4.5/5 stars

Thanks so much to Penguin and Goodreads for listing the giveaway!

I was so happy when I won the giveaway for this book! I did a happy dance! It deserved all of my excitement, too!

The beginning was a little bit slow, but I really enjoyed reading Rory's witty narration. The first half of the book talks a lot about how she copes with everything that happened during the Ripper case but it gradually works back into the Shades. It got very exciting at that point in the book. I loved how there were some new characters introduced and there are hints of more possible conflicts and mysteries to come in the next book with this addition. Another thing that I really enjoyed were the changes in relationships between some of the characters! One thing that was different in this book from the first was it was much less gory, but a little more eerie. In this book you can expect a little less action, but it doesn't take away from the amazingness of the story.

My favorite characters are probably Boo and Jazzy. Both are wonderful friends to Rory when she needs it most. My favorite leading man would have to be Stephen. I've always liked him more than Jerome! (I keep re-reading one amazing scene with Stephen...) I like him because he's intelligent and guarded but you see him open up a bit in this book and I really liked the vulnerability about him.

Overall, this was such a great book! Ms Johnson does a wonderful job making this world of the Shades seem realistic. She also couldn't have picked a better more eerie setting than London, England and a school like Wexford!