Haunted Mansion: Storm & Shade by Claudia Gray

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Spooky fun!
Audrey Perez, her brother and their parents are moving to New Orleans and she will be attending a girls only private high school. Audrey doesn’t want to leave her old house or her boyfriend Chase behind but her family is hoping that the move will help her anxiety.
Audrey accidentally finds a haunted mansion and thinks she hears her boyfriend’s voice calling to her from inside, so she goes in. Once she enters, she’s enthralled by the atmosphere and the library. Audrey gets possessed by three spirits, one at a time, a guitarist, a ship captain, a jazz loving evil man and each spirit helps her find a key. Once she starts collecting the keys, she sees and feels an ominous fog coming for her.

Likes/dislikes: I like the spookiness level of the book. I found the possessive spirits interesting because they were each unique. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the story.
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: G for holding hands.
Violence: PG for danger.
Ethnicity: Audrey Perez is of Spanish descent. Tatum Stewart is Scottish. Iris Boone is African American.

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Suspense, romance, science fiction and fantasy in one!
In the Year 775 Guangzhou, China, 17yo Zilan lives with her aunt, uncle and two cousins who have all accepted her as part of the family. She has the ability to resurrect people and brings extra money to the family with this skill. She wants to be a royal alchemist and travels to the palace to fulfill her wish. She survives trials against prejudice with her cleverness and some help from the prince. Once Zilan begins to train, she’s named the Scarlet Alchemist and she discovers how dangerous and awful the Empress is, what she’s using the alchemists for and why she needs Zilan.

Likes/dislikes: I love the Prince because he’s funny, innocent and has a kind heart. Zilan is an interesting character because of her skills and background. I enjoyed reading the book and the suspense, romance and the science fiction made it easy to dive into.
Language: R for 29 swears and 2 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for kissing.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Chinese is the main ethnicity. Zilan had a Chinese mother and a foreign father.