Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

The Kingdom
Book 2 in The Graveyard Queen series
Author: Amanda Stevens
Publisher: Mira
Release date: 3/20/12
Author's website: Link

Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town…

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me the Graveyard Queen. I've been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I'm coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I've discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

Book 2 of the series is even more exciting as the heroine of the story Amelia Grey begins a new graveyard restoration job. What she doesn't know is that this job will open up a whole new world for her as she discovers so much about her past and all the questions that she had about it are finally answered. I was literally holding my breath while reading this one during several scenes in the book. From the time that Amelia steps foot in Asher Falls something just doesn't seem right. It's quiet and deserted. The people living there all seem to share a secret. One that they don't want to share with Amelia. She eventually begins to discover what Asher Falls is all about and just how it is a part of her. There's something familiar about this eerie place that touches her deep within her soul. Something evil lives here and it can be felt in the air and the wind. Amelia finds herself running for her life many times without knowing exactly is chasing after her.  I found these scenes to be absolutely terrifying as I felt like I was right there running with her.  The author Amanda Stevens does a great job at setting up these scenes as they go from scary to you wanting to shout at the heroine through the book!  I found myself wanting to say to Amelia, "RUN, GO BACK HOME NOW!"  You can just tell that something bad is going to happen and you just don't know when, what, or who it will be.

Amelia meets several people shortly after arriving in Asher Falls and each of them seem to be hiding something.  The one person she seems to have somewhat of a connection to is Thane Asher.  He's heir to the Asher empire who just so happens to have founded the town.  This family has their hands in everything and Amelia finds out firsthand that they will do anything to keep their name intact.  Thane is able to help her obtain some of the information that she needs, but at the same time she doesn't know if she can trust him.  There is an attraction between them that they don't exactly act on because Amelia is still pining over John Devlin from book 1.  He's back in Charleston and there are times that she wishes she has could be back there as well.  But she's got a job to do and the deeper she gets in the graveyard, the more secrets she uncovers.  Soon it becomes a matter of life and death when she uncovers an old secret that is absolutely shocking!  It truly became one of the biggest OMG moments that I've read in this series so far.

I'm giving The Kingdom a rating of: 

The books in this series have a way of pulling you into the storyline and not letting you go until Amelia gets to bottom of things.  The Kingdom did just that and while I was reading I felt as if I had to look over my shoulder every couple of minutes.  I don't really read a lot of books that do this to me, but I have to say it was kinda of exhilarating to be scared!  The reader actually feels as if they are walking in a cemetery or seeing ghosts appear right in front of them. This makes me like the main character Amelia even more as she has dealt with this her entire life.  She manages to find an inner strength to get her though the times that get downright scary.  Her work is never done and I'm looking forward to seeing what Amelia has to figure out in the next book of the series.