The Dead Children's Playground by James Kaine REVIEW

Summary:

Kylie Macklin is eager to live a normal life. Freshly moved from Florida to Alabama and finally in remission from cancer, the optimistic nine-year-old is used to dodging her overprotective mom's warnings. So when a new playmate invites her to hang out, the happy girl thinks nothing of the playground being located in a graveyard for young victims of the Spanish Flu . . . and a local serial killer.

Kayla Macklin hates starting over. Forced to relocate after her little sister's recovery, the sullen nineteen-year-old despises her new home more when she sees a terrifying vision in the nearby crypt. And as kids around town start to fall gravely ill, she begins to suspect there is something sinister at play.

Tormented by a frightening specter's ever-closer appearances, Kylie turns to her older sibling for help. But as Kayla digs into the history of the haunted ground, the twisted truths she discovers hint at a bloodthirst that can never be sated.

My Thoughts:

This was a really fun read. Kayla is at odds with her mother, who spends more time worrying about Kylie. While she understands why, she is still resentful about feeling ignored. However, you can tell she genuinely loves her little sister and will do anything for her. Kayla is the first person to believe Kylie when she reveals her ghost encounters. Since she isn't going to college, her parents tell her to get a job. She strikes an unexpected friendship with Desiree, her coworker, and meets her friends Jasmine and Ben, as well as Jasmine's grandmother Ethel.

Kylie is immediately befriended by a girl named Emily, who invites her to play at the nearby playground. But the more Kylie is around the girl, she becomes more and more unsettled. When her new friend Drew becomes sick and dies, Kylie enlists the help of her sister and friends to figure out what is really happening, and how to stop it.

This was a fun and fast read. Most of the characters were really well developed and felt like real people. One of the few things I didn't like was how little Ethel was in the book, even though she turned out to be a pretty important character. The only other gripe with this book is the ending, which seemed very unnecessary. ***SPOILERS*** Kylie's cancer comes back and she dies, which was contradictory to the demon's reasoning to why it wanted her as a host. It didn't make any sense in that context.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try.

My Rating: 4 stars 

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake REVIEW

Summary:

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the mansion has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.

Fox D'Mora is a medium, and though he is also most definitely a shameless fraud, he isn't entirely without his uses - seeing as he's actually the godson of Death.

When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with the ghost infestation, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few mindfulness practicing creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover that the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn't nearly as distinct as they thought.

My Thoughts:

After getting the hang of the consistently-switching narrative chapters, this book was a lot of fun. Viola is trying to do her job and sell a house, but Tom, the ghost haunting it, is sabotaging possible owners because he doesn't want anyone else owning his house. She turns to Fox for help, but when he reluctantly visits the house, he runs into an old flame. Piecing together the events of his past, they learn of a dangerous game immortals play once they find out Death has disappeared. To get him back, Fox will have to play to win - even though he is mortal - and find a deep connection between events of their pasts.

While I did enjoy the book, the chapter-jumping is still weird to me. It's probably the only issue I had, but it's so prevalent and off-putting. Though some of the chapters (namely the ones that time-jumped) had labels of who they were centered on, a large chunk did not, which kept throwing me off at the beginning. I did get used to it, but it's extremely frustrating to read a chapter and not know who is narrating or where/when the part is taking place. That being said, I really loved the characters and their interconnected stories. I just wish the organization was done better.

My Rating: 3 stars 

An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson REVIEW

Summary:

 Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

My Thoughts:

In contrast to the previous book I read from this author, I absolutely enjoyed this one. Laura is starting her freshman year in college, and she's even talked a professor into being able to take her senior-level course on poetry. Carmilla is enraged when Laura not only got into the class - but seemingly upstaged her on the poetry she wrote. This starts a rivalry between them. Laura notices that Carmilla seems a little too close to the professor, which ends up with her finding out that their teacher is a vampire who is using Carmilla to feed. When the professor brings back her deadly vampire ex-lover back to the land of the living, things take a dangerous turn, as the lover starts drinking students dry. Their teacher has to choose between her students or the person she's loved for over a century.

As stated above, I loved this book. I'm starting to realize that I really like dark academia. It's so interesting that the author chose dual narratives by Laura and Carmilla. The rivals-to-lovers trope is done really well, as they don't fall in love right away - it takes a while for them to get over their issues with each other. The professor is an equally intriguing character that is just as developed as our main characters. Her story is heartbreaking and really well done. I enjoyed the small glimpse into the world of other vampires, and I do wish that we got more of that in the novel. 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes vampire stories.

My Rating: 4 stars