The Visitor (The Graveyard Queen)

The Visitor begins with a female entity haunting Amelia. This spirit both fascinates and terrifies her. I was completely hooked and slipped right back into her world. Amelia soon finds herself entwined in a puzzle involving the Kroll Cemetery. The graveyard is over half a century old and her scariest graveyard to date! The tale was spine-chilling with odd, quirky characters, entities, and other forces that delivered a deliciously dark tale.

If you have read the series then you know Amelia has some unique gifts. She has carefully guarded her secret. She even has a set of rules given to her by her father. She has begun to break those rules and forge her own path. In doing so, she has begun to awaken her powers. We see real development in what Amelia is and receive information about her heritage. Stevens’ wove these tidbits into the case revealing information about her power, of darkness to come and information about her parents.

The Kroll Cemetery is home to Ezra Kroll and his disciples. There is a shroud of mystery surrounding their deaths and something is at unrest within the walls of this unusual cemetery. Turn on the lights when reading this folks. Steven’s created some of the most chilling entities. Her writing was so vivid that I could see them, hear their unearthly noises and feel the temperature plummeting. It all gave me chills. As Amelia researches, we see old friends and meet ancestors of Kroll. What a strange family. Some were overly sweet and others well let us just say you will feel the need to cross the street if you see them heading your way. Ever see those old creepy black and white historical photos ..yep that kind of creepy!

The cemetery itself and old artifacts aided Amelia in her research. Stevens’ gives us a quest filled with danger and eerie discovers. I love piecing together this tightly woven mystery. We discover things as Amelia does and I have learned to pay attention and file tidbit as Amelia uncovers them. It is such an exciting game.

The romance between Amelia and Devlin gets plenty of page time. Devlin is annoying me a little, not that I doubt his feelings towards Amelia, but his lack of faith in her grates at me. However, Amelia learns some things that raised questions about their future. It was accidental and left me screaming for more information. Devlin is indeed important to the overall plot but …well spoilers darling. Copy provided by publisher, full review at caffeinated book reviewer.

"Watch Your Back Graveyard Queen"
Amelia, is chased, frightened, hurt, tricked, and lied to. Her history is catching up to her faster than she is ready to for, and she is evolving. Everything she thought she knew is about to change forever. Amelia's road is full of darkness and death.
Cleaning out the storage under her house an item is found that sets her on a journey to find the truth behind an image that looks like her. Her restoration business gives her an in to help solve the mystery of a cult mass suicide and her own history. The family that owns the graveyard are something to see, freaky, creepy and dangerous. One of them has a deep relationship with bees, one with cloves, and the other is just creepy by association. I will never enjoy cloves scented things again, thanks Ms. Stevens.
There are bugs, nasty ones, mazes, rusted gates, creaking floor boards, tinkling keys and did I tell you about the bugs ? EEEEKKKK ! Okay I have a bit of an exoskeleton phobia and there are plenty in these pages. Wait till you get to the book marker switch !

Devlin, her man is not the same. If you read the last book you know he had a major event happen, well he's not okay. That isn't all that is up with him, he has a Grandfather who is demanding something of him. Big change here folks, BIG.

I loved this fourth book in the series, they just get better and better. Instead of following along the same road it had been traveling this one took a wild left snap to the left then spun around and wiggled a bit more. The southern gothic style was amazing as always, the pacing just right with not a dull page in the book. One complaint, I don't have the next book, yet.

This is the fourth book in the Graveyard Queen series. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and thought the third one was good. I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as the previous ones.

These books have turned away from the interesting cemetery restoration theme and are now solely focused on Amelia and Devlin and the mysteries behind their families. Some of the scenes were creepy and the mystery was somewhat interesting, but they just weren't as interesting as previous books. I also don’t think Amelia and Devlin have any chemistry together and found the scenes between the two to be awkward and uncomfortable to read.

I did continue to enjoy Stevens beautiful writing style, she does a great job with description and making you feel like you are in the scenes. However, for the most part I just found the story boring and predictable.

