This is basically a review for the first three books, which are the only ones published at the writing of this review (not counting the novella 3.5).

I really, really enjoyed the first book in the series. By the time I reached the second book, the drama of all the many relationships going on were starting to annoy me. While reading book 3, I gave off more than one audible sigh as I felt like shaking the characters and screaming at them, "Pick one guy/girl already! Quit toying with everyone!" Ugh. I mean, seriously. It gets old. Also, there were some pretty selfish decisions made in this book that did not seem to fit with the character. That left a sour taste in my mouth. The antagonists seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't make a lot of sense. Not to mention,

Spoiler

the web of all the people being related to other people and discovering in shocking ways, loses its potency pretty quickly.

Need some closure on some stuff and just have people move on in book 4.

Now, reading my above complaints, you might think I didn't like the book...but I did. In spite of all the things that got on my nerves, there is a really good plot going on throughout the series. So, I'm giving this book 4 stars, in spite of the characters I want to strangle I love the idea of Mattie's powers and her snarkiness.

Love this book as well. I can't wait for the next book! This series is great!

You can find my review of book one over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

This instalment once again ramped the story up. Mattie finds herself back home but not out of danger. The spirits of 8 murdered girls are haunting her, and they're getting pretty hardcore about it. They don't just want to scare her, they want her to feel what they felt, and they want their revenge; because Mattie is the reason that they're dead, and she needs to pay.

While trying to protect herself and those that she loves, Mattie finds herself trusting Silas, a demon, to help her deal with what's going on, even though she knows she really shouldn't. He is a demon after all. What Mattie ends up finding is that life is not fair, and she'll struggle to deal with losing the one person that she truly can't live without. Will she be able to let nature take it's course, or will she fight tooth and nail, not caring that to do otherwise will upset the balance between life and death?

This instalment once again saw an intriguing story line that kept me guessing and I honestly didn't see the twist coming, which is rare these days so it was a nice surprise. We're getting deeper into Mattie's story and Eli and the rest of the Malones are along for the ride. Having the cast fleshed out a bit is nice, and the character development is still going strong. Mattie is still a whiney teenager at times, but I feel like it adds authenticity to the character as, after all, she is a teenager.

Grrrr!!!!!!! Once again my review or my original read has disappeared. Thoughts after re-read:
- I still really enjoy the overarching story and am keen to learn more about Mattie’s powers and family history.
-I was ok about Mattie forgiving Dan for lying about the whole Meg situation and he promised not to do it again then does it in the very first chapter, tricking her about having Meg pick them up. I like how Mattie remains true to her character and points this out (violently of course) but I really, really want Dan to GET it and stop betraying her trust. Mattie’s trust is a precious thing yet he doesn’t seem to get that.
-I don't mind Eli but I am not sold on him as a love interest. You can give Mattie as many butterflies in the tummy and mystical connections you want it still feels manufactured to make up for the whole Dan/Meg thing and not real. I buy the guardian/protector vibe but not the romance.
-I still LOVE Mary. Mary is awesome. Zeke & Silas and all the random beasties after Mattie better keep their mitts off her.
-It annoyed me that Mattie felt all guilty and responsible for what happened to Dan’s mum. She is a kidnapping murderer. This is NOT Mattie’s fault.
-I was glad she kind of forgave Meg. It wasn’t fair to forgive Dan & not Meg.
-Poor Jake was over-kill. What happened to Meg was enough of a punishment for both Dan and Mattie for the choices they made.
-I shouldn’t like him because he is an evil demon but Silas is a very interesting and entertaining character.

My goodness! Where do I start? This book was perfect! It made me laugh, cry, and everything in between! The ending left me anticipating the fourth book. I can't wait to see the story develop even more and learn even more about Mattie's past. The series keeps getting better and better! There's just the right amount of horror and romance, so it's definitely a good series. Read it if you haven't yet!

And with that I will NOT be continuing with this series if more books are published.

I want to type out a thoughtful, well written, review, but I'm so annoyed with the author at this point I don't feel like that's possible. I don't ever want to see the word fudgepops again (thanks for ruining that yummy ice cream for me!). Then after seeing her shame rape victims TWICE I won't read another thing she writes.

LOVED IT! I am soo gonna read the next book. Dear Apryl, don't stop writing, it is amazing!

I feel a slight obsession forming with these books...

Still love the series, but this was my least favorite of the books so far. Seemed a bit rushed; I would have liked the pace to slow down and let me savor what was going on instead of trying to move us along so quickly.