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alyxandra harvey

  • Haunted Halloween with Alyxandra Harvey

    Haunted Halloween with Alyxandra Harvey

    By: Alexandra Harvey

    I write about vampires and ghosts, and occasionally, zombies. My grandmother read tea leaves and tarot cards. One of my favourite movies is 'Practical Magic'. My husband has ghostbuster gadgets, like an EMF reader and specialty cameras. I've had dreams physically come true. I even live in a haunted house. So you'd think I'd have some ghost stories of my own. But I don't. Well, not really. I admit to hearing chanting (Huron or Ojibway in our area) in our barn when my husband plays his drums. And I swear our Corgi astral projected once. I know how that makes me sound. But he was lying in his favourite spot by the front door but when I was on the phone with my husband, the dog was in the barn with him. Well, the dog's name is Yoda. And don't get me wrong, I believe in ghosts. I'm pretty sure our house is full of them; at least according to many of our visitors. We've had friends leave our house at dawn and refuse to come back. People have seen a woman in our kitchen wearing a long skirt, and again at the window looking out over what we assume would have been the vegetable garden a hundred and fifty years ago. And there's an old man in one of the guest bedrooms that likes to play with the closet door. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why the most sceptical of our friends and family have seen apparitions and I haven't. I don't want to. I have a writer's imagination and can freak myself right out. And at the end of the day, I have to live in this house. So as long as everyone keeps to company manners, I'm happy. But the ghost dogs? They can stay. My other dogs seem to like them.
    Alyxandra Harvey

    Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey Publisher: Bloomsbury (June 22nd, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Series: The Drake Chronicles, book # 2 The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge. It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

    The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.

    This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan’s and Isabeau’s perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

    Out For Blood, book # 3 in The Drake Chronicles series, will be released December 21st, 2010.

    Find out more about Alyxandra Harvey Alyxandra Harvey / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads
    Purchase Blood Feud Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

    * Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post.

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  • Review: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

    Review: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

    Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
    Publisher: Walker Childrens (June 21st, 2011)
    Reading Level: Young Adult
    Hardcover: 352 pages
    Source: Publisher
    Rating: 4 of 5 stars
    Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

    Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

    Review: This was my first experience reading a book by Alyxandra Harvey and I was very impressed with the story and her writing style. Haunting Violet is a captivating historical novel set in England during the 1800s.

    Violet is a young girl who is forced to go along with her mother's dishonest ways of making money. Her mother pretends to be a medium and she gets money from people who have lost a family member. She uses tricks and cons to make the family members believe that they are truly seeing and hearing their loved ones. Colin is there with Violet from the beginning. He was a orphan and Violet's mother hired him to help her carry out her schemes.

    Violet's mother sees a great opportunity for herself when she is invited to Lord Jasper's estate and she wants Violet to grab the interest of the wealthy Xavier at the same time. But soon Violet is thrown into a mystery she never expected. A real ghost is following her around and it's up to her to find out more about this ghost. This takes her on some very scary adventures but luckily she has Colin there to help her.

    Violet's relationship with Colin was wonderful to follow. They had a great friendship that seemed to slowly grow into something more. Along with Colin, Violet becomes friends with Elizabeth and the three of them try to unravel the mystery of what happened to the ghostly young girl together.

    I'm typically not a huge fan of historical novels but Alyxandra Harvey did a fantastic job at portraying this time period. It truly felt like I was right there with the characters and the descriptions were fantastic. Violet was a terrific character who showed great courage and compassion. This book was much more than simply a ghost story and I will definitely be reading more from Alyxandra.

    Find out more about Alyxandra Harvey Alyxandra Harvey | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads
    Purchase Haunting Violet Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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