Overall this was a disappointing continuation of this series. The series has turned away from the nifty graveyard restoration and graveyard mysteries and I miss that. The writing style is still beautifully done but the story has gotten boring and predictable. I won't be continuing on with the series which is a pity because I really do enjoy Stevens style of writing.

Another great installation in the series of the Graveyard Queen, and this also is as scary as hell!!! We have Devlin still haunted, but not by ghosts, or not only at last; and Amelia has more than that because now entities are back for her help, but it's not so clear. Ghosts are really the most frightening thing for me so I had to read all the book with the lights on...

Un altro grande libro per la serie de "La regina dei cimiteri" e anche questo mette molta paura!!! Abbiamo Devlin ancora perseguitato, ma stavolta non dai fantasmi, o almeno, non solo; mentre Amelia, oltre ai soliti, ha anche altre entita che la cercano perché le aiuti, ma non é che riescano poi a spiegarsi tanto bene. Per me i fantasmi sono terrificanti, quindi ho dovuto leggere tutto il libro con la luce accesa....

Amelia Gray and John Devlin are recovering from the recent events involving his dead wife. Fortunately for him, he has no memory of all he experienced. However, when Amelia pursues a request to restore Kroll Cemetery, she begins to sense that something has changed about herself. The discovery of a strange stereoscope in her home sets off a chain of events that are as dangerous as they are mysterious.

I don't think anyone can create such an extraordinary sense of time and place better than Amanda Stevens. Coupled with the outstanding narration by Khristine Hvam who brings everything about it to life, this story finely immerses you in the city of Charleston and its environs. It's impossible to not succumb to believing in ghosts, presences, spirits, dark and otherwise when listening to this series. It's creepy and mesmerizing, putting me squarely in the story as if I was one of the characters.

I really enjoyed this long-awaited installment, even though at times it belabored some scenes. However, I was still content as I was transported to South Carolina and too spooked to leave. The ending remains a question, not really a cliffhanger, but a situation unresolved in keeping with the tempo of the story. Can't wait for the next book!

(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

Stevens has a beautiful, almost lyrical, way of writing that is both hypnotic and haunting. It was with much anticipation that I opened The Visitor and stepped back into her world. As I began reading, I was ecstatic to find Amelia and John Devlin together. John appears to be free of the ghosts of his wife and daughter as he seems to be moving forward in a relationship with Amelia. But it's soon obvious that something is seriously wrong. John is withdrawn, moody, secretive, and Amanda is harboring some big secrets of her own The distance between them grows. While the sexual chemistry between them is explosive, the emotional connection is fading . . . something is coming between them. What is it? Will they stand together to figure things out or allow it to tear them apart?

While The Visitor started out just a bit slow for me - mostly as I found my way back into this complicated, haunted world, I was soon hooked - my heart racing as I burned through the pages to get answers. An ominous feeling of impending doom blanketed this story and me throughout - one I could not shake off as I read late into the night. Once again, I found myself hesitant to turn off the lights, jumping at every little sound of the night. Stevens is pure magic with setting tone, mood, and pace and sustaining it throughout a story. While some things may not have played out exactly the way I had hoped, I could not put this book down. The ending sets up the next book perfectly . . . as in Give it to me NOW! A Page Burner! A Must Read!!

Many thanks to Netgally for an ARC of The Visitor for review.

They say good things come to those who wait. Well, it feels like I've been waiting forever for this fourth installment of the Graveyard Queen series. But it was worth it. This book was deliciously creepy. It had the same dark tone as the first three stories, but it felt like a new beginning. The characters I know and love are back, but their lives are turning a corner as a new series arc begins.

The mystery of Devlin's haunting is put to bed, but only to make room for Amelia to become haunted herself. This ghost --who looks just like her-- opens the door for Amelia to delve into her own past and family history. It uncovers more questions with every new answer she finds. And while this is a very Amelia-centric book, the drama with Devlin isn't over. Only now, instead of the threat coming from his dead wife, it's about his very-much alive grandfather and family legacy.

These books are such a departure from what I usually read. The ghosts and supernatural world are far less urban fantasy than horror. But that's not quite right either. It's dark and lush and definitely disturbing. Some readers might even find it downright scary. It's not gory or gratuitous, but definitely spine-tingling.

