Review with giveaway: Dearly Departed By Rachael Rawlings

Print Length: 162 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0615680186
Publisher: Hydra Publications (May 23, 2012)

Source: E-book provided by Publisher for review

“Dorothy, or Dot to her friends, is the slightly eccentric daughter of the town’s funeral director. Her art is the only medium that she can express herself with, but it sets her apart.

Until she meets him.

He walks the cemetery looking for something. Something he cannot explain. In him she finds an acceptance she has never had. Yet to keep him, she has to help him find what he has lost. Whether it brings him home to her, or ends his existence completely.”

My Thoughts:

Dearly Departed is the first book the new Grave Reminders Series. Although the cover is a little grave with the big statue on it the book is certainly not! Rachael Rawlings has set a strong first impression with this exciting book.

Dearly Departed is a YA paranormal novel with a kick and a twist. Rachael Rawlings has made a realistic world with the ups and downs of a teenager living alone besides a graveyard. The world building in this story is believable and the characters strong.

I have to say that Dorothy (or Dot, Dotty, Thea whatever she is named in this story) is my favorite.

She is her own strong heroine, she is smart, creative and how creepy the situation is… She just confronts it, head first! I don’t know how I would have handled it if I was a Teenager without my parents living in that strange place and I would see a man wondering in my back yard at night. How pretty he may be!

And speaking about he, the mysterious man that wanders the graveyard at night with a smile that melts your insides. *Sign* Thomas is set as a strong character, mysterious and dark and of course Dot can’t resist to find out his story. If you want to now it too, you just have to read the book. No spoiler here this time. Sorry!

Dearly Departed is not the Paranormal Romance you are used to read about on my blog but tI believe this story that will fit with you. With the Mystery, Romance and Paranormal events combined this is certainly a book worth reading. At the end of the book there is also a sneak preview of book 2.

I am curious what book 2 will bring me, I have put it on my to-be-read list!

About the Author:

Rachael Rawlings began writing when she was in grade school, and hasn’t stopped since. She currently has completed five novels, to be published by Hydra Publications. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Kentucky, and her Master’s of Science degree at the University of Louisville. She has worked as a Speech Language Pathologist in Rehabilitation Centers, Long Term Care facilities, private practice, and the school system. Her love of working with people and the importance of communication has continued to inspire her in her work.

Rachael has a true love of reading, and reads different genres depending on her mood. She is interested in mystery, fantasy, good old fashioned spine tingling horror, and gentle romance. She reads for entertainment and comfort, and her writing reflects this. Her main goal is to show the reader a good time, make them think just a little, and make them wonder.

She lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, and two parrots in the small town of Crestwood, Kentucky.

Find Rachael Rawlings on Twitter or Goodreads

[If this raffle is not showing right you can go here]

Hydra Publications is giving away one copy of Dearly Departed. All you have to do is enter your name and email to win, but there are extra entries options if you’re interested!

a Rafflecopter giveaway