My Review of Grave Girl by Amy Cross

I actually started reading this book the day that I downloaded it--which is unusual for me because I download about six books a day, and I’m usually in the middle of reading something else (and I was and put it down for this)--because the book blurb sounded so interesting to me. Sam Marker decides to change her life by becoming a gardener in a strange, sinister little town. Soon, she discovers she is working above the grave of the devil himself, and now it’s her job to make sure that he continues to slumber undisturbed.  Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?  And I wasn’t disappointed!

First of all, this book is written in such a way that you have to have a bit of a sense of humor at the ridiculous and the obvious to truly get it. There are things that are said and done that are clearly tongue in cheek. Ms. Cross does an excellent job of creating characters that you can both love and hate at the same, who make intelligent decisions and stupid ones in the same breath, who you both cheer for and also think, “Well, you get what you deserve!” simultaneously.

As always, I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s clear from the very beginning that Sam is extremely intelligent, even though she makes one terrible decision after another. Eventually, those choices lead her to Rippon, a town that is in need of a gardener for the cemetery, and the only reason for this we are initially privy to is that it seems the last one has been murdered by some extremely powerful force that lives in the cemetery.  Sam accepts the job, leaving her party life in Leads behind, and it isn’t too long before she starts to see some very strange things--like a concrete angel that appears to be following her, a statue of death that seems to move as well, and a mausoleum that may or may not be a tomb for the undead.  

Anyone want to be a gardener in this cemetery?

Sam decides to push all of this craziness aside and begins her job with enthusiasm, even digging her first grave for the local busybody. The town mayor, local doctor, priest, and various other townspeople all seem rather peculiar, but Sam chalks it up to small town life. She has her own issues--she’s gone cold turkey off the booze, and she’s missing someone she loves dearly, a boy named Henry.

Eventually, of course, Same discovers the truth, that being a gardener in this particular town is more than digging holes and trimming trees, and the evil lurking beneath the town is rising to the surface, unless she can find a way to stop it.

As I said, the writing style is different. It’s not overly complicated or complex, but it tells the story in a way that is both clever and engaging.  I particularly enjoyed one of the twists at the end, when we discover exactly who it is that Sam has left behind. I didn’t see that coming.  There were a few proofreading issues--as always seems to be the case--but nothing catastrophic, and nothing that interfered with the storytelling.

In the end, something happens to Sam that I didn’t really like. I suppose the author thought it was necessary, but I disagree--it seemed a bit too hokey for me. But it was the only point in the story when I thought, “Seriously?”  

Two things that I didn’t love--there is a lot of the “f” word (you know, the f dash, dash, dash word!) And I mean a lot. If that puts you off, this may not be the book for you. Also, it’s written in present tense--third person present tense. This always throws me off a bit. I’m used to past tense. Everything is happening right now. Again, I adjusted, and it was fine, but if you have trouble reading in the present tense, then this might not be your book.

If you’d like to try Grave Girl for yourself, you can purchase it here for just 99 cents. I’m hopeful that this means there will be a sequel--and it is set up so that there could be. If you’d like to read my Amazon review, which is same sentiment, different words than this one, you can find it here. I gave it five stars. Recent readers will be shocked to know that I do, occasionally, give five star reviews. Please remember to vote that my review is helpful on Amazon if it is, in fact, helpful.

Now, I have to decide whether or not to finish the dreadful book I set aside for this one or find something else to read. I hate leaving books unfinished, but this one is just really, really bad….

My Review of Carousel by Jennifer Renson

When I was first approached by the author to read and review this fantasy/fairytale novel, I was intrigued. The storyline sounds very interesting: a prince is forced to leave his home as a child because of the threat of plague.  He leaves behind a carousel, which was gifted to him when he was born.  The carousel is cursed by a demon who has the power of turning dolls into real children.  Will the prince return in time to save the villagers from the demon? Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Unlike many of the books I read, this one is published by an actual publisher--not self published. I am an Indie author myself, so I know there are a lot of great writers out there who haven't even tried to get published traditionally, but when I see that a book has been accepted by a publisher, that tells me it should be very polished with very few proofreading errors.  It should have a great plot, and it should appeal to a great number of readers in the specific genre.
Unfortunately, that was not the case with this one. I was extremely disappointed in the number of proofreading errors.  There were not only misspelled words, there were misused words, words missing in sentences--all things you would expect a publishing house to catch. But they didn't.  That's not necessarily the author's fault, but if I saw this in my work after a professional editor had gone through it, I would be pretty darn upset. (I'm upset when I've paid someone who is not necessarily a professional to edit a book for me and I still see this issues.)

This Carousel just didn't make it around for me.

As for the story itself, it wasn't too bad, but there were somethings I honestly didn't quite understand. I don't want to give away too much, but for example, early on, we find out that the demon has snuck into the palace inside of the carousel. One of the horses on the ride is black and rotten. He oozes out of it.  Children love this ride!  They come over to the palace to ride it at parties, etc. No one ever noticed a black, oozing horse? I find this very hard to believe!  How is that possible? My daughter would notice if the carousel horse next to her had a dirty footprint on it. She'd definitely spot  a black pool of slime. So... that doesn't quite work for me. And when the whole story starts off on a premise that doesn't work, the rest of it kind of falls apart a bit as well.
There is another place where the characters find a large key--that they use for a door.  The description here was not enough for me to have any idea how that would work exactly. I found the entire incident extremely confusing....
I also wished there was more dialogue in the story. Sometimes I felt removed from what was happening to the characters, like I was finding out about it later instead of being in the moment with them.
I think the idea is a great one and that a lot could have happened with it. I was just slightly disappointed in the execution.  Since the author asked me to review and I don't feel that my review is extremely positive, I am declining to post it on Amazon. But you can see that the book does have all positive reviews on Amazon right now, so many other readers have enjoyed it. You can find Carousel here and the current list price is $2.99.
Right now, I am finishing up Grave Girl by Amy Cross, and I am really enjoying it so far. I hope to post that review soon. You can check it out here for only 99 cents.