Review: Unbroken by Paul Morris

Unbroken by Paula Morris
Ruined, #2
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published February 1st 2013 by Scholastic Inc.
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Welcome back to New Orleans.
Where the streets swirl with jazz and beauty.
Where the houses breathe with ghosts.

A year ago, Rebecca Brown escaped death in a New Orleans cemetery. Now she has returned to this haunting city. She is looking forward to seeing Anton Grey, the boy who may or may not have her heart.

But she also meets a ghost: a troubled boy who insists only she can help him. Soon Rebecca finds herself embroiled in another murder mystery from more than a century ago. But as she tries to right wrongs, she finds more questions than answers: Is she putting her friends, and herself, in danger? Can she trust this new ghost? And has she stumbled into something much bigger and more serious than she understands?

When I started reading this book I couldn’t remember any of the first book! I figured that like most sequels, the author would do a recap of the first book in the first chapter or so. That is what happened but I didn’t really think it flowed into the story very well. I was grateful for it though because I started to remember the book after reading that part.

I can honestly say that I’m not sure which book I enjoyed more. I liked the ending to this book more than the first one but both the books were about equal in excitement to me. I was surprised to see this book actually. The way the first book ended it didn’t hint at a second book. I don’t believe there will be any more books after this one but I could be wrong.

Pretty much all of the same characters from the first book are back in this one. The same snotty girls from the private school are scattered throughout the book. One person is back and I won’t spoil who, but I really liked the suspense that the character added. We are left rather hanging at the end of the book concerning this character though. I would like to know what happened.

The relationship between Anton and Rebecca is rather awkward and I really think Rebecca’s cousin Aurelia (I have no idea how to pronounce that) is really annoying and whinny. She keeps saying she isn’t a kid but she acts like a whinny brat when she doesn’t get her way.

I really liked Ling, Phil, and Raf. They are new characters that are introduced into this book. I found Phil to be quiet funny. Ling was quick thinking and really added to some of the scenes. You get to see a lot more of Rebecca’s dad in this book. I thought he was a really good character. For some reason I kept picturing him as my dad. This tells me that the author did a pretty good job at portraying him as a fatherly figure.

As with the first book, I love that the setting is New Orleans. I have never been there but it just seems like a great setting for a good ghost story. The character of the old houses gives off a creepy vibe.

Speaking of creepy, one of the ghosts in this book definitely falls into that category. The main ghost, Frank, is interesting. I kept expecting some great twist with him or something but nothing like that ever happened. There were some lead ons/hints at a possible romance but that never happened either, thank the Lord. I wasn’t a big fan of ghost romances. Too weird.

Overall, I liked the book. I recommend it! Definitely check out the first book if you haven’t read it yet either.

 

My Rating:
 

 

*I received this from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.