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lisaar91's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of Mary Hades, through netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Like everyone else. what first got me, was the cover! I think it's stunning, and I immediately wanted to read
The books about a girl, Mary, who is able to see ghosts, including her best friend who recently died. Mary has a back story of being in a psychiatric ward. The plot develops by sending Mary and her parents to Nettleby on holiday, where Mary becomes involved in some ghostly happenings!
The book is very easy to read, and very much a 'one more page' book. I constantly thought throughout the book that there would be a twist that Mary was still in the hospital and suffering from psychosis (I clearly read too many books of that sort!).
I enjoyed Mary Hades but do think it suits maybe a slightly younger audience (I'm 23) as the main characters, although 18 (I think?) are quite young, and the plot therefore follows suit.
Overall though, a quick and fun read!
Like everyone else. what first got me, was the cover! I think it's stunning, and I immediately wanted to read
The books about a girl, Mary, who is able to see ghosts, including her best friend who recently died. Mary has a back story of being in a psychiatric ward. The plot develops by sending Mary and her parents to Nettleby on holiday, where Mary becomes involved in some ghostly happenings!
The book is very easy to read, and very much a 'one more page' book. I constantly thought throughout the book that there would be a twist that Mary was still in the hospital and suffering from psychosis (I clearly read too many books of that sort!).
I enjoyed Mary Hades but do think it suits maybe a slightly younger audience (I'm 23) as the main characters, although 18 (I think?) are quite young, and the plot therefore follows suit.
Overall though, a quick and fun read!
celjla212's review against another edition
2.0
As it was not told to me before I started this book, I'm telling you as a fellow professional reader: I STRONGLY encourage you to read the prequel novella before starting Mary Hades. This is the first book I've read that had a prequel novella, where the events that happened in that prequel were mentioned at all. In fact, the events are mentioned so much that while reading you kind of feel like you missed out on a lot. It's almost more like starting a second book in a series rather than a first.
Anyway, I did come to understand what was going on, though maybe not as fully as I'd have liked to. Mary Hades (yes, her real name, poor thing) is a high school girl who was committed for psychosis, because she happens to be able to see ghosts. Mary left her mental facility prematurely because of some incident that happened with a doctor trying to kill her there (one of those prequel events!), so I'm assuming she never really got the help she should have. She is, as far as her parents know, controlling things with medication. But Mary doesn't tell them things are not under control at all. As a matter of fact, she talks to her dead friend Haley almost constantly.
In spite of all this, Mary's parents think it will be a good idea for the family to take a vacation. Before they even get checked in, a death occurs, and Mary learns it's probably connected to the ghost of a little girl named Amy who was violently murdered in the area. With the help of a local, Seth, she sets out to learn the truth about Amy and maybe set her free from her earthly torment.
Mary's parents are not at all the beacon of good decisions in this book. Their daughter, who not too long ago WAS IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION, is allowed to roam about freely. And when they learn she's dating a guy she just met, they encourage her to go out with him. This all really bothered me a lot, but as is done too often in YA, the parents need to be out of the picture so the main character can do whatever she is doing uninterrupted.
Seth and Mary's relationship moves way too fast and though they have a couple of intense moments that may have made them feel closer than they really were, the chemistry was not at all there for me and I thought most of their interactions felt forced.
The idea of someone who can see dead people and possibly help them be laid to rest is very intriguing to me, but the potential of this was not fully realized by Mary Hades. As a matter of fact, there was a moment towards the end involving one of the spectres Mary sees that was completely out of left field, unexplained, and just left me wondering what the heck had just happened.
The end of this book was actually the best part, but I don't think I will be continuing on this series. I couldn't connect with the characters at all, and it's sad when the ones you like the most are the ghosts.
Anyway, I did come to understand what was going on, though maybe not as fully as I'd have liked to. Mary Hades (yes, her real name, poor thing) is a high school girl who was committed for psychosis, because she happens to be able to see ghosts. Mary left her mental facility prematurely because of some incident that happened with a doctor trying to kill her there (one of those prequel events!), so I'm assuming she never really got the help she should have. She is, as far as her parents know, controlling things with medication. But Mary doesn't tell them things are not under control at all. As a matter of fact, she talks to her dead friend Haley almost constantly.
In spite of all this, Mary's parents think it will be a good idea for the family to take a vacation. Before they even get checked in, a death occurs, and Mary learns it's probably connected to the ghost of a little girl named Amy who was violently murdered in the area. With the help of a local, Seth, she sets out to learn the truth about Amy and maybe set her free from her earthly torment.
