Jason Ellis (1)

Holly is an adorable character who is turning into a proper little lady; I love the fact that the author kept mentioning her like and eye for fashion as she is finding her way into the world of a pre-teen. Her acceptance to a very weird school with the most intriguing subject matters and her propensity to land into trouble had me gripped from the start. The start of the book is rather dark and twisted. I really enjoyed that, it does not grow any darker though and I found that to be show more appropriate seeing as the market for this book is supposed to be to the younger YA marker. I supposed to because as an adult I thoroughly enjoyed this book and never felt as if I have to dumb down to follow the story or enjoy it.
I long ago came up with a hypothesis that all children's rhymes or at least most children's rhymes are twisted and really dark. The author's use of such a children's rhyme as a recipe to disaster proved my hypotheses once again. So what is this story about? It is about Holly, some nasty rhyme, courage, friendship, loyalty and being nosey. Yes, Holly cannot leave well enough alone. I am so glad I am not alone in this.
So my star rating. I really, really want to give it an 8 * rating. First of all, I have to wait an entire year before the next book in this series will become available. Secondly I…. argh, you know, the book should have a few more chapters at the end. It ended way too soon. So for this negative response towards the book I want to give it an 8 * review. That being said. I can't. I loved it too much and simply can't wait to see what Holly gets up to next. So irrespective of my grievances, I have to give it a well deserved 9 * reviews. show less

Right from the beginning of this story, I was into it. An old tale as everyone thought it was, The Beast of the South-East, was going around for years. Children see things unexplained and hear noises as well that are unexplained. The beginning of this story works on children’s over active imaginations of monsters. Holly has received a note that only she can see it asking her to come to Highlands, a school for gifted children. The school is one that only allows certain children in and show more teaches them about unseen world called Obscura. She sees there are a few students and knows some of them. It’s a world of magic for her.
Holly has become friends with her geography teacher, Ovissa Slater. Ovissa is an investigator most of the time and she and Holly have a connection. Ovissa disappears and Holly is determined that whether she breaks the rules or not, to save her or to lead the Embassy to find her. But will she find her in time to save her or put herself in more danger? Mr. Ellis did a wonderful job with keeping me locked into this story. He will be an author I will follow. show less

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great read. I was hooked and had a hard time putting it down. The author has done a wonderful job in keeping the story flowing and engaging the readers in it. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time dying to know what happens next. I can't wait to read the next installment of Holly's adventures!!!

Holly is a girl who can see magic and in turn goes to a special school that teaches between the seen and unseen world. Holly is show more a very clever minded girl that has a sharp eye for noticing things. Her and her geography teacher become close, but then her teacher goes missing. Holly tries to follow the clues like a detective. Will she make it to find her teacher in time? Will this adventure be way over Holly's head? I gave this book a five star rating, because it is an outstanding read!! show less