Joining the Halloween Bing pre-party a bit on the late side, but having a blast with all the traffic on my feed. Now, let's see:

Mystery or Horror?: Horror all the way

Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies or Other?: I'm partial to Witches, though the hodgepodges where everything simmers on the same pot are mighty fun.

Favourite Ghostly Tales:

The Everlost Series by Neal Shusterman and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. They are all written for that nebulous gap between children books and adult, and they are the that perfect balance of cruel and kind that often becomes emotional.

Favourites from Halloween Bingos Past:

Lol! This might get long.

It took me 1 page to realize I had a new favourite author with Nights at the Circus, by Angela Carter. Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1) amply jumped my expectation's bar. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt surprised me by how engrossed I got into a book where there is not exactly something like a plot.

The year before last, I was happy to find that Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie are as good as promised. And horrified by how excellent and still current The Crucible by Arthur Miller is. I was also surprised by The Haunting of Hill House, after what I felt was a lackluster experience with Shirley Jackson's We've Always Lived in the Castle, and so very glad that I took the game's reviews to heart. Joyland by Stephen King ended up being a campy and perfectly nostalgic read. I also read The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, that while polarizing, is still my favourite of hers (well, maybe fighting for top with Four Ways to Forgiveness)

Favourite Series with Supernatural Elements:

Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews. Takes a couple of books to find some polish, but they are immensely entertaining. On a darker bent, I quite liked the Darkfever Series by Karen Marie Moning, but they are more of a problematic-elements guilty pleasure.

Favourite Seasonal Covers:

Favourite Halloween Bingo Authors:

Since I always end up picking at least one more book, Stephen King. If I search for number of entries during the game, John Wyndham and Agatha Christie too. And Illona Andrews, because I'm always up for a re-read.

Nick & Allie were in a fatal car accident and ended up caught in Everlost, a sort of limbo for kids who don't make it where they are going when they die. Everlost is a magical place for things and places that no longer survive in the living world (ex. the Twin Towers). But Everlost is also full of dangers (if the kids stay in one place for too long, they sink to the center of the earth), and monsters (the Magill, the Haunter). When Nick and Allie make it to the Twin Towers, they find Mary, who calls herself the queen of lost children. But while Nick feels at home with Mary, Allie suspects Mary is hiding something.

This is a fun young adult story with plenty of excitement and danger. The narrator did an excellent job and didn't distract from the story at all. This is an interesting look at what could happen to souls whose journey is interrupted. Many of the kids have been around for hundreds of years, including Mary, who has written books on how to survive in Everlost. The kids all cross over in whatever they were wearing, which makes for some interesting wardrobes and nicknames for those who may have died on Halloween or during a day at the beach (think Speedo). Nick even dies with chocolate on his face. However, if the kids don't think about things, they tend to forget them, such as their name and their physical appearance.

Bottom line: This is an engrossing start to the trilogy, that I will be happily continuing. The world building is remarkable and the ending suggests more peril and exploits for the characters that survive. Recommended to grades 6 & up. No serious violence and no sex, only cute crushes. Most of the kids we meet are under 16.

I'm guessing Meg Murry for round 4, review to follow.  

Genre: young adult

Interesting premise and entertaining quick read, but this left me with less of an impression than other recent Shusterman books.

Nick and Allison die in the same accident and knock each other off the path to the light. They wake up still on Earth, but stuck on the ghostly side. They discover there are others - lots of others, and they're all under 17. Gangs form, sides are taken, monsters are fought and discoveries made.

Interesting, mildly creepy young YA action. I'm reading the sequel, but I almost stopped after this first book because I was entertained but not really all that invested in spending more time with the characters and story world. But the blurb for book 2 had a good twist, so I'm going to keep going. I should stress that it's not at all a bad book, just a matter of taste, I think.

One truth will unravel them all.

Faye Middleton thought the worst had come to pass the night she and her friends barely escaped from Ethryeal City and the clutches of the evil Priestess Clara. Officially shunned from the Coven, Faye is forced to lay low in order to come up with a plan to bring Clara down.

At Jaxen's childhood manor, they were supposed to be safe from any outside issues, and they were… until his long-lost mother shows up. Determined to win back what she lost so long ago, Evangeline reveals a secret that could shatter their beliefs, or be their saving grace.

Now, with two Covens searching for Faye, they must find a way to start over. With the help of the Rebellion, they begin the arduous task of forming their own army. However, the choices they are faced with leave them questioning everything they've ever known.

Review 5*

This is the third book in The Night Watchmen Series. I loved it!

Faye Middleton is a wonderful character, although I didn't like her very much when I first met her in Everlasting. She is a teenager who has had some major angst in her life. She has faced the culling and found out that she not only does she have affinity to both witch and hunter powers, she is the only one able to handle the Dagger of Retribution. Now older and wiser after her run in with Clara, Faye finds herself facing an even bigger challenge: dealing with Evangeline Gramm and fighting a war she's not sure she'll survive.

The story is again told through Faye's point of view. It is an emotional roller coaster ride from beginning to end. There are some new characters introduced into the story and they each bring their own personalities and problems, from werewolves to vampires. Evangeline Gramm did what she thought was right in order to protect her boys, but I'm not sure if she did the right thing or not, as she left them with some deeply scarred emotional baggage, especially Jaxen. However, it was the introduction of the other rebels where things begin to get interesting. I loved getting to meet Chrissa. She is a wonderful character, with an innocence that made me want to hug her; she is very sweet. It was also nice to meet Weldon, Jaxen, Gavin, Jezzi and Cassie again. Faye's friend Katie also returns, but she is now emotionally scarred from being held captive and tortured in Ethryeal City.

There is excitement, danger and adventure aplenty in this book, with lots of twists and turns and more than a few surprises. The relationship between Faye and Jaxen moves on to a new level and their intimacy is sensual without being too explicit. The end of the story has a surprising twist and, although it doesn't end in a cliffhanger, it does give the reader the feeling that there are some unfinished loose ends that require tying up. I do hope that there is another book, because I would love to see if Clara and Bael get their comeuppance!

Candace Knoebel has written a fantastic continuation in this YA paranormal romance series. I loved her writing style, which is fast paced and it flowed wonderfully. I haven't read her other series, Born In Flames Trilogy yet, but having read this book, I will definitely be doing so at the earliest opportunity!

I highly recommend this book if you love YA paranormal romances. - Lynn Worton