Reviews

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

laureenreads's review against another edition

2.0

Let's be honest. It's hard to respect a character who is a drug addict and who is constantly looking for her next fix. It would have been one thing if it had been briefly touched upon, or only vaguely referenced, but Chess is constantly popping pills and there were only two times it was effective for the plot: a reason to be blackmailed, and to stay awake at the end. Add to that the odd way of speaking the lower-class citizens have which sometimes required a moment of "what did they say?" and it's easy to see why I was kind of disappointed in this book. I'm holding out hope that Chess quits the drugs eventually, because that's my biggest problem with the series.

yodamom's review against another edition

5.0

FAVORITE !!! This book hit every mark that I try to avoid in most stories. Heavy drug use, physical abuse, promiscuity, abused children, worms crawling out of skin.... and yet it worked so well I loved reading it. The magic web that Chess got involved in was a roller coaster ride to the darkest of places and yet there was kindness,a friendship in a twisted but sweet way. Terrible the big bad thug, wormed his way into my heart. The details and the imagination written into this story are mind boggling. Don't be afraid of the dark aspect of this tale the story is worth reading more than once.
I got this on audio, the narrator was perfect in her reading and made the book come alive.

gillianw's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars

Second reading

The audio version of this book is stellar. The narrator handled the story deftly and brought Chess, Terrible, Lex and Bump to life with a joyful enthusiasm. It made me remember why I liked this series in the first place.

Recommend.

_viscosity_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

rchll's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

jess_the_science_beast's review against another edition

5.0

This is my second read of Unholy Ghosts (a rare thing for me), and even two years after the first read I'd still like to thank author Stacia Kane for:

• A deeply flawed, but sympathetic protagonist who was never reduced to whining or complaining about her situation, even though she had every reason to do so.
• Equally flawed, completely human, shockingly lustworthy men; especially you, Terrible, you ridiculously named man. You are a puppy who's been kicked until bones break and blood pools on the floor, yet you still have a glimmer of hope and caring in your eyes. I totally fell for you.
• A Church that both protects and terrifies and doesn’t even depend on fire and brimstone or God to do so.
• A dark and gritty world that I loved to visit in fiction but would never want to visit in real life.
• Street slang with the rhythm of real speech, and I loved reading it.
• A story line that kept me turning pages way past my bedtime because I really didn’t know how it would end, or if a happy ending was even possible in this world, for this character.

I can’t tell you how much it means to me to find such a unique heroine, world, and story in the urban fantasy genre. I’ve read so many that only the most original, best written stand out in my mind. If this book has a flaw, it would be that I can’t imagine reading the whole series in one go like I would any other 5-star book. Chess’s life is just a little too bleak for me to do that, though it made the moments of humor and genuine connection between the characters stand out even more. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. I’m just going to cut the effects of it with some light and fluffy anime...and maybe a YA novel or two.

bhookjunkhie's review against another edition

4.0

Loved it!..A really gritty, raw, dark, and original world..Chess had some serious problems and I liked how they wernt all solved at the end...You dont often see a heroine addicted to drugs in books and I thought it added an interesting dimension to it...Cant wait to start the next book and see whats gonna happen..looking forward to some Terrible and Lex too!...

jenna_bookworm_5822's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 ⭐

This book was hard to get into but in the end turned out better than expected.... Good enough to go onto #2

theadjectiveone's review against another edition

4.0

If you're a recovering addict, don't read this book series. It gets much more difficult to read in the second book.

strayfe_angel's review against another edition

5.0

I really loved these books - I had none of the problems with Chess that others seem to have, and Chess and Terrible = Awesome.