Queen of the Dead: Review

Title: Queen of the Dead

Author: Stacey Kade

Release Date: May 2011

Published By: Hyperion

Pages: 266

Goodreads Rating: 3.96 stars

Review: Alona and Will's adventures continue as they work to help other spirits. However, not everything is going great for Alona - her parents are already starting to throw away her things even though she's only been dead for two months, and even Will has things on his mind that he can't help her with. He met another seer, Mina, and she just might hold all the clues to his troubled past. Alona has her doubts about her, but instead of listening to her, Will leaves her to her own devices - and that's never a good idea.

I really enjoyed THE GHOST AND THE GOTH, so I fully expected to love QUEEN OF THE DEAD, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact, this next installment was even better and was packed with the combination of humor, action, and emotions that made the first so good. The story was divided fairly evenly between Alona and Will, and both had their own separate worries to keep them occupied. Although by the end of THE GHOST AND THE GOTH, Alona was much more mature, she still had a lot of growing to do and much was seen of that in this, much to my delight.

Though Will's side of the story was interesting to read about, it was Alona's that captured my attention the most. The plot is full of suspense and has sharp turns, but the best plot twist happened with her and ended with a crazy cliffhanger, but of course, only in the good way. If I had to make one complaint, however, I did wish to read more of the Alona-Will relationship. There was a little in the beginning, but it fell apart quickly and their dynamic wasn't as great as it could have been.

All in all, QUEEN OF THE DEAD doesn't disappoint as a sequel and even, in my opinion, exceeds the first book, which will delight fans of the trilogy. Both Alona and Will face a great deal of growth, and though I wished for more about the both of them together, the plot was satisfyingly suspenseful and engaging. The cliffhanger at the end will inspire love-hate relationships for readers all over, but ultimately serves to leave a longing for the next and final book in the series.


I received a free copy of this book for review. This is no way affected my review, which is 100% honest.

The Ghost and the Goth: Review

Title: The Ghost and the Goth
Author: Stacey Kade
Release Date: June 29th, 2010
Published By: Hyperion Book CH
Goodreads Rating: 3.91 stars

Synopsis: After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist? 

Review: I really didn't expect to like this book very much, because a lot of reviews I read called it fluffy, shallow, boring, etc. And while this wasn't exactly as deep as the ocean, I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I thought I would and it was a cute read with a few deeper messages.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I read this was how funny it was. Although I didn't initially like Alona all too much, she definitely had a humorous voice, and that made this easy to read. She acts like the stereotypical shallow, vain cheerleader despite her cracking wit, but as you continue through the book, you find that there's a lot more to her than meets the eye. She doesn't have the perfect life because of family issues, and it's great to watch her develop into a nicer person. I like that she realistically didn't suddenly become the sweetest girl in the world, but she did improve at a natural, believable rate.

Will, the other point of view, was fun to read as well because he had his fair share of sarcastic remarks to make. Unlike Alona, he's an outsider at school and most people judge him to be a goth, even though he isn't. He has the gift of seeing ghosts, but that means everyone thinks he's crazy and so he has to see a shrink, who isn't exactly the most selfless, kindest guy in the universe. I also must say that the author did a great job of writing a male POV - he sounded like an actual guy instead of a girl stuck in a dude's body. 


This book isn't serious and it has plenty of funny situations that will have you smiling, but it does touch on deeper subjects like alcohol and suicide. Never does it feel preachy or like the author is trying to cram something meaningful in, so it all balanced out. The only thing that bothered me was that while I understand this is meant to be a light, enjoyable read, some of the characters were portrayed as one-dimensional "evil" people, like Will's shrink or the principal.


Still, this was cute and fun enough to make up for that, so I didn't really mind that much. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't want to read anything too depressing (like using this as a break between dark, serious books) and just wants something light and enjoyable. A warning, though - it's hard to unglue your fingers from this one!


Grade: B