A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

I have now read all the books in The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens, The Prophet , being the third one; there is a fourth due for release later this year.  I always read a series in order, and I always recommend others do too.  With most series you can start anywhere and then go back to the beginning to read them in order and be able to follow the developments because generally speaking events from previous books might be referenced but not integral to the current book's story.  Some series, such Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series, can be read in any order because main characters don't recur from book to book and thus the developments from previous books have no bearing whatsoever on later installments.  With The Graveyard Queen series it is really imperative to read them in order.  Elements in the first one set up the main stories for the second and third (especially the third) and events in the second one inform changes in Amelia's character ...

The Kingdom is the second installment in Amanda Stevens' Graveyard Queen series featuring Amelia Grey, the cemetery restorer who sees dead people.  I'd like to share a few random observations about the series in general before I get to the review.  First of all, why does Amelia always end up working for sketchy, ill fated broads who belong to insular, secretive groups?  Also it's nice that Amelia's adventures don't always include being reluctantly sucked into murder investigations that bring her into ill advised contact with haunted detectives.  Between all the secrets (including those carried over from the previous book regarding Amelia's origins)--Amelia's, her parents', the town's, the townspeople's, the Ashers'--that people are keeping from each other or from Amelia (or both), well, I just want to yell so spill it already!  Because let's be honest if Amelia's parents, specifically her father, had been more forthcoming with her...

The Restorer is the first novel in Amanda Stevens' The Graveyard Queen series that features Amelia Grey. The series takes its name from the nickname Amelia uses on her blog (I think).  Amelia has followed her father into the business of restoring old cemeteries to their former glories.  As a girl she assisted her father in his duties as caretaker of several local cemeteries; he taught her everything she knows about the research, techniques, hard work  and dedication that go into restoring long neglected or abandoned cemeteries.  Like her father, Amelia can see ghosts, and her father has instilled several rules in her life meant to preserve her safety and sanity: among them are never let them know you can see them and stay away from those who are haunted.  But her father has kept secrets from her and this knowledge has driven a wedge between father and daughter and could cost Amelia everything. Having just taken on the major project of restoring the old and...