Mary's parents are not at all the beacon of good decisions in this book. Their daughter, who not too long ago WAS IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION, is allowed to roam about freely. And when they learn she's dating a guy she just met, they encourage her to go out with him. This all really bothered me a lot, but as is done too often in YA, the parents need to be out of the picture so the main character can do whatever she is doing uninterrupted.
Seth and Mary's relationship moves way too fast and though they have a couple of intense moments that may have made them feel closer than they really were, the chemistry was not at all there for me and I thought most of their interactions felt forced.
The idea of someone who can see dead people and possibly help them be laid to rest is very intriguing to me, but the potential of this was not fully realized by Mary Hades. As a matter of fact, there was a moment towards the end involving one of the spectres Mary sees that was completely out of left field, unexplained, and just left me wondering what the heck had just happened.
The end of this book was actually the best part, but I don't think I will be continuing on this series. I couldn't connect with the characters at all, and it's sad when the ones you like the most are the ghosts.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
3.0
Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books
While it's not the best ghost story I've read, it was an enjoyable one for me. I liked the characters, I liked the romance because it wasn't the main focus in this book and I enjoyed the story itself. The only things that bothered me were its rather disappointing end and it feels like the story isn't work out well enough because of that. I expected more in the end. It's also very short, my ebook version is only 157 pages so it's a pretty quick read. I'd recommend it to fans of ghost stories and all that kind of stuff. The cover is pretty though!
limabean74's review against another edition
4.0
My Review:
Let me start off by saying read the novella before read this. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read this first
This books takes place after Mary gets out of the asylum and after Lacey has passed away. (this is not a spoiler it’s in the synopsis) Mary can still see the creepy things that tell her things and give her hints about what will happen and she also spends a lot of time with her Dead BFF.
Mary’s Mom and dad think they all need a nice Holiday away but when Mary gets there it seems people are dying and something evil is lurking in the campground and it’s up to Mary and her new friends to stop it.
Besides Mary the character I really loved is Lacey, I felt bad for her but she is a funny girl and really cares for Mary. I think Mary and Lacey have great chemistry and I think they make a pretty good team. Mary’s love interest Seth has a lot of secrets, I had a hard time trusting him but once I heard his story I kind of felt bad for him too. The end wasn’t what I expected and it think its what made me come back from almost not loving it with the entire LOVE STORY in my face.
Love the world build and details when she is talking about the smell of the soil you can almost smell what she is explaining. I loved the story itself, and Mary is a very strong character in my opinion I really enjoy her, she is sweet and I can feel her confusion about what is going on. I am still wondering why this is all happening to her. That isn’t explained but I am hoping that comes out as the series progresses. Seeing ghosts can’t be easy to live with especially when they have missing limbs or bones showing through their face. This isn’t a gory book and it does have some creepy moments but not really that scary. I never felt confused in this book or wondered to myself what was going on I thought she told the story very well and it really captured my attention making it very hard to put down.
I enjoyed this book a lot, I was a little thrown by the up front love story and was hoping for a more creepy book like I read in the novella but overall this was a great read and I look forward to the entire Mary Hades series.
Recommend: 100%
Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my review
Hope you have a great day and Happy Reading!
alexandra_0410's review against another edition
3.0
Mary Hades para mi fue uno de esos libros que lees la sinopsis esperando encontrar una historia y cuando empiezas a leer te das cuenta que no es lo que esperabas.
Este es un libro de fantasmas que falló en brindar una experiencia de miedo, podía leerlo a las 2 am sin tener ninguna sensación. La protagonista como tal no está mal, pero es víctima de una enfermedad literaria llamada instalove (al punto de dejar de confiar en su única amiga muerta)
Es un libro raro, no es malo pero no es demasiado entretenido tampoco. El fantasma principal fue más espeluznante al principio y luego parece que fue víctima de pare de sufrir o alguna cosa de lavado de cerebro y dejo de dar miedo.
Si estoy aburrida capaz continue leyendo esta saga.
Este es un libro de fantasmas que falló en brindar una experiencia de miedo, podía leerlo a las 2 am sin tener ninguna sensación. La protagonista como tal no está mal, pero es víctima de una enfermedad literaria llamada instalove (al punto de dejar de confiar en su única amiga muerta)
Spoiler
Ni hablemos que al final habla de cómo lo supero ya que era solo una aventura de verano...Es un libro raro, no es malo pero no es demasiado entretenido tampoco. El fantasma principal fue más espeluznante al principio y luego parece que fue víctima de pare de sufrir o alguna cosa de lavado de cerebro y dejo de dar miedo.
