Precious Blood - Book Review

Precious Blood/The Blessed (The Blessed #1)
by Tonya Hurley

What is it about:
From the author of the New York Times bestselling ghostgirl series, the start to a captivating and haunting teen trilogy about three girls who become entangled with an enigmatic boy; a boy who believes he is a saint.

What if martyrs and saints lived among us? And what if you were told you were one of them? Meet Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy. Three lost girls, each searching for something. But what they find is Beyond Belief.

What did I think of it:
This is a book that has multiple titles, so beware when starting on this series. My copy is called Precious Blood, but the same book is also titled The Blessed and The Blessed Book.

Anyway.

Going by the reviews it seemed like this is a book you either love or hate. So of course that made me very curious about it. Luckily I won a copy of this book in a giveaway, so I could give it a try.

And this is a beautiful story.

Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy are three very different girls, but all three are missing something in their life. Enter Sebastian: he reaches out to them and tells them they are special. What insecure young girl wouldn't be affected?

I like how this story doesn't immediately give clear answers, but raises lots of questions. Who is Sebastian? What does he want from the three girls? Are they indeed as special as he tells them, or is he playing with them?

And when strange things begin to happen, the story gets even more complicated. Is what the girls experience really happening? Why is it happening, and can they handle it?

I must say I was captured by this story and fell in love with it. I can understand why some people don't like this story though. It's often unclear what is going on, and if the things that happen are real or not. It's a set up that can easily ruin a story, but in my opinion Hurley pulled it off.

Overall this book is beautiful and thought provoking, and I will most certainly get hold of the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautifully written (Paranormal) YA read.

Ghost Girl - Book Review

Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurley

What is it about:
Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she's dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn't stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal.

What did I think of it:
I really liked this book. It's funny, has great characters and is recognisable even though the main character is dead. I especially liked Scarlet, the Goth girl who helps Charlotte on her quest to become popular even in death. The relationship between Charlotte and Scarlet is an awkward one and it was fun to read how it develops. Hurley is clearly not one of the authors who suffer from Gothphobia and also manages to avoid the dreaded 'depressed Goth turns into happy pastel colored teen and gets popular' cliché, which certainly gains her extra points in my book. All in all a nice, fun read.

Why should you read it:
It's a well written, ghostly Young Adult read.