Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

Title: The Kingdom
Author: Amanda Stevens
Series: Book Two in the Graveyard Queen Series
Published By: Mira (March 27, 2012)
Source: ARC copy from Netgalley
Genre: Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads Description:

 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.

My Review:

 In the second book in the Graveyard Queen series Amelia is sent to a little town called Asher Falls to restore an old cemetery there. She is still sad about everything that happened (and didn't happen) between her and Devlin in the first book so the change of town and scenery was a welcome one.

As Amelia is on the ferry to get to Asher Falls she thinks she sees something in the water, well a ghost to be exact. As she is leaning over the ferry trying to find her ghost she startled by the mysteriously dark Thane Asher and learns that when the town flooded the old cemetery along with half the town went under water where they all still reside today. Because of the flood the town became somewhat of a ghost town (no pun intended) and local residents claim that at night you can hear the ghosts ringing the bells attached to their coffins (as was the custom back then to do if the person was buried alive by mistake).

From the moment Amelia sets foot in the town something seems off about it and the residents. There is already a creepiness and air of mystery after just reading the first few chapters and I could already tell that this book was going to be even better than the first one.

Everything in the place is different, the air the trees, the ghosts, they are connecting with Amelia like she has never experienced before and she is scared not to mention worried about what that all means.

There is said to be a thin place located in the falls, a place that is thinnest between the world of living and the dead. Could that be the reason for all the strange occurrences, all the strange people and sightings and noise?

This book is such a journey for Amelia, she finds out so much about her life her family and who she is not to mention about the town and all of its secrets.

This book is definitely more creepy than the last one and while Devlin didn't play a role in this book he was never far from Amelia's mind.

We do meet some new and very interesting characters that play a huge role in Amelia's life and I think we will see more of them in the future.

I don't want to give anything away other than to say that this sequel was everything I wanted and them some. It was fabulous and I am so excited to read the next book, after the cliffhanger ending I can't wait to see what happens next!