Author: Sarah Dalton
Genre: young adult, paranormal, ghosts, fantasy, horror, romance, mystery, thriller
Published: May 4, 2014 (first published April 30, 2014)
Publisher: Createspace
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Kobo
Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.
Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…
Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.
Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?
The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single 'My Daylight Monsters'. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.
With some scenes of horror and some strong language, this book is best suited for readers aged fifteen and up.
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"No, but I think we control our own destinies. I believe in us and our own minds. We can make things happen if we believe in ourselves," I say.
* * *
I few weeks ago, I read and reviewed My Daylight Monsters - the prequel of Mary Hades. I enjoyed it. I loved Sarah Dalton's writing. I wanted to read more of Mary.
A killer ghost. A mysteriously good looking and utterly nice young man. A great thrilling horror story. Mary Hades is my type of killer-ghost story.
Mary Hades started off nicely as it ties itself to My Daylight Monsters. Mary quickly narrates the events that went on in Magdalena, the psychiatric ward she was placed in before. She also talked about Lacey and Mo (ohgod Mo, why?). As Mary and her family goes to a village in North Yorkshire, she once again found a sign the Things give her when something bad is going to happen.
Once again, I enjoyed Mary as a heroine. While I do dislike the fact that she's very trusting, I love how she tries to be brave and try to believe in herself. She has her insecurities, weak moments, and that's what I like about her. She's a heroine with actual weakness that didn't really annoyed me. Lacey, on the other hand, complements Mary's character well. I like their combination. I also like how their relationship were further developed here.
Mary Hades involves a killer ghost (Little Amy), as I mentioned earlier. It's Sarah Dalton's writing that truly brought this idea come to life. Dalton's writing is very picturesque that I was easily absorbed. Dalton's writing also gives off the right atmosphere for the story. It sets things off well which allowed me to really be there as the action happens, as they look for Amy, as they try to figure things out. The mystery lingering around Little Amy was very intriguing and the involvement of Seth Lockwood, Mary's romantic interest, in it definitely made things more interesting.
A killer ghost. A mysteriously good looking and utterly nice young man. A great thrilling horror story. Mary Hades is my type of killer-ghost story.
Mary Hades started off nicely as it ties itself to My Daylight Monsters. Mary quickly narrates the events that went on in Magdalena, the psychiatric ward she was placed in before. She also talked about Lacey and Mo (ohgod Mo, why?). As Mary and her family goes to a village in North Yorkshire, she once again found a sign the Things give her when something bad is going to happen.
Once again, I enjoyed Mary as a heroine. While I do dislike the fact that she's very trusting, I love how she tries to be brave and try to believe in herself. She has her insecurities, weak moments, and that's what I like about her. She's a heroine with actual weakness that didn't really annoyed me. Lacey, on the other hand, complements Mary's character well. I like their combination. I also like how their relationship were further developed here.
Mary Hades involves a killer ghost (Little Amy), as I mentioned earlier. It's Sarah Dalton's writing that truly brought this idea come to life. Dalton's writing is very picturesque that I was easily absorbed. Dalton's writing also gives off the right atmosphere for the story. It sets things off well which allowed me to really be there as the action happens, as they look for Amy, as they try to figure things out. The mystery lingering around Little Amy was very intriguing and the involvement of Seth Lockwood, Mary's romantic interest, in it definitely made things more interesting.
One of this novels' downside for me is the romance. I wanted to like it, really. It's love at first sight. I didn't like it so much but I decided to let it slide. Mary, as I mentioned, is easily trusting so she's easily found herself drawn into set. What's more annoying to this is how Mary's mother is so into this - Mary's quick relationship with a local named Seth Lockwood. They don't know each other that much but she easily gave herself to him. While I do see where she's coming from, after all he saved her life, but still... Setting aside that they just met and started kissing each other off, I admittedly enjoyed some part of the romance since at times they were kind of cute.
The ending was a real thriller. I'm not easily scared so it's not very scary for me. It's more of a gripping moment. Mary and the rest of the people she met decided to hunt down Amy. One moment they were all together and next thing you know they were separated from each other. Dalton's writing carried this scene well and I stayed up late reading it. I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to see how things go. I was so caught up in the moment, absorbed at what's happening.
Overall, Mary Hades is off to a GREAT START. It has a thrilling story that is complemented by Dalton's great, descriptive, and beautiful writing. The ending was intense. gripping. riveting. Mary Hades is certainly a MUST read ghost-horror novel.
* * *
What I Like: (1) Mary Hades, (2) Lacey, (3) the thrilling mystery they uncovered, (4) the development of Mary and Lacey's relationship, (5) Sarah Dalton's great writing, (6) the thrilling climax and very great ending
What I Didn’t Like: (1) the disappearance of Mo (I really liked him), (2) the really fast-paced (LOL) romance
~this book was provided in exchange for an honest review~
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