Review: The Bawdy Book Blog Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2012
I absolutely love love LOVED The Restorer and I finally got to read Amanda Stevens' novella, The Abandoned, prequel to The Graveyard Queen series. I'm a huge fan of Stevens' writing style - it's sexy, fluid and darkly beautiful and The Abandoned doesn't disappoint if you love her for that alone. She is an exceptional writer, a magician with words, invoking emotion and thought at her own whim. She is THE Queen of creepy.So while I really LOVED The Restorer, I really LIKED The Abandoned, and let me tell you why: it didn't prominently feature Amelia and Devlin! I know, I know, you get that from reading the blurb, so I did know that going in, but I was still a teeny bit disappointed because I do love those characters and this is a prequel to the series. However, that's the only grumble-factor for me, because I still liked it a whole heckuvalot. I also get what she did here: instead of featuring Amelia and Devlin, she featured the town itself, prior to Amelia receiving the grant, so we get a little back story and a bit of a teaser. And oh does Amanda Stevens tease us - with sleepwalking, more ghostly fingers and passion! Oh the passion! She knows just how to skirt the edge before dancing back with her words, leaving you yearning for more.I really loved the back story to the town and some of the supporting characters from The Restorer. I definitely had an opportunity to get to know them better than before. She also writes Ree and Hayden so perfectly; both are fleshed out and incredibly realistic, especially considering this is a ghost story.In short, if you've read The Restorer, go grab this novella for a quick fix until her second Graveyard Queen book comes out!