Showing posts with label Pandora English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pandora English. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: THE SKELETON KEY by TARA MOSS


THE SKELETON KEY
(A Pandora English Novel Book3)
by
TARA MOSS

Publisher:  Pan MacMillan
Format: Paperback, 286 pages
Acquired:  Received from publisher for review

RATING:  4 WALKING DEAD STARS!

Goodreads Description:
In the third Pandora English mystery, Pandora is still negotiating her double life as a lowly assistant at a New York fashion magazine with the reality that she has great supernatural powers and responsibilities.

With the full moon set to rise once again, Pandora has a very special date looming. Her beautiful spirit guide, Civil War soldier Lieutenant Luke, will be a flesh-and-blood man, if only for the night, and she hasn't been able to stop thinking about it. But a chance encounter with playboy Jay Rockwell sees that very human attraction start all over again – even though Jay doesn't remember their previous relationship, or the fact that Pandora saved him from a gang of ill-tempered undead supermodels.

Meanwhile, Pandora – with her special skeleton key – is slowly unlocking the mysteries of the haunted mansion where she lives with her great aunt Celia. What sinister experiments did the architect Dr Edmund Barrett conduct there before he died? Where is his laboratory? And what are the strange noises emanating from the basement?

On the centenary of the mysterious fire that supposedly killed Dr Barrett, he returns to the mansion. He has a message for Pandora. But he has brought with him a dark force that threatens to tear apart the delicate balance between the worlds of the dead and living...

 MARISSA'S REVIEW:
Back again with Pandora English in the third book of the series by Tara Moss. 

In The Skeleton Key we get to see more events take place and a great "end of world" saga that brings with it, finally, the opportunity for Pandora to use her skill as the Seventh!  It's taken up to book 3 and a whole lot of vague answers from Deus, Lt. Luke & Great-Aunt Celia for Pandora to know one of her Seventh abilities is that of a necromancer.

What do I love about The Skeleton Key? It's got ZOMBIES!! If only for a few pages....but they are there! Oh how I love me some dead peeps!! (Yes....The Walking Dead is my fave show!).

Hidden passages, doorways and Dr. Barrett's lab are discovered with the use of The Skeleton Key!  Tara Moss gives us a lovely dark and sinister walk through the underground passageways of Number One Addams Avenue, Spektor. With mysteries lying further below ground than Pandora should go - she is drawn to what is below the basement.  

With the arrival of Dr Barrett and his widow (both long deceased), come further warnings of something dark and menacing in the mansion......just who has hitched a ride on Dr Barrett's dead travels?  And what has this thing done with darling Lt. Luke to make him try kill Pandora?  eeeeck! 

With every new door and passage that Pandora stumbles across, she comes closer to the dead awakening that will bring about the end of the world.

One question I do constantly find myself wondering..........Tara, with Pandora living on "Addams" Avenue......surely her workmate "Morticia" will have to be involved somewhere!

One little bit of trivia.....I love that Tara has shed the light on some vampire - oops I mean Sanguine - quirks.......throw a handful of rice on the ground and watch the darling dead diva's count!!  The few references of Pandora tossing the rice had me chuckling...I can just imagine the internal angst the sanguine have with having the NEED to count the grains!

So what's next for Pandora English?  December 2013 we will be graced with THE COBRA QUEEN (book4) which Tara is researching ancient Egypt for.

ENJOY!
MARISSA 

 Tara Moss
I love this pic that features on the inside cover of 
The Skeleton Key 
Tara looks darkly regal!
Another bit of trivia.....this photo was taken in her backyard and the mist rolled in at just the right time! Spooky!!







Friday, January 4, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: THE SPIDER GODDESS by TARA MOSS


THE SPIDER GODDESS
(A Pandora English Novel #2)
by
TARA MOSS

Publisher:  Pan MacMillan Australia
Format: Paperback, 324pages
Acquired:  Book received from publisher for review

RATING:  3.75 SANGUINE STARS!

Goodreads Description:
 It's been two months since Pandora English left her small hometown to live with her mysterious great-aunt in a haunted mansion in Spektor – the fog-wreathed suburb of Manhattan that doesn't appear on any map. With the help of her great-aunt and the beautiful – but dead – Lieutenant Luke, Pandora is beginning to understand the significance of the Lucasta family heritage her late mother kept secret from her. Pandora is heir to a great gift. And with that comes frightening responsibility...

Meanwhile, she seems doomed to be forever underestimated in the mortal world. Her fashion editor boss doesn't seem to know she exists. But New York needs Pandora's special gifts. There is a new designer in town, and her ambitions extend far beyond taking over the fashion world one knit at a time...



MARISSA'S REVIEW:
In book 2 of the Pandora English Novels by Tara Moss, we continue with Pandora English - the Seventh and her journey to uncover what being the Seventh means.  

Her ghostly, would-be love interest Lieutenant Luke continues to be at her beck and call and connections between the two continue to grow.   Though being YA and of course Luke being a ghost (!), not a lot happens which is quite OK with me! But wait.....the discovery of Luke's civil war sword brings about a physical change that opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for the pair.

The beautiful and blood thirsty sanguine Athanasia and her three cronies (Blonde, Brunette & Redhead!) continue to taunt Pandora.  Rather miffed at Pandora for thwarting a catastrophe in The Blood Countess and by almost permanently killing Athanasia - the sanguines come close a few times to exacting their revenge on Pandora.  Unfortunately for them, Pandora's "close" friend Deus happens to be a rather old and most senior Sanguine - one that has control over Athanasia and her friends.  Pandora also happens to have Deus protecting her!

Early on in the book, Pandora stumbles upon a rather large spider (tarantula) which seems to have some strange connection with her.  This is the beginning of the Spider Goddess' entrance into the story.  Unfortunately it takes majority of the book for the Spider Goddess to rear her ugly head and the confrontation feels to come to a conclusion rather fast.

There is a lot of recapping in this book, reminding us of each character and the events that unfolded in Book1.  The Spider Goddess, I feel, plays a smaller part in this book with the continual growth of Pandora, her unraveling mysteries of the mansion and being the Seventh playing the more important storyline.  

There seems to be something big brewing for future books in the series!  I look forward to continuing the saga.

And I just LOVE the covers in this series!  Just beautiful!!


ENJOY!
MARISSA