e-ARC, 272 pages
Release Date: August 10, 2013
Published by: Indie Author
The Ghost of Palladino, #1
Source: Sent from Author
For fans of Ghosts, Demons, Reform schools, Fantasy Romance, YA
Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape. Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant... and perfect. But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory... or destroy her.
*MY THOUGHTS*
From the moment I saw this cover on Goodreads I was intrigued. I needed to know what this was all about and if the story had any type of connection to the beautiful colors in the cover.
The creativity in this book astounded me. When Rory got to the reform school, all the lessons they had made me want to go to that freaky school just to see what it was all about. It was nothing like I had ever read and I loved that. But, I will say that I wish they title was a little more creative. I mean the title is the name of the main character. I might have liked it better had it been the something to do with the strange city.
The one thing I didn't like, was the way the girls were treated. And why they were treated that way. Ugh no girl should ever be treated that way just to please a man. I was so glad that Rory was one that wanted to fight back and not give in to what they were doing.
Rory was a strong character that was fueled by her emotions. At some times she reminded me of me. In the beginning she never listened to what her mother said but then as she grew older she began to see why her mother said it all those years. That's happened to me more times than I can count. Unfortunately for Rory, she didn't make the realization until it was already too late.
Lastly, I just wish the action scenes had a little bit more "oomph." The moment I started getting all riled up and nervous about what was to come next, the scene was over and that was it. I never really got to "feel" the scaredness that Rory felt when she was being taken to Palladino or how she felt when she was going through her challenging lessons.
This is a great addition to the fantasy genre. I can't wait for you all to see what Cho has written!
Overall, I give this
