Moon Shine Art Spot: EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS (BOOK 3) Spotlight, Review

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS (BOOK 3)

Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks Excerpts

• Tonight, the graveyard was packed with tourists. We get a lot of them this time of year—zombies from up north. They were the rudest, most annoying creatures. And that whole brain-eating thing? I don’t care where you live, that’s just poor manners. Not to mention, they were having so much fun out there in the graveyard, which made me dislike them even more. I wanted to be out there, too.

• I crouched below the railing and held my breath. My parents stayed silent for a long time, probably trying to decide if they heard someone listening to them. Fortunately, this place made all sorts of noises at night—one of the benefits of living in a haunted castle. Even better, Uncle Mervin floated by with a book tucked under his arm, complaining to himself about how he couldn’t get any reading done with all that ruckus, and he poofed through the wall in search of a quieter location.
I eased out the breath that’d been burning up in my chest and waited for my parents to start talking again.
“Pizza?” Mom whispered. “What do you know about pizza?”
“Absolutely nothing, but that’s what they gave me. The place is called Ghoulicious Pizza.”
“You can turn into anything, and they want you to manage a pizza place?”
“They told me it was low-key, and that every human loves pizza, so chances are they won’t suspect anything.”
“And the murders?”
Hold on. Now this was getting interesting. The murders have been all over the news for the last few months. In school, the only thing we talked about more than the murders was the super-cool rock band the Ghastly Brothers—Nick Ghastly is perfectly horrible, by the way, I don’t care what Sally says.
Did my dad know who had been committing these murders? I stretched so far over the railing to listen that I nearly tipped over the side.

• The human girls directed Mom and me to a place called Halloween World—yet another small place with a big name … Great.
But when we walked inside, I nearly fainted from excitement. Each rack overflowed with clothes, and all sorts of interesting decor filled the shelves. Most impressive of all were the masks that covered the entire back wall. Some of them even bore an uncanny resemblance to my relatives back home.
A werewolf greeted us with a “Hooowl can I help you today?” At first I thought he was real, but as he came closer, I noticed the rubber fangs and thin beads of glue that held his fur in place. He reminded me of one of my uncles. He glued his fur on, too, though he did it to cover his bald spots.

• I took a deep, jittery breath and told myself, They’re only humans. You can do this. But by the time the van backed out into the street, an all-too-vivid image surfaced in my head. In it, an endless sea of torches and pitchforks waited to greet me.

• “Dad! Quick! C’mere!” I wanted him to hear how I might’ve just saved the entire monster race.
“What’s up?” Dad asked, wiping off the sauce and flour that had covered his hands like thick, gooey gloves.
“I overheard them say that work was murder. And one of them said he needed to kill time until ‘the family’ arrived. There might be more of them coming.”
“Time murders. Isn’t it bad enough they kill monsters?” I said.
“But they’re my best customers,” Dad said. “Who’d have thought they were time killers.” This last he whispered, as if concealing a curse word. “Should I call URNS for backup?”
“No. That’ll take too long. We’re gonna have to take them down ourselves,” Griff said.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• “Remember,” I whispered, looking from Mom to Dad, “this guy is a total control freak.” My eyes focused on Mom. “Don’t let him get under your skin, because he will try.”
Mom waved me off. “Who’s the mother here? I know how to handle humans like him.”
“He doesn’t celebrate Halloween, Mom.”
“Well, it’s not my fault he’s an idiot.”
Oh, this was going to be fun, I thought.

• The day had started out great, but fell apart by lunch. To be more specific, it fell apart exactly when Stacey and her minions, Jasper and Becca, entered the cafeteria. They carried their own brand of superiority in the way they swaggered in, as if they were better than everyone else in every single way possible.
Stacey shot a wicked glance at Carly Beth and me but turned to gushy smiles when Warren walked up to her. She gave him a long kiss, which made me cringe. She was taunting me, dangling Warren in front of me like a spoiled werewolf with a new chew toy. I didn’t care. She could have Warren. I didn’t like him. At least not in that way, or so I tried to convince myself.

Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows Excerpts

• Mom's eyes seethed with anger. “And who exactly is this he?”
“The Director,” Dad said in a whisper that I couldn't even hear—and I was sitting right next to him.
“Who?” Mom asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Dad cleared his throat and gazed at Mom imploringly. “The Director.”
Though Mom was the one that could turn creatures into stone—petrifying she liked to call it—it was Dad's words that seemed to have that effect on Mom. Even her snakes recoiled at the sound of that name. “But he promised to—” She cut herself off and flashed a worried glance at me. Then, her gaze returned to Dad. “He promised us, Bill.”
I noticed a whole exchange going on between the two of them with their eyes, and I became angry. I hated being left out of a conversation, especially one about me. “Hello ...? Promised what?” I demanded.
Dad placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “There's something you should know about The Director.”
“What?” I asked. I didn't like his coddling tone one bit. It reminded me of the way he'd told me about us moving here. And that bit of information changed my life forever.
As he decided on the words to say, his face grew increasingly pale.
“Go ahead, Bill. Tell her. She needs to know,” Mom said. She had calmed down considerably, which did nothing to help the adorable feeling of ice-cold worms squiggling through my belly. Now I knew the news couldn't be good.
Dad grabbed my hand in both of his. “Eve, you see, the Director is the Grim Reaper. And—there's really no easy way to put this, sweetheart—but when you first came to us, he wanted you dead.”

• Some goblin workers were out and about, slanting stones that had become straight or adding some additional weeds in places where the grass was neat and trim. Besides them, there weren't many creatures here, which I found a bit surprising. It was a perfect morning to be in the graveyard, and I figured there'd be more creatures around—at the very least, some brain eaters. Sure, after Halloween, many tourists headed back home and stuck around their local graves, but I couldn't recall ever seeing the place this vacant.

• A warm, numbing sensation spread throughout my body. Maybe it was just too much information, too fast, but if I'd been standing, I was pretty sure I would've fallen flat on my face. Here, I was trying to convince myself I was this important girl who would save not one but two worlds, but really, I was just a big nuisance—to everyone and everything. My parents and Sam had to leave their home because of me, and that made me feel too adorable for words.
To make matters worse, the carriage slowed to a stop in front of the Director's castle. The skeletal horse whinnied and bucked, ready to ride another lap around the mountain and probably annoyed at having arrived so soon.
Me? I could wait.

• Adorable! I must've shouted that word a thousand times during the days leading up to the “field trip.” And it didn't even have anything to do with my growing list of problems. No! That would've been an improvement. It had to do with this thing called Christmas.
My mom, ever determined to fit in with the rest of the humans, decided we needed to celebrate Christmas. But unlike a more sensible holiday—Halloween, for example—Christmas was a confusing mess. And don't get me started on that plump, red-suited, white-bearded freak. Just the thought of some stranger sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and demanding cookies and milk made me cringe!

• On the front of the building, over about a dozen huge revolving doors, rested a shiny new metal logo: THE SOURCE-EMPIRE NEWS CORP. And right below the sign, a scrolling marquee displayed the latest headlines—TWENTY-TWO CONFIRMED DEAD IN CITY'S WORST APARTMENT FIRE ... OVERTURNED BUS KILLS SEVEN ... BOY MAULED BY LION IN FREAK ZOO ACCIDENT.
“You think they have any happy news to report?” Lucy asked.
Just then, a line floated by: MAN WINS $32 MILLION IN LOTTERY ...”
“That one looks promising,” Steve commented.
“...BUT KILLED BY SUBWAY TRAIN WHILE ON WAY TO COLLECT WINNINGS.”
“Yeah, so didn't see that one coming,” he added.
I had no doubt The Source was using the newspapers business to spread fear. And by the looks, business was booming.

Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers Excerpts

• Grandpa shrugged as if he didn't care one way or the other. He reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out an envelope. “This came for you, Bill.”
“Who's it from?” I asked, trying to read the address, but not having much luck.
“URNS,” Dad said with a noticeable amount of surprise. “Why would they send the letter to the castle? They know I'm here.”
I could tell by Grandpa's stitched brows that he could've offered an answer, but instead he said, “Open it up.”
Dad read the letter. His expression instantly went from confused to shocked. “A letter of termination? A letter of termination!”
I glanced over to Sam and whispered, “What does that mean?”
Sam shrugged. “No idea.”
Grandpa, who had excellent hearing, being a werewolf and all, responded, “It means he's been fired.”

