Book Spotlight ~ HAUNTED & Signed Giveaway!!

Title: Haunted
Author: Joy Preble
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 290

I want to thank Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy to review.

Description: Anne Michaelson is trying to forget everything that happened last year. But it's hard to do when her heart aches for Ethan and there's a wild-haired woman stalking her...
Ethan Kosinsky is embracing his newfound mortality. But something is drawing him back to the girl he left behind-back to Anne and back to the magic...


A mysterious stranger is hunting Anne wherever she goes. No one sees her but Anne. When she searches for the woman's identity, Anne exposes secrets about her own life- things that will change her life forever. And when the gorgeous Ethan returns, her life gets a lot more complicated.
Anne thought her journey with the Romanov family had ended, but it was just the beginning...

Favorite Line or Passage: The story pours from her--not all at once--but in waves. She sips the tea, although she tells me she doesn't want it, and later, she eats the sandwich I make her, even thought she protests she isn't hungry. I butter thickly sliced bread, add tomatoes and salt. She pulls off small bites with her fingers, eats as she continues to pace, coming back to the table now and then until she's finished it all.

The reason I like this passage so much is the details Preble includes and how they relate to the narrator--which happens to be Ethan, the male main character.

NIGHTSTAND WORTHY

My Splats: HAUNTED is a beautiful story of self acceptance and honor, believing in what is good despite what is seen.

I'm a sucker for multiple POV tales, especially fantasies with a creepy edge. Just as in DREAMING ANASTASIA (my Book Spotlight HERE), the first book in this trilogy, HAUNTED follows more than one narrator: Anne--the girl with an unearthly connection to a girl trapped from book I, Ethan--the boy destined to find Anne, and Baba Yaga--the witch, who's entrapped the girl Anne dreamed about.


The journey begins with both main characters living separate lives, still dealing with the past they've shared while continuing to long for each other. And it doesn't take long for the paranormal to intrude in Anne's life again or for Ethan to show up.


Readers will enjoy a slanted take on otherworldly elements used to move the story forward and expand on Anne's character. Although those elements stretch the reader's mind toward the mythical and things hidden to most, the story also explores the human side to Anne and Ethan's struggles. 


Anne longs to understand her mother, build a solid and trusting relationship. The tale slowly unveils the beauty and strength of mother-daughter bonds, until it culminates with a powerful friendship and ending that I won't reveal here. Anne grows stronger with every flip of the page, and in the end is willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for what is good and right--even if that means giving up a piece of herself she may never get back. 

And NOW, the WINNER of the SIGNED copy of HAUNTED chosen by Random.org is: LEIGH MOORE!! Congrats, Leigh, and thank you to everyone who entered to support Joy!!