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A review by kblincoln
Behold the Bones by Natalie C. Parker
5.0
4.5 stars, actually.
I'm still liking this series. The first book was tied up so well with all evil vanquished and swamp magic contained and love achieved provisionally, that I had no idea how the author could keep interest going.
Foolish me to doubt. The first book introduced Sterling and her two friends, Abigail and Candy. This book includes Sterling & Heath in supporting roles, but its all about Candy. And how she still can't see Shine-- the magic of the swamp-- and now ghosts are appearing all over Sticks and she can't see them, either. Well, except for one. Who happens to share a dark secret with Candy. And then there's Candy's...female....troubles, and some new, ghosthunter family moving into the old house Sterling used as a sanctuary and Candy figuring out how to deal with various boy-types in her life.
But its mostly about Candy kind of confronting her own life as well as maturing a little bit within the context of her friendships with Sterling and Abigail-- which is why I love this series. So the swamp magic haints and stuff are a creepy icing, but they are only the icing. The "meat" of this cake, if you'll allow me to mix metaphors, is the compelling, self-doubting, sometimes-arrogant voice of Candy and how she deals with everyday stuff.
And as other reviewers probably mentioned, in this book they aren't all white and they aren't all straight. And while these things aren't used overly to generate angst and drama, they are mentioned and dealt with in the context of a Southern town, which I appreciated. No white washing here.
My ownly quibble (and the loss of .5 of a star) is that the ending is abrupt. Major, major trauma goes down at the end of the book. I felt like we didn't get a chance to understand and deal with Candy's reaction to what happens to her in the swamp as well as what happens to her relationship with the ghosthunter eyecandy. It's all just suddenly okay.
Can't wait to find out what happens to Abigail in the third book.
I'm still liking this series. The first book was tied up so well with all evil vanquished and swamp magic contained and love achieved provisionally, that I had no idea how the author could keep interest going.
Foolish me to doubt. The first book introduced Sterling and her two friends, Abigail and Candy. This book includes Sterling & Heath in supporting roles, but its all about Candy. And how she still can't see Shine-- the magic of the swamp-- and now ghosts are appearing all over Sticks and she can't see them, either. Well, except for one. Who happens to share a dark secret with Candy. And then there's Candy's...female....troubles, and some new, ghosthunter family moving into the old house Sterling used as a sanctuary and Candy figuring out how to deal with various boy-types in her life.
But its mostly about Candy kind of confronting her own life as well as maturing a little bit within the context of her friendships with Sterling and Abigail-- which is why I love this series. So the swamp magic haints and stuff are a creepy icing, but they are only the icing. The "meat" of this cake, if you'll allow me to mix metaphors, is the compelling, self-doubting, sometimes-arrogant voice of Candy and how she deals with everyday stuff.
And as other reviewers probably mentioned, in this book they aren't all white and they aren't all straight. And while these things aren't used overly to generate angst and drama, they are mentioned and dealt with in the context of a Southern town, which I appreciated. No white washing here.
My ownly quibble (and the loss of .5 of a star) is that the ending is abrupt. Major, major trauma goes down at the end of the book. I felt like we didn't get a chance to understand and deal with Candy's reaction to what happens to her in the swamp as well as what happens to her relationship with the ghosthunter eyecandy. It's all just suddenly okay.
Can't wait to find out what happens to Abigail in the third book.