Si estoy aburrida capaz continue leyendo esta saga.
lockerpaint's review against another edition
2.0
For the original review, go to http://thelilbookshelf.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-31-mary-hades.html
This ebook was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
"Where does the story end? That's what it's all about. It's what we all want to know."
Mary Hades is a ghost story following the events of a family vacation taken by the title character. Mary recently was released from a mental ward, where her best friend, Lacey, died tragically and has since been following Mary around as a ghost. Death seems to follow Mary, and her ability to see the dead turns her simple vacation into a fight for survival against a murderous ghost named "Little Amy."
My main opinion on this piece? Meh. It wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't great. I was expecting a thrilling ghost murder mystery, but instead got a book caught up in a weak romance and a lack of character development.
You know how it says "the first in a series" in the synopsis? LIES. This book is based rather heavily on a prequel novella. The characters refer to the events of the novella often, and a large portion of the character development comes from the aftereffects of what happened. Technically, one could read Mary Hades without also reading the novella, titled My Daylight Monsters, but it just leaves the reader vaguely confused. It was like diving into the second book in a series blindly. If you plan to read this book, don't make my mistake and make sure you at least skim the novella.
I was never scared in this book, or even chilled or kept in suspense. All of the characters were far too casual about the deaths and ghosts for me to feel any fear about them. It confused me, how just pages after a murder the characters would be completely over it, moving on to whatever dull occurrence had seized their attention. Why should I care if the characters clearly aren't worried or affected by what's going on?
The parents also ticked me off a few times. They too were far too casual. They seemed to have no worries about their daughter's well-being, seeing how she had only gotten out of a mental hospital 2 months prior. Almost immediately after arriving to the campgrounds, a young boy commits suicide right by them. Somehow it never occurs to them that this could in any way faze their mentally unstable daughter. They let her walk alone in a town they're vacationing in far past midnight without a single concern. When she starts flirting with a boy she just met who is 4 years older than her, her mom does nothing but encourage her and ask if she used a condom. Mary nearly dies on several occasions, yet her parents are oblivious to it each and every time. I don;t need them to watch Mary's every move, I just need them to show a bit of concern after The author could of aged Mary a few years, left out the parents, and changed nothing about the plot. Their characters were irresponsible and disinterested when it came to their daughter, a fact that I could not overlook.
The romance was a bit flimsy with a fair dose of insta-love, and I doubt Seth will make any kind of reappearance in any of the sequels. Related to that, it made me mad how Mary, the day after one of Seth's friends BRUTALLY DIED, looked around for Seth in hopes he would want to date her. Give the man time to grieve!
I can see why someone, especially a person who liked the novella, would enjoy this novel. Unfortunately, the bad elements outweighed the positive ones in this book, leaving the novel fairly underwhelming for me. It seems to have several good reviews across the internet, however, so it may be worth a read if you can get the novella first.
-Claire
This ebook was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
"Where does the story end? That's what it's all about. It's what we all want to know."
Mary Hades is a ghost story following the events of a family vacation taken by the title character. Mary recently was released from a mental ward, where her best friend, Lacey, died tragically and has since been following Mary around as a ghost. Death seems to follow Mary, and her ability to see the dead turns her simple vacation into a fight for survival against a murderous ghost named "Little Amy."
My main opinion on this piece? Meh. It wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't great. I was expecting a thrilling ghost murder mystery, but instead got a book caught up in a weak romance and a lack of character development.
You know how it says "the first in a series" in the synopsis? LIES. This book is based rather heavily on a prequel novella. The characters refer to the events of the novella often, and a large portion of the character development comes from the aftereffects of what happened. Technically, one could read Mary Hades without also reading the novella, titled My Daylight Monsters, but it just leaves the reader vaguely confused. It was like diving into the second book in a series blindly. If you plan to read this book, don't make my mistake and make sure you at least skim the novella.
I was never scared in this book, or even chilled or kept in suspense. All of the characters were far too casual about the deaths and ghosts for me to feel any fear about them. It confused me, how just pages after a murder the characters would be completely over it, moving on to whatever dull occurrence had seized their attention. Why should I care if the characters clearly aren't worried or affected by what's going on?
