Amelia Gray is back with more ghosts trailing behind her! This unusual sequel is backed with more action and even more questions that The Restorer.
When Amelia is summoned to Asher Falls, she expected nothing but a restoration project to take her mind off of Devlin and his ghosts. Instead, she find adventure, new companions and a lot of unanswered questions.
The Kingdom picks up right where
The Restorer left us except Amelia is immediately called to a new location. Everything about this book is perfect. Like
The Restorer, the pacing is what makes this book. It moves at a slow and steady pace which usually bores readers; the opposite is happening here. The best way I can explain this book is to use the word "linger." The book moves at such a pace that all of the creepy interactions and ghostly things linger, transporting you into Stevens' eerie world. I loved the overall plot and loved how Stevens' kept the readers hooked by keeping the Reveal until the very end, but including little clues to make us think.
Amanda Stevens' strength is her characters. She introduces a whole new town full of interesting and quirky characters, they are all complex and honestly feel like real people, not imitations of real life. This is one of the reasons why I think The Graveyard Queen would make a fabulous movie, these characters come to life so easily. We learn more about Amelia's family and her heritage which will leave more questions than answers. I still love Amelia, she is level-headed, curious, and has a big heart; every action she took was justifiable which doesn't happen often with other main characters.
Stevens' writing is flawless as ever and Amelia is still a great narrator. Amelia is interesting, smart and has great insight. Stevens' writing can easily transport the reader into her world and make the reader feel as if he or she is living the actions alongside Amelia. I loved that Stevens' does not treat the sequel as a standalone book, she still references to actions and characters from
The Restorer.
The Kingdom does not suffer from Sequel Syndrome. It opens a whole new world with new challenges for one of the best heroines I have read about yet.
