The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. : Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud

Lockwood & Co.:  The Screaming Staircase by [Stroud, Jonathan]

3 Stars

Publisher: Disney Book Group, Disney-Hyperion

Date of publication: August 26th, 2014

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Middle Grade, paranormal

Number of pages: 401

POV: 1st person

Series: Lockwood & Co.

The Screaming Staircase – Book 1

The Dagger in the Desk – Book 1.5

The Whispering Skull – Book 2

The Hollow Boy – Book 3

The Creeping Shadow – Book 4

The Empty Grave – Book 5

Where you can find The Screaming Staircase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead, she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately, this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by specters, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humor and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Trigger Warning: Suicide after the fact, Murder after the fact

Continue reading “The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. : Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud”

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding: A Fiendish Arrangement (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding: Book 1) by Alexandra Bracken

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding #1)

Title: The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Disney Book Group, Disney-Hyperion

Date of publication: September 5th, 2017

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Middle Grade

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding – Book 1

Where you can find The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

“I would say it’s a pleasure to meet thee, Prosperity Oceanus Redding, but truly, I only anticipate the delights of destroying thy happiness.”

Prosper is the only unexceptional Redding in his old and storied family history — that is, until he discovers the demon living inside him. Turns out Prosper’s great-great-great-great-great-something grandfather made — and then broke — a contract with a malefactor, a demon who exchanges fortune for eternal servitude. And, weirdly enough, four-thousand-year-old Alastor isn’t exactly the forgiving type. 

The fiend has reawakened with one purpose — to destroy the family whose success he ensured and who then betrayed him. With only days to break the curse and banish Alastor back to the demon realm, Prosper is playing unwilling host to the fiend, who delights in tormenting him with nasty insults and constant attempts trick him into a contract. Yeah, Prosper will take his future without a side of eternal servitude, thanks.

Little does Prosper know, the malefactor’s control over his body grows stronger with each passing night, and there’s a lot Alastor isn’t telling his dim-witted (but admittedly strong-willed) human host. 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken comes a tale of betrayal and revenge, of old hurts, passed down from generation to generation. Can you ever fully right a wrong, ever truly escape your history? Or will Prosper and Alastor be doomed to repeat it?

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding: A Fiendish Arrangement (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding: Book 1) by Alexandra Bracken”