The parents also ticked me off a few times. They too were far too casual. They seemed to have no worries about their daughter's well-being, seeing how she had only gotten out of a mental hospital 2 months prior. Almost immediately after arriving to the campgrounds, a young boy commits suicide right by them. Somehow it never occurs to them that this could in any way faze their mentally unstable daughter. They let her walk alone in a town they're vacationing in far past midnight without a single concern. When she starts flirting with a boy she just met who is 4 years older than her, her mom does nothing but encourage her and ask if she used a condom. Mary nearly dies on several occasions, yet her parents are oblivious to it each and every time. I don;t need them to watch Mary's every move, I just need them to show a bit of concern after The author could of aged Mary a few years, left out the parents, and changed nothing about the plot. Their characters were irresponsible and disinterested when it came to their daughter, a fact that I could not overlook.
The romance was a bit flimsy with a fair dose of insta-love, and I doubt Seth will make any kind of reappearance in any of the sequels. Related to that, it made me mad how Mary, the day after one of Seth's friends BRUTALLY DIED, looked around for Seth in hopes he would want to date her. Give the man time to grieve!
I can see why someone, especially a person who liked the novella, would enjoy this novel. Unfortunately, the bad elements outweighed the positive ones in this book, leaving the novel fairly underwhelming for me. It seems to have several good reviews across the internet, however, so it may be worth a read if you can get the novella first.
-Claire
iilex's review against another edition
3.0
As some other reviewers noted, you may want to read [b:My Daylight Monsters|18626145|My Daylight Monsters (Mary Hades #0.5)|Sarah Dalton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380894174s/18626145.jpg|26415542] before reading Mary Hades. It's not strictly necessary, but this book does refer back to that one a lot and you should probably think of this one as the second in the series. Don't worry though - My Daylight Monsters is a Kindle single and can be bought for $1.99 (or for $8 or $9 physically), so it's not a huge investment.
For a self-published YA paranormal, Mary Hades is pretty solid. I honestly feel a little bad giving it only 3 stars - if we could have half stars, I'd bump it up to 3.5 stars.
Mary Hades is about a girl named Mary Hades (naturally) who can see ghosts. She also has some other psychic abilities which manifest in the form of "monsters" coming to her and warning her of imminent death and danger. After Mary's disastrous stay in a psychiatric institution (see: [b:My Daylight Monsters|18626145|My Daylight Monsters (Mary Hades #0.5)|Sarah Dalton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380894174s/18626145.jpg|26415542]), the Hades family is headed to the Northern English moors for a camping holiday. Mary's best friend, a ghost named Lacey, tags along as well. When they reach their destination, Mary quickly finds out that the ghost of a murdered little girl named Amy is haunting the moors and causing the deaths of males in the area. Since this is a YA book after all, Mary meets the obligatory love-interest (named Seth) and she also becomes friends with a gay Goth couple who come to the moors for some ghost hunting. Mary & the gang need to figure out a way to stop Little Amy from killing any others.
Like I said, I thought this was a solid book. I didn't think it was anything too extraordinary, but I did enjoy it. The book is atmospheric and at times creepy and I really enjoyed the setting of the moors. Some of the locations in this series have been a little cliche for a gothic work (mental hospital & moors) but oh well. I've loved reading stories set on the moor since I first read [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388212715s/6185.jpg|1565818] and [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327873635s/2998.jpg|3186437] as a child. A horror fan might find this one a little tame, but someone interested in paranormal YA might think it's the perfect amount of scary.
I actually didn't mind the romance in Mary Hades. I thought the romance in My Daylight Monsters was much too underdeveloped and somewhat unnecessary, so it was a good thing this book pretty much dropped Mo from the storyline entirely. Seth had an interesting backstory and was actually connected to the main plot. I also liked the resolution of the romance by the ending ()
Lastly, one of my favorite aspects of Mary Hades and this whole series, actually, is its setting. To this American reader, Mary Hades seems very English. Both Mary Hades and My Daylight Monsters are filled with British slang and it just definitely had a different feel from American YAs. I realized that almost all of the YAs I've read that have been set in the UK have been historical fiction and not contemporary (haha). So the English setting is definitely a plus!
So if you like paranormal YAs, especially those with ghosts, I'd recommend reading Mary Hades. Definitely one of the better self-published YA novels I've come across.
For a self-published YA paranormal, Mary Hades is pretty solid. I honestly feel a little bad giving it only 3 stars - if we could have half stars, I'd bump it up to 3.5 stars.
Mary Hades is about a girl named Mary Hades (naturally) who can see ghosts. She also has some other psychic abilities which manifest in the form of "monsters" coming to her and warning her of imminent death and danger. After Mary's disastrous stay in a psychiatric institution (see: [b:My Daylight Monsters|18626145|My Daylight Monsters (Mary Hades #0.5)|Sarah Dalton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380894174s/18626145.jpg|26415542]), the Hades family is headed to the Northern English moors for a camping holiday. Mary's best friend, a ghost named Lacey, tags along as well. When they reach their destination, Mary quickly finds out that the ghost of a murdered little girl named Amy is haunting the moors and causing the deaths of males in the area. Since this is a YA book after all, Mary meets the obligatory love-interest (named Seth) and she also becomes friends with a gay Goth couple who come to the moors for some ghost hunting. Mary & the gang need to figure out a way to stop Little Amy from killing any others.
Like I said, I thought this was a solid book. I didn't think it was anything too extraordinary, but I did enjoy it. The book is atmospheric and at times creepy and I really enjoyed the setting of the moors. Some of the locations in this series have been a little cliche for a gothic work (mental hospital & moors) but oh well. I've loved reading stories set on the moor since I first read [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388212715s/6185.jpg|1565818] and [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327873635s/2998.jpg|3186437] as a child. A horror fan might find this one a little tame, but someone interested in paranormal YA might think it's the perfect amount of scary.
I actually didn't mind the romance in Mary Hades. I thought the romance in My Daylight Monsters was much too underdeveloped and somewhat unnecessary, so it was a good thing this book pretty much dropped Mo from the storyline entirely. Seth had an interesting backstory and was actually connected to the main plot. I also liked the resolution of the romance by the ending (
Spoiler
I guess we'll see if Seth ends up in any subsequent volumes.Lastly, one of my favorite aspects of Mary Hades and this whole series, actually, is its setting. To this American reader, Mary Hades seems very English. Both Mary Hades and My Daylight Monsters are filled with British slang and it just definitely had a different feel from American YAs. I realized that almost all of the YAs I've read that have been set in the UK have been historical fiction and not contemporary (haha). So the English setting is definitely a plus!
So if you like paranormal YAs, especially those with ghosts, I'd recommend reading Mary Hades. Definitely one of the better self-published YA novels I've come across.
ctorretta's review against another edition
4.0
YAY! A ghost story! When I was younger I used to read so many ghost stories. There were so many good ones and what's sad is that it is hard to find stories that have that kind of scary appeal. This one, although I would not technically put it into the really scary category, definitely had some creep appeal! From page one too!
First of all, I really liked Mary. For some reason I could feel a connection with her from the first page. Even though this is paranormal there is just something about her that is just downright ordinary. She's different but her entire demeanor is engaging! The fact that she can see and even hangs out with ghosts just added to that appeal. The only thing that got to me was her attitude towards Lucy. Sometimes she's a bit of a pain to her and that took away some of that appeal.
I also really enjoyed that I didn't quite figure out what was going to happen in this, especially with Seth. I kept debating on whether I liked him or not, and I did like him but I didn't know if she could trust him!
The one slightly negative but not really negative thing was that I didn't know there was a .5 to this. I thought this was book one and I fully understood what was going on without reading that previous book but there is a lot in here that would have been helpful to understand. Sarah Dalton does explain it by glazing over certain events but I just kept thinking to myself that I wanted to know THAT full story first. Didn't detract exactly just made me a little sad because I did enjoy this one so much.
Ends not exactly on a cliff hanger... the ties are all tied and all but it does leave it open for more. Which I'm really excited about!
On completely separate notes: THAT COVER! OMG!! AND this is set in England so the slang is totally British, which I also loved!
First of all, I really liked Mary. For some reason I could feel a connection with her from the first page. Even though this is paranormal there is just something about her that is just downright ordinary. She's different but her entire demeanor is engaging! The fact that she can see and even hangs out with ghosts just added to that appeal. The only thing that got to me was her attitude towards Lucy. Sometimes she's a bit of a pain to her and that took away some of that appeal.
I also really enjoyed that I didn't quite figure out what was going to happen in this, especially with Seth. I kept debating on whether I liked him or not, and I did like him but I didn't know if she could trust him!
The one slightly negative but not really negative thing was that I didn't know there was a .5 to this. I thought this was book one and I fully understood what was going on without reading that previous book but there is a lot in here that would have been helpful to understand. Sarah Dalton does explain it by glazing over certain events but I just kept thinking to myself that I wanted to know THAT full story first. Didn't detract exactly just made me a little sad because I did enjoy this one so much.
Ends not exactly on a cliff hanger... the ties are all tied and all but it does leave it open for more. Which I'm really excited about!
On completely separate notes: THAT COVER! OMG!! AND this is set in England so the slang is totally British, which I also loved!
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