• Sparks and lightning flashed around us. I could feel the train lift to one side, feel my muscles straining to keep my body from tumbling, and then metal screamed violently as the passenger car tore free, flipped head over, then disappeared out of sight. The next thing I knew I crashed against the ceiling while gauges below me exploded, sending glass and grease everywhere. The space filled with smoke, and I didn't know if my friends were okay or not. I got glimpses of hands and legs and sneakers through the thick haze, but couldn't make sense of it, like a dream, where flashes of the familiar appear like snapshots, but the rest is a confusing mess.

• “Wait ... wait ... wait,” I said. This was all moving in a way weird direction. “So you're like a famous actor?”
“Yup.”
“And you play a vampire in movies?”
“I do.”
“But you're a vampire in real life?”
“You got it,” Marcus said.
“And I thought my life was weird,” I muttered.
“Welcome to Hollywood,” Marcus agreed.

• The scene cut to the newswoman who had, not long ago, barged into the grocery store to interview me.
“We're live in front of the Grocery King in the Poconos where a hostage situation is unfolding. One person, an unnamed elderly woman, has died. The suspect, fifteen-year-old Evelyn Hallows, also of the Poconos, is considered responsible for the death. I managed to get a word from the suspect moments ago. Here's what she had to say ...”
My angry face filled the television screen—Oh, my Jack, I looked like a maniac. Both Warren and Carly Beth glanced at me with pinched faces, then returned, with rapt attention, to the television.
The newswoman asked, “Eve Hallows, how many victims have you killed so far? Why did you take that poor woman's life? How many more innocent women and children have to die before your demands are met?”
And then there was me, looking totally and completely murderous. “I'll kill anyone. The hostages are mine! Everyone is mine! It's me you should be worried about!”
Seriously? I didn't recall saying those things ... well, most of it, at least.

• Grandma woke just after sunset. She looked gorgeous as ever, though I could see hunger in her squinty eyes as she ran her tongue back and forth over her curved fangs.
“Mom! Grandma's awake!” Sam called from the living room. He always found Grandma's attempts to empty my veins hysterical.
“Hi, Grandma,” I said, feeling like a bag of blood with hair.
“Oh, Eve!” she squealed. “So good to see you. Give your grandma a big hug.” She opened her arms wide and grinned. I didn't move.
“Don't be rude, Eve. Give your grandmother a hug,” Grandpa said, his eyes fixed on the strange and marvelous screen hanging on the wall, known as a television.
“Fine,” I groaned as I inched toward her.
“Mmm, you smell horrible,” Grandma said, panting the words. I felt a fang pinch my skin, right where the neck met the shoulder.

<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/eve-hallows-tour.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1301 aligncenter" alt="eve hallows tour" src="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/eve-hallows-tour.jpg" width="320" height="213" /></a></div>

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iamareader.com/2013/11/eve-hallows-and-the-book-of-shivers-blog-tour-sign-ups.html" target="_blank">Tour Schedule</a></p>

<a href="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/eve-hallows-shivers.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1047" alt="eve hallows shivers" src="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/eve-hallows-shivers.png" width="260" height="400" /></a><strong>EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS (BOOK 3)</strong>

So far, Eve's summer vacation has been uneventful, but when her grandparents—traveling all the way from the monster world known as Gravesville—appear at her doorstep, she learns that the URNS Director has gone missing. Worse, a new director, bent on destroying humans, has taken over URNS.

Eve and her family are no longer safe in the human world, and as they race to escape this new threat, Eve stumbles into a trap, which forces her back to Gravesville along with her family and friends. But once there, everything goes adorably wrong, and her best chance to get out of this mess is to seek out The Book of Shivers and the elusive author Sedrick Creach—the only creature who knows the secrets of the Nightmare Books. Unfortunately for Eve, searching for Sedrick and the next book in the series will reveal uncomfortable details about her own murky past.

Once again, Eve and her friends find themselves on an incredible adventure—one that involves underground battles with bloodthirsty creatures, a lightning-fueled train, and some unexpected new allies.

Hilarious and bone-chilling, this third book continues the story of an unlikely hero trying to save not one, but two worlds … This time around, though, Eve's not sure she can even save herself.

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Purchase

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hallows-Book-Shivers-Nightmare-Series-ebook/dp/B00G803LPW?tag=blasttours-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a> * <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eve-hallows-and-the-book-of-shivers-robert-gray/1117596453?ean=9781493646913" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></strong></p>

<strong>EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHRIEKS (BOOK 1)</strong>

For fourteen-year-old Eve Hallows, life can be summed up in one word—horrible. She has the most horrible friends. She lives in a horrible old castle. Even her family is a bunch of horrible monsters.

