Title: Dead and Missing (Ripsters, #2)
Author: Chris Myers
Released: July 13, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Brittany Howland only knows one other girl, Jolie Livingston, who can communicate with the dead like herself. When Brittany takes Jolie’s haunt fishing to get him out of Jolie’s hair, he mysteriously disappears. Brittany isn’t sure how she’ll tell Jolie she lost her stupid ghost. Jolie thinks her dead best friend Drew has finally crossed over, but Brittany knows better. Just before Drew went missing, he revealed why he hasn’t hitchhiked to the afterlife, a secret Brittany swore she’d take to the grave.
Book Description for Date With the Dead (Book, #1):
Sixteen-year-old Jolie Livingston’s closest and only friend Drew is this really hot dead guy, and it bites that the self-absorbed princesses at school cannot even see him. That’s right she can communicate with the dead. It’s the living she has trouble with. She and her mom inherited this awesome crib in Plymouth, MA. It’s quite a step-up from the homeless shelter in New Orleans, but there’s a catch. They can’t afford the past due mortgage, so Jolie’s working on that.
She starts a ghost hunting business called Ripsters. Somehow she’s managed to recruit Brittany, a glamour SAP smothered in pink, and a techie allergic to ghosts. Brit actually thinks he resembles the R&B singer Chris Brown. All that pink has clouded her vision. They both have special talents Jolie’s hoping will be useful to their venture. Right now, they’re working for a family in need of major therapy due to a dead guy with a hole in his head
She starts a ghost hunting business called Ripsters. Somehow she’s managed to recruit Brittany, a glamour SAP smothered in pink, and a techie allergic to ghosts. Brit actually thinks he resembles the R&B singer Chris Brown. All that pink has clouded her vision. They both have special talents Jolie’s hoping will be useful to their venture. Right now, they’re working for a family in need of major therapy due to a dead guy with a hole in his head
About the Author:
Chris Myers suffers from an overactive imagination. She spent her high school years writing torch songs for fantasy guys then moved onto writing thrillers and young adult. She has a real job but would love to write full time. Her books have won and placed in the finals and semifinals for several awards including Paul Gillette, Rocky Mountain Gold, and Amazon Breakthrough Novel. Chris lives in Colorado with her daughter, her better half, and BeBe, a rambunctious Bichon.
Review:
Having not already read book one in this series, I was asked to read and review it for this blog tour. Therefore the following is my review of book one, 'Date With the Dead'.
I have read so many different kinds of supernatural and paranormal books, but somehow I have not really read any about ghosts. That being said I didn't really know what to expect going into this novel. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. I LOVED this book. It's quirky, unique, and packs a lot of attitude. It was truly unlike any other book I have ever read. That's really saying something having read as many books as I have. It's difficult to find truly original stories, but this one definitely qualifies.
It all begins when sixteen year old Jolie and her mom move to a new house in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They lost their home in Hurricane Katrina and had been living in shelters until they inherited her aunt Ophelia's house when her aunt goes missing and is declared dead. Jolie is kind of an outcast mainly because she can see and communicate with the dead. She has a best friend named Drew who happens to be a ghost, but aside from that she lacks any friends. Jolie and her mother find out that they have two weeks to pay the taxes owed on the house or they will lose it. They have no real money to speak of and Jolie decides to take matters into her own hands. She stumbles upon a couple new people; Reese, a techie, and Brit, a popular girl at her school who loves pink and who can also see ghosts and has one haunting her. They begin a business called RIPSTERS - Rest In Peace Sophisticated Technology For Efficient Removal of Spirits - that offers services in ghost hunting and mystery solving. She soon learns that almost all of the teens in Plymouth have some degree of psychic ability, and that things aren't exactly what they seem. I won't go on anymore than that because, well, in the words of River Song from Doctor Who, SPOILERS!
This book was so very awesome. The writing is perfect. The characters, Jolie and Brit especially, are really fun to read. I loved Jolie's point of view. She's definitely a different sort of character, but a loveable one all the same. She has pure, honorable motives and it's so cool to watch her grow in this story and find a place to fit in.
This book was also pretty scary at some points. There is something about the idea of ghosts that is incredibly creepy and scary to me. I think it comes from the fact that ghosts are one of the few supernatural creatures that a lot of people, including myself, truly believe in. I mean it's a little hard to believe in things like werewolves and vampires, but most people I have spoken with have had some sort of experience that could lend credence to the existence of ghosts. There is also something about the way ghosts can invade your home and life without your permission that just really creeps me out.
The bottom line is this; 'Date With the Dead' is a really fun, somewhat creepy, action packed, easy to read, AWESOME book! I finished this book in one sitting and was captivated from beginning to end. In the past week I have read four books, and this one was by far my favorite. I can't wait to read the next one in the series (that just came out by the way).
To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpts click here.
Thanks Caroline for reading my book, posting a review, and being a tour host!
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