Blog Tour: Second Verse by Jennifer Walkup

Second Verse by Jennifer Walkup

Release Date: October 1st 2013
Publisher: Luminis Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 258
Genre: YA Paranormal/Thriller
Source: Publisher
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository | B&N Add it: Goodreads

Bad things come in threes. In Shady Springs, that includes murder.

Murder Now

Lange Crawford’s move to Shady Springs, Pennsylvania, lands her a group of awesome friends, a major crush on songwriter Vaughn, and life in a haunted, 200-year-old farmhouse. It also brings The Hunt: an infamous murder mystery festival where students solve a fake, gruesome murder scheme during the week of Halloween. Well, supposedly fake.

Murder Then

Weeks before The Hunt, Lange and her friends hold a séance in the farmhouse’s eerie barn. When a voice rushes through, whispering haunting words that only she and Vaughn can hear, Lange realizes it's begging for help. The mysterious voice leads Lange and Vaughn to uncover letters and photos left behind by a murdered girl, Ginny, and they become obsessed with her story and the horrifying threats that led to her murder.

Murder Yet to Come

But someone doesn’t like their snooping, and Lange and Vaughn begin receiving the same threats that Ginny once did. The mysterious words from the barn become crucial to figuring out Ginny's past and their own, and how closely the two are connected. They must work fast to uncover the truth or risk finding out if history really does repeat itself.

The story starts out the in the cafeteria of Preston Academy of Arts, a private school in the small town of Shady Springs, PA. We are introduced to Lange, our main protagonist and her small group of friends. One of these friends happens to be Vaughn, our other character that is very frequent, and quite an important part of the story.  We are also introduced to Stace, the possible love interests may or may-not-be girlfriend, and Kelly her best friend. Then we have a small side character named Ben.

As they are all sitting around the lunch table having a typical teenage conversation about blood and gore and decapitation… oh wait… that’s not normal. That’s because they are talking about the decades old tradition called The Hunt. Where the seniors stage a brutal murder for the underclassmen to solve. The winner gets bragging rights, a day off, and a senior parking spot for a week. This is taken very seriously throughout the entire town.  

Lange is new to town and this will be her first time participating. She is not looking forward to it because she hates anything that has to do with blood and gore. The fact that a girl named Ginner and her family were brutally murdered in the farm house that her mother purchased, and it has been sitting empty ever since,  does not help matters either. In order to do her part in the Halloween activities, Lange, Vaughn, and their friends decides to hold a séance in the barn where the killer hung himself. When the séance becomes a little too real, things start to happen that Lange and Vaughn can’t explain.

This is a pretty well done supernatural murder mystery. There is plenty of talk about murders and murders, which could get a little gruesome, as well as some murdered bunnies, horse tails, and eyeballs. The suspense in this book was definitely top notch in some parts. There are love letters and diary pages that are read to tie in the past. I always love diary entries, especially from a murder victim.

Not only is this a supernatural murder mystery, it has a love story, and some sci-fi thrown in at the end! I was actually shocked by the ending of the story. While there were some parts that were sort of obvious, I won’t include any spoilers, but the ending definitely through me for a loop. I didn’t see it coming at all!

The writing was very smooth and I don’t have any complaints. I definitely recommend picking this book up!

My Rating:

*This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

Welcome to another exciting publishing house spotlight tour from Novel Publicity. Join us as two new titles from Luminis Books--we're calling them the Luminis Dyad--tour the blogosphere in a way that just can't be ignored. And, hey, we've got prizes!

{About the prizes}

Who doesn't love prizes? You could win either of two $25 Amazon gift cards, an autographed copy of Second Verse by Jennifer Walkup, or an autographed copy of its tour mate, The Field by Tracy Richardson. Here's what you need to do...

        

         1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest

         2. Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win a $25 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found HERE. The other $25 gift card and the 3 autographed books will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Luminis Dyad tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

Pick up your copy of this Young Adult/ Paranormal/ Thriller through the links at the top of the page!

{About the author}

When Jennifer Walkup isn’t writing or reading, she’s spending time with her husband and young sons, listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers, and coming up with costume ideas for Halloween. She’s obsessed with good coffee and new recipes and likes broccoli on her pizza, flowers in her hair, flip-flops on her feet, and the number 13. A member of SCBWI, Jennifer also serves as fiction editor for The Meadowland Review and teaches creative writing at The Writers Circle. Second Verse is her first novel. Contact Jennifer via the links at the top of the page!  

Luminis Books was launched in January, 2010 by husband and wife team Tracy Richardson and Chris Katsaropoulos with a mission to publish thought-provoking literary fiction for children and adults. We publish what we love: Meaningful Books That Entertain. Our award-winning books engage and inform readers and explore a wide range of topics from love and relationships, teen sexual assault and homelessness to string theory, consciousness, and the Universal Energy Field. Luminis Books is a proudly independent publisher located in Carmel, IN. Learn more at www.luminisbooks.com.

Learn more about Second Verse's tour mate HERE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway