beautiful woman and child clinging to him, everything in Amelia’s world changes forever. Devlin is investigating the murder of a body found in Oak Grove and Amelia’s expertise is needed for the investigation, making it impossible to keep Amelia’s father’s rules.

“Keep your distance from those who are haunted.”

As more and more bodies are found and Amelia’s own life is at risk, her feelings for Devlin begin opening the door her father had warned her to keep shut. The spirit world is opening, surrounding Amelia and invading the privacy of her hallowed sanctuary. And there is no hiding place.

 

Amanda Stevens is, in my humble “I’m not a writer, I’m just here to read” opinion, an author who writes in a style so beautiful that it is almost lyrical. She writes in vivid colors, painting Amelia Gray’s Charleston from a palette of words so lovely that even the most unimaginative reader can see themselves in her world. I have found myself, after reading this book an embarrassing number of times, so in love with its characters that I find myself clutching the top of my shirt to keep in the sick ache in my chest when they are in pain or danger. Ms. Stevens has a way of frightening me that makes the nine year old version of me reading an R.L. Stine book under the covers come rushing back into my present day, thirty something body. The type of fear that warns you not to put your foot over the side of your bed or it will surely be eaten by the creature inhabiting the space beneath. The type of fear that leads to an embarrassing conversation with your seven year old about why on earth you were sleeping with your master bathroom light on all night. 

As the door to the supernatural opens to Amelia, the danger that lies waiting will make your heart skip, trip and race through the pages of this book. The connection Amanda Stevens is able to form between reader and character is truly amazing – one bonds with her characters as surely as if they were living, breathing personalities. While reading the Graveyard Queen series, I have often had to remind myself, while trying to dam a flood of tears, that it is a STORY for the love of all things holy. 

Whether you like to read paranormal mystery, romance or are simply a mystery/suspense kind of reader, this book is well worth the investment. But please remember, as Amelia Gray’s father says, “Once that door has been opened… it cannot be closed.”