Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
pages: 266
released: May 2011
publisher: Disney Hyperion
cover love: ♥♥

After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare – former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead – finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this – ugh – “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is – ahem – willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea. (from Goodreads)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 8/8/2011 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET

Review:

I was happy to get a copy of Queen of the Dead from the library so fast because I couldn’t wait to dive back into the story of Alona and Will and I was not disappointed. These characters charmed me once again. The second installment goes deeper into Will’s past. His father was a seer but when Will meets Mina, also a seer and ghostbuster-type hunter, it’s apparent that there was alot of history and details left out. Will discovers a whole organization that deal with spirits, called the Order of the Guardians and he begins to question if helping spirits find “closure” is the right thing to do anymore?   And then there’s Alona. She doesn’t want to admit she has “more than friends” feelings towards Will and even he doesn’t know what they technically are. All he knows is that, whatever they are, he’s definitely okay with it. Alona’s still getting the hang of not being an ungrateful snob and being a good-doer but she loses it when she realizes her parents are moving on very quickly from mourning her death. Understandably, I’d be pissed too. It’s only been two months. She doesn’t want to be forgotten and needs Will’s help but he refuses. Soooo..she takes matters into her own hands. Just when you think she’s going to stay righted and do what she’s supposed to do (which is be nice and helpful towards others), she gets herself into the biggest mess possible, ultimately changing her status from spirit to possessor.  What the hell are she and Will going to do now to fix this?  I’m hoping this giant mistake Alona has made will somehow bring her and Will closer together. I think there will be a chance for further boundaries to be explored because of it. I also think Will is going to have alot on his plate with the Order of the Guardians and finding out how to get Alona back to normal…well, you know what I mean. On the author’s website, she informs us that the third book will probably be released next summer. Wow, that’s such a long time from now. But it’s gonna be worth the wait.

4