Shelf Candy Saturday (5) Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover & Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews.

For this week's shelf candy post I decided to showcase two ghost themed books.

Unclean Spirits (The Black Sun's Daughter #1) by M.L.N. Hanover

 In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules.


Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means -- magical or mundane -- so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions -- Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities -- Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast -- or break them completely...

This book has been out since 2008 but I hadn't come across it until recently. I'm not normally a huge fan of covers with half leather clad lass's but I do love this cover. I like the tones and all of the whispy spirits on the cover model and her weapon. I'm also a fan of the title lettering, it gives you an almost uneasy feel and you know this isn't going to be a happy go lucky kind of book. I'm not sure what I think about the placement of the rest of the text though. It just seems a little awkward to me.  

  

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Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life--or her actual death--she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but "will" him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, "Hereafter" is a sensation you won't want to miss.

This cover has been all over the place since the book was released a year ago but I still love it. It's not the typical pretty girl in a pretty dress type of cover. You have those same elements but it's carried off with a twist. The girl is nicely faded to blend into the trees and water. And of course I love that this cover has blue tones :). The font and accents in the title and author's name are also a nice touch. 

Author's Site

Barnes & Nobles

Amazon