Joe Hill has proven to me that he is a phenomenal storyteller.  His mind is a twisted as his father's, but he has managed to set himself apart.

The story was twisted and did not go the way I thought it would from the beginning.  There were twists and turns so unexpected that it was surprising, without leaving me too dizzy.  Craddock was a creepy, disgusting man who is hopefully frozen up to his neck in the river Cocytus, able to cry out in despair, but never receiving mercy.

This was the story of rock star, Judas Coyne and how he was pulled into a sadistic game of suicide/death by the stepfather (Craddock) and sister (Jessica) of one of his former paramours (Anna).  He and his current love, Marybeth get dragged onto the road trip from hell when Jude is tricked into purchasing what he thought was a phony haunted suit.  The suit; however, was indeed haunted by the ghost of Craddock who is intent on destroying Jude by making him murder Marybeth before taking his own life.  Once Jude realizes that the ghost is real and why he's after Jude, the fight to survive begins.

It was very well written and kept me hanging on for more.  The only part I disliked greatly was the death of Jude's dogs.  Fictional, I know, but animal death of any kind has become something (recently) that I do not handle well.  Now I'm starting to agree with the people who say that books should come with trigger warnings.  After that the book seemed to drag on, but not because it wasn't good.  I was just wanting it to be over so I could stop thinking about the dogs.  The ending was surprising and not at all what I expected to happen, which was refreshing, because I hate when I can guess how a book will end and am right.  Minus the parts with the dogs, this was a great read.  I will definitely read more from the author.

Wow!  This was a pretty creepy and twisted tale.  This book was beautifully written and very interesting.  The whole time I read it, Hotel California was playing on a loop inside my head.

But what to say about it?  It's kinda of the age-old tale of a man being too stupid or stubborn--or both-- to listen to the woman in his life.  If Jonah had just listened to his sister Nora, things could have turned out so, so differently for both of them.

This is basically a Hotel California type situation.  A person with the right type of...psychic energy I guess, is lured into Slade House by the Grayer siblings, where they are treated to all sorts of fantasies--or hallucinations--and once they succumb, they are never seen again.  But each victim is warned by the previous victim until finally one of them is strong enough to fight back, which is the beginning of the end for the Slade House.

It was pretty spooky and kind of sad.  Enough of he victims' backgrounds were revealed that you felt real sympathy for most of them.  Anger, even, at siblings for what they were doing to innocent people.  It was a very good series of interconnected vignettes and while it wasn't completely an 'open ending', I feel like there is a door left open for a sequel.  I'd be very interested in reading.

Blue and her Raven Boys, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are all dealing with the consequences of the ley line ritual, particularly Adam.  The ley lines have been awakened, but they seem to be out of control, and no one knows exactly why.

Noah keeps disappearing, Adam is off-kilter, Ronan confesses a huge secret, and Gansey is still trying to track down Glendower, all while trying to hold everyone together.  All of our characters have family issues going on.  Also, there's a hit-man in town looking for the Greywaren. 

The group is now charged with fixing the ley lines, finding out what the Greywaren is and keeping it out of the hands of very bad people, and continue searching for The Raven King.

We learn a lot more about our characters' background in this story, and there is definitely some character development--not all of it good.  New characters are introduced and I cannot wait to see what role they will all play in the next book.

This book is a fantasy-magic-ya delight.  It's the story of Blue Sargent who lives in Henrietta, Virginia. She is the one non-psychic in a family/house full of psychics; however, she does have her own special talent.  Blue is a magical amplifier.  When she is around magical things/events become stronger. 

For the majority of her 16 years, Blue has been told that kissing her true love will kill him.  So naturally, she's sworn off boys--especially boys from Aglionby Academy, the local private all-boys school.  It's where all of the ridiculously rich families send their sons.  In Blue's experience the students of Aglionby are rich, entitled brats, and it's just smart--logical-- to steer clear of them.

That is until Blue has her first psychic experience.  During a yearly family custom in which they sit in an old church yard and take down the names of the spirits who will die within the next year, Blue sees a spirit.  It is the spirit of a boy and Blue learns that she has seen him because he will either die by her hands...or he's her one true love.

Enter the Raven Boys, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah.  They are on a search to find the local ley lines in order to help them find and ancient Welsh king, Glendower, also called The Raven King.  The group is drawn together in the quest to find the ley lines, wake them up, and eventually find the Raven King.  But they aren't the only ones on this quest.  It becomes a race to be the first to find the heart of the ley lines and perform the ritual to wake it up.  And throughout, Blue is determined not to fall in love with any of her Raven Boys.

There is magic, lies, betrayal, murder...everything you need in a good book.  I loved the story and the characters.  It was well paced and kept me interested all throughout.

An exciting, unique world and characters brought to life by fantastical and glossy artwork, can't wait for the next volume!