In Review: Phantoms of Fall

Phantoms of Fall (Haunting Ruby #2)
By Joy Elbel
Release date: Dec. 1, 2012
Copy provided by author for honest review
Available at Amazon

The Blurb:

Love demands sacrifice... but how much?

With the haunting at Rosewood far behind her, Ruby thinks life with Zach will now be perfect but she couldn't be more wrong. In reality, her problems have just begun. As the season changes, so does everything else. Zach's behavior takes a disturbing turn, classmates unleash a new band of torture, and new friends become new enemies. Worst of all, Rita unveils a startling revelation about the summer's events -Ruby's close brush with death may have opened her up to the other side. Now knowing that what happened over the summer could be just the beginning of a very long battle with the supernatural, Ruby is faced with a tough decision. Should she reveal this fact to Zach or do what she swore she would never do again -lie? The mounting stress has devastation effects on Ruby -or is something else that cause? Paranormal activity in the school creates more danger for Ruby and Zach than she ever imagined possible. Their love is tested in more ways than one as Ruby faces The Phantoms of Fall.

Holy Raging Teenage Hormones Batman! But I'll get to that later....

   So, Phantoms of Fall picks up not too long after Shades of Summer. Just when Ruby and Zach think they have nothing left to worry about and they get to have a normal relationship things start to fall apart. Ruby discovers the girl's locker room at school is haunted, Zach has become possessive and angry, attacking any guy who even looks at Ruby, Rita reveals that Ruby will never escape ghosts which could lead to the end of her and Zach's relationship, that is if Zach's witchy ex-girlfriend doesn't break them up first.

   Like the first book, I was able to devour this book fairly quickly. There's quite a bit to like here. The ghost's past and Ruby's present once again parallel each other and I always like when that happens. By the end of the book, Ruby is practically reliving what the ghost went through almost as if she's possessed. People get pushed, someone falls down the stairs, and Ruby ends up showering in blood (course she only thinks its blood) Yay, for paranormal activity!
    But it's not just the paranormal that plagues Ruby. There's trouble in paradise! Misty is stepping up her game in trying to get Zach back for herself using Ruby's insecurities for her benefit. Really, what's high school without the mean girl? And on top of that Zach develops this random angry possessive streak. He seriously blows a gasket when a guy jokingly hits on Ruby and she wants none of that. Good Girl! Despite wanting to smack him, I rather liked this new development in Zach. It makes him less perfect, which is how he's described by Ruby. A lot. After the way emotionally intense relationship they had in Shades of Summer I was happy to see Ruby so conflicted trying to decipher Zach's actions against his words while trying to figure out her own feelings and hormones.
   Unfortunately, despite Zach's outbursts and Ruby's secrecy these two are still so intensely in love in wears on me. I'm not opposed to them being love. No, let them be in love. That's great. But their relationship is still just so intense. I wish I had a better word to describe it. When they're together somehow they always manage to express their undying devotion to each other. And Ruby is on ball of raging teen hormones. She wants Zach bad, like can't think of anything else bad, and we get a peak inside Zach's brain for a chapter and he's right there on the same wave length. It got to be so much it covered up everything else that was going on at times. I just want to grab them by their chins and say, "You're teenagers. Slow. Your. Roll!" Is that the adult in me talking? Yeah, maybe. But I like to believe teenagers aren't as completely sex crazed and ooey-gooey in love as these two. Maybe I'm just naive.
   Over all, it was a good read, you just have to dig it out from under the tidal wave that is Zach and Ruby's Love (or lack there of) life. I am interested to see where the story goes because Oh my! What a cliff hanger!


Haven't read Shades of Summer yet? Check out my review and be sure to enter for your chance to win a copy of both Shades of Summer and Phantoms of Fall over on our Indie Monday post with Joy Elbel.

In Review: Shades of Summer

Shades of Summer (The Haunting Ruby series #1)
By Joy Elbel
Release Date: Oct 28, 2012
eCopy provided by author for honest review
Available on Kindle

The Blurb...

Love ... the only thing more powerful than death.
Seventeen year old Ruby Matthews spent the last year of her life crippled by guilt and grief over the death of longtime friend and boyfriend Seeley "Lee" Lucas. Feeling that a change of scenery might snap her back to reality, Ruby's father moves the family out of their home in the Philadelphia suburb of Trinity and into the small town life in Charlotte's Grove, Pennsylvania. Life is better here for Ruby- she quickly makes friends with handsome Zach Mason and his twin sister Rachel. Every moment spent with Zach makes life and love seem possible again. But passion comes with a high price. Things are not what they seem at Rosewood, the Matthews' historic plantation style home. Paranormal activity at the mansion intensifies as she draws closer to Zach . Is it Lee- coming back to claim her hear and maybe even her soul? Or is it something more sinister hiding in the shadows? Ruby must delve into her own past and the history of Rosewood to solve the mystery before it's too late.

    It's no secret I love a good ghost story. It's just something about the paranormal that grabs at my attention and says hey look at me! Read me! Looove me!
So of course, when I was approached about reviewing this book I jumped at it. And I'm very glad I did.

   This book sucked me in from the beginning. I loved it. I laughed and face-palmed several times. I think it's great when a story can evoke a physical response from its reader. It also put me to sleep, in a good way. It was one of those times where you're reading and before you know it it's 5am and you're like "oh crap!" because if you don't go to sleep soon you'll get caught (in this case by my husband who will give me "the eyes" that make me feel guilty for choosing reading over required sleep), and then you're brain just kinda clicks off.  Yeah...

   One of my favorite things about this book was the character Rachel. I would love to have a best friend like her. She is like this perky, nerdy cheerleader person who would pull these references out of left field that made me what to reach through the page and give her a fist-bump. Also, the house that Ruby moves into is pretty epic. Definitely a place I would love to see in real life. It reminded a little of Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast except, well plantation style.
   I love connections made within stories, whether it be dates or common names/name meanings or similar order of events. I like how things can all be tied back and connected to something. And that's what we get here.  History meet present. Now be friends and mingle! Love it! It's like a game almost, picking out all the connections and trying to guess what's going to happen and what ghost is who. It probably has a lot to do with why I like ghost stories in the first place. History.

   My main complaint however, is with Zach and Ruby's relationship. It became too ... intense, too fast for my taste. I'm not talking physically intense, but emotionally. Ok... I'm all for love at first sight. It's a great thing to believe in and can make for a great story. And I loved watching Ruby fumble over herself whenever she ran into Zach. It made her so personable. And just adored seeing how confident Zach was about his feelings for Ruby even when he just laid eyes on her. He knew what he wanted and it was great how you could just see it even when Ruby didn't believe it and she's the one telling the story. That being said, when the two did become an item it evolved into something way intense, like bypass awkward first kiss and hello I would die for you, you complete me. Their love also felt a little insecure for how strong it was. The last third of the book they were constantly repeating their devotion to each other. I got to the point where I wanted to take them by the hands and say, "You love each other. I get it. Big circle of soul completion going on. Can we focus on gtfo-ing the ghost so you two can have big smoochies?"

  Over all, an enjoyable read and if you like ghosts and romance you should check it out. I know I'm pretty curious about the sequel now after a little teaser at the end of the book.