The characters make me want to read more, Amelia especially. She struggles so much with her gift. There is so much she doesn't know. And her Papa, who was her only guide, has really hidden more than he has every shared. She's so easy to empathize with, as we watch her struggle with these horrors that sit on the edge of her life every day... some that creep even closer... and she has no one to reach out to. She can only guess as to what they want -- what she should do -- how to keep herself safe from the death that creeps into her room at night.

We are getting some answers. At least about what Amelia is; about her legacy. And with that, we're learning that she is likely part of a bigger picture. One that might end up putting her on a different side than the man she loves, which really stinks since they have come so far to be together.

And side note on Devlin... I've always liked him and wanted him as an HEA for Amelia. But one of my only complaints about this book is the secretive dynamic between them. With all they have been through, they still keep each other in the dark. They stubbornly ignore the elephant in the room and it makes me want to shake them both. I hate a lack of communication as a romantic foil --and while that is not their only problem, it's a big one.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to slide right back into this world and into the lives of these characters. And I'm already itching to go back. I'm looking forward to The Sinner later this year.

Rating: B/B+

Things are getting stranger for the graveyard queen as she finds out more and more about who she is and the dead want from her. Could contain spoilers but I try had not too!

So I totally forgot to review The Prophet which was book three, and it’s been to long ago for me to do a full review so lets just say things with Devlin got settle a bit. His ghost are gone and him and Amelia are trying to make it as a couple, but now there are some things out there threatening Amelia again.

Something evil is threatening Amelia and she found out someone from a long time ago has her exact name and she looks a lot like her. Her father finally confesses that it was his mother and she was very unique person. So with Amelia’s bloodline from both sides of her family and being born of a dead mother she is not sure exactly what she is, but something besides just the dead want her.

Amelia has been fascinated with the Kroll cemetery and now she has been asked to restore it. Though it’s not just the living that want her at the cemetery because the dead are restless. But is it just the dead that are in Kroll or is there something more evil.

Won’t say anything more as I don’t want to spoil. ?

The Visitor was a great mix of paranormal weirdness and mystery which I love. Amelia is a great and fascinating character. Devlin is alluring and haunting which makes him very interesting. In this installment we learn that Devlin knows a bit more about her than he has let on as his grandfather doesn’t want him to associate with her because they know what she is. Devlin is so skeptic, even when he sees things happen in front of him. He just doesn’t want to accept that those type of things exist.

With how things left of I so can’t wait till the next book comes out! This is why I hate being caught up with a series…lol.

My Review:
Whoa, this book left me with chills and jumping at innocuous sounds in my house and outside. It was incredibly creepy and absolutely wonderful for it. (And I probably should note right now that I am NOT a fan of horror regularly, but this one really worked for me.)

In this story, Amelia is looking at restoring a new old cemetery...one that has a bizarre background. It's a private cemetery that holds the bodies of 37 people from a commune that participated in a mass murder/suicide (the details of what exactly happened are fairly sketchy.) The whole mystery of Amelia's family background also plays HUGELY into this story because she's seeing a ghost of...herself. Throw in conjoined twins, cicada husks, and keys showing up in strange places as well as historic stereoscope photos that hold the clues and it's truly a fantastic horror story that seriously gave me the creeps over and over again.

And there's Devlin and he has a story unfolding in this book, too. I'm not sure how I feel about what's happening with him. I can see where it's going and I want to both cry and am excited because it's going to create some incredible conflict for Amelia.

I have been a fan of this series all along, but I was a bit disappointed with the last book because I wanted more Devlin. Wow, Amanda Stevens up'ed both her romantic and horror game in this one. This book was so much MORE and I loved it. Seriously, I read the very first book in this series as part of an online book club and we've all kept up on the series since then. During reading this, I kept messaging the group just to let them all know how much they are going to love this book. There was a very long wait between this one and the last one that was out (#3), but it was so worth the wait. Amanda Stevens has a bizarre and incredible imagination and I'm so excited that we get to benefit from that with this fantastically entertaining (and, yes, so, so creepy) book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

So far, I thought the story would never advance past the break-in and hospital stay. It's picking up a bit, but is anyone else finding it tiresome that this main character is still trembling in her workboots and not acquiring a proverbial backbone toward her gifts? And the brooding Devlin demeanor is also getting tiresome. I know this is the 4th book in the series, but please, Amanda, advance these characters! I'll keep reading the next installments and I'm hoping my fervent wish will come true because I really like the Graveyard Queen storyline.

Dipping back into Amelia Gray's world is a little bittersweet. I love Amelia's slow journey as she learns what she can do with her gift, but I'm afraid of what this journey means for Amelia and Devlin's relationship. Amelia herself questions how she and Devlin fit together and they're both keeping so many secrets from one another. I imagine there will be a messy reckoning down the line when those secrets start spilling out.

But that time isn't here yet. Right now, we have Amelia following the clues she's unearthing to learn what happened at a peaceful commune years earlier that resulted in the deaths of dozens. The deeper she delves into this mystery, the more personal it becomes. Remember those secrets I mentioned earlier? Yeah, Amelia's holding her cards pretty close to her chest and her gift is becoming more complex with every interaction she has with the ghosts and ghoulies that linger in her graveyards.

And Devlin has things going on in his life that...worry me. Just sayin.'

I liked the mystery. I liked how Amelia's testing the boundaries of what her gift can do. She's feeling her way along for the most part, but she's coming to the realization that she's opened a door that can't be closed and it's either face her gift or be swallowed by it.

I liked so much about this book, but I am worried about what the next will bring for Amelia and Devlin's relationship. There are THINGS happening, guys. THINGS. *shivers in delight*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

The Visitor by Amanda Stevens is a unique mixture of paranormal and spooky tea cozy mystery. Amelia is a graveyard restorer that happens to grapple with the hidden ability to see ghosts and other spirit like things. She doesn’t like this ability and tries her hardest to ignore the ghosts because she’s been taught all her life that to acknowledge them is a bad thing. When they start to leave things for her in her house, though, and start to wake her in the middle of the night, she decides she has to figure out what they want from her in order to get peace. Through a little investigation, she decides there has to be a connection between the recent happenings and an old cemetery where an entire commune was buried after a supposed mass suicide years before her birth.

The spookiness factor in many parts of the story was high and had me wishing I hadn’t been reading right before bed. In other parts of the story, when Amelia is investigating and talking to new and old friends, it feels very much like a tea cozy mystery where we’re all in for a fun romp to find out whodunit. Mix in Amelia’s boyfriend who seems to be going through a private crisis that he doesn’t open up about, and you have lots of mystery. Amelia herself doesn’t open up about her seeing ability or many of the other happenings lately to her boyfriend, Devlin, so on both sides the readers are also along for the ride of a relationship that’s quietly on the rocks.

This is my first ‘Graveyard Queen’ novel, and while this book, #4, is a standalone, there are many spots, especially in the beginning, where you wish you had more knowledge of what went on before this story because the relationship dynamics between a few characters is brought up more than once in regards to events that happened in the last book. For the most part, the author kept us up to speed on the who, what, where and why of those previous events, but the feeling of wishing you understood the nuances of all that only went away when Amelia was deep into her own mystery for this book, the mystery of the Kroll Cemetery. That being said, the author did an excellent job of transporting us to Charleston and the surrounding areas, making me feel like I was right there with Amelia, hearing the sounds, smelling the fragrant scents of the outdoors, and seeing all the beautiful scenery without feeling like the story was bogged down with over description. Combined with the high spooky factor, this was a really fun book to read.

Southern Gothic at its finest, but I should have saved it for daytime reading as I did the other books in the series. Instead I read it as I do most of my Nook books....at bedtime. It made for supremely odd dreams to say the least. Amanda Stevens has a distinct writing style that has the reader feel the spookiness of the empty house, the "someone is watching me" creepy sensation, unnerving awareness of a don't-let-the-flashlight-turn-off-while-I-am-in-this-scary-basement.
All leading me to have crappe-weasel scary dreams each night after reading "just one more page".
I love cemeteries, always have. It was part of what drew me to the series. What a great career passion to take on, a restorer of cemeteries. I would love to apprentice with Amelia. Just not sure how well I would do with the haints.
Definitely recommend.

Five Top Reason the Graveyard Queen Series and The Visitor is For You:

You love a rich atmospheric setting with all things that go bump in the night.

You love a hair raising, goosebump inducing ghost story that will have you looking over your shoulder and turning lights on in the middle of the day.

You love a good spell binding, hauntingly addictive mystery that will keep you on your toes and eagerly turning the pages.

A swoon worthy romance that will simultaneously melt you into a pile of goo and break your heart.

Outstanding, beautiful writing that will suck you in and refuse to let you go.

*ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a very well written story that normally would be too dark for me, but at this time of year was perfect.

The only problem with the book (as far as I can see) is that if one reads the whole series (as I did) there are a lot of repetition. I find that it somewhat like when you have a good friend that tells wonderful stories that everyone wants to hear, but tends to always include a couple that she tells over and over.

But do not let me make you miss this story--it flows wonderfully and is quite good!

I enjoyed listening to the first three books and was looking forward this next installment. I got through the first half of the book, but as much as I love listening to the narrator, I am frustrated with the heroine. When will she accept what she is and the ghostly world? I am tired of heroines, who know their "abilities" but keep questioning and/or fight the ability. Also, this book took forever to get to the mystery.

I absolutely adore the Graveyard Queen series, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the fourth installment on Netgalley, and I knew I had to read this. The author did an amazing job of describing Charleston, in particular the cemeteries Amelia worked on restoring. I also really enjoyed the riddles, and the romance between Amelia and John Devlin in this book. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Stevens never lets you down. And be ready to have a dictionary on hand, because she loves to come up with words you rarely see in a fast read book. What a great extra from a writer! One who truly loves to set your brain humming while at the same time taking you on a romp through the graveyard. Check this one out. And don't forget to check out a new series coming soon. A truly interesting writer.

Amelia Gray is a cemetery restorer living in Charleston, SC and restores old graveyards all over the South. Amelia essentially grew up in a graveyard, since her father was a custodian for a large one. Father and daughter have a very strong bond because both can see ghosts. From an early age, her father gave her four rules to avoid being taken over by parasitic ghosts: never acknowledge the dead, never stray far from hallowed ground, never associate with those who are haunted, and never, ever tempt fate. Her meeting police detective John Devlin, however, causes her to break all the rules. Devlin is being haunted by the ghosts of his dead wife and small daughter. Amelia and Devlin have an immediate bond and Amelia must try to free him from his ghosts. He is unaware of them but Amelia knows that they will eventually kill him by siphoning off his life force. All ghosts want is to be alive again. The arc of first three books, The Restorer, The Prophet and The Kingdom tell the story of her effort to free him and her own very disturbing family background. She is successful but the door to more supernatural beings is thrown wide open.

Amanda Stevens has a real gift for escalating "creep factor". The atmosphere of The Visitor becomes more heavy and cloying as the novel progresses. There are some very frightening beings haunting the graveyard Amelia is asked to renovate. All the members of a cult were either murdered or suicides and were buried together. It becomes plain that someone, maybe human, maybe not, does not want its' secrets uncovered. Devlin, too, has become secretive and distant with Amelia. Evidently he, as well, has some family secrets to hide.

I am afraid that the long gap in publication between The Kingdom and The Visitor was detrimental to the series. Even though she does a good job mentioning prior events without any information dumps, I have completely forgotten many of them and how they tie in. I also found Amelia lacking in caution and walking into situations that she very well knows she should avoid. The Visitor doesn't even begin to resolve the relationship problems with Devlin and leaves us with a huge cliffhanger. The next book, The Sinner, comes along in September so there will not be such a long wait. I will be reading the next book but I do have reservations about The Visitor. It is well written, but ultimately somewhat unsatisfying.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.

RATING- 3 Stars