However, in the monster-inhabited world of Gravesville—a world where messages are sent through Ouija boards, jack-o’-lanterns get facials to suit their moods, and the worst thing Eve has to deal with are those annoying zombie tourists who overrun her favorite graveyard during the Halloween season—horrible means wonderful. And everything for Eve is perfectly horrible.

But her life is about to go head over heels when a mysterious group known as The Source starts terrorizing Gravesville. Now she must move to the human world—where everything is opposite ... and for Eve, that's absolutely adorable!

<b>Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks:</b>

<div>

My personal thoughts....

"Awesomely funny and mysterious. I have read this whole series (3 books) and have loved the humor, and I love Eve. It is hard not to laugh when Eve's mom accidentally turns someone to stone, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Mom's snakes that reflect her emotions flicking, hissing, etc. when mom gets upset.

Lots of age appropriate action & fun. For young readers who like a touch of the supernatural, and mysteries, this is an awesome read. The character and set development is so good that you actually feel a part of the story. " MOON SHINE ART APOT

Lisa @ http://MoonShineArtSpot.blogspot.com (cover designer, illustrator, and book reviewer)

"Move over, Neil Gaiman’s CORALINE and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK … make room, Lemony Snicket’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS … you’ve got company and competition for shelf space!" -- THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW"WOW! What an absolutely horrible book (horrible meaning fantastic!) ... This book was laugh out loud funny. I loved when Mom accidentally turned people to stone. Dad's crazy attempts at running a pizza store were just hysterical." -- KIDS 'N' BOOKS

"This is the perfect book to be read aloud, read at night under the covers or simply devoured in one sitting. Robert Gray’s Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks simply shines with all of its fun creepiness, compelling characters and stellar writing. A MUST read for any MG fan!" -- WORD SPELUNKING

"Eve Hallows is highly imaginative without being too complex for its target audience. Fall in love with Eve, her friends and her family of adorable monsters. Lose yourself in a light read that will remind you of those days when your English teacher just want you to read something, anything. This book is it. The one that you wish you read when you were in grade school." -- JOYOUS READS

"Overall, this book was fantastic. It presents an admirable role model as well as a strong family unit which will benefit young readers. When so many books right now have presented teens in a not-so-flattering light, it is so wonderful to find a book like this one." -- BOOK COVER JUSTICE

</div>

<div>

<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Purchase</b></div>

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hallows-Shrieks-Nightmare-Series-ebook/dp/B0064NRJXI">Kindle</a> * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hallows-Book-Shrieks-Robert-Gray/dp/1463765665/">Amazon</a> * <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eve-hallows-and-the-book-of-shrieks-robert-gray/1104829072?ean=9781463765668&isbn=9781463765668&itm=1&usri=eve+hallows+and+the+book+of+shrieks" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></div>

</div>

<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUhFzJvq0mboZCgnYMFwRYRp_IcnjddeJC7_kAK8PVH0Z61HMk0zGCKB95HIoRbhdvhaa0y1vo_BpvkBC7AWwK9k0CQTYk_bABXYFNCmOi2fN32_nel-cOPyZjeFRqObu_rMxqvJ-FRc/s1600/Eve+hallows+Shadows.jpg"><img class="alignleft" style="border: 0px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUhFzJvq0mboZCgnYMFwRYRp_IcnjddeJC7_kAK8PVH0Z61HMk0zGCKB95HIoRbhdvhaa0y1vo_BpvkBC7AWwK9k0CQTYk_bABXYFNCmOi2fN32_nel-cOPyZjeFRqObu_rMxqvJ-FRc/s320/Eve+hallows+Shadows.jpg" width="247" height="320" border="0" /></a><strong>EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHADOWS (BOOK 2)</strong>

Ever since encountering The Source and its minions on Halloween, Eve Hallows has found life surprisingly quiet … not to mention adorably boring! So when Dad receives a Ouija message that she must return to Gravesville, Eve couldn't be happier—at least until she discovers the Director of URNS, also known as the Grim Reaper, has a special job for Eve … one that will lead her to New York City and to the true identity of The Source.With The Book of Shrieks offering zero help and a new URNS agent driving the school boys—and Eve!—crazy, Eve's beginning to realize this whole saving-the-world nonsense isn't what it's cracked up to be.All this and she still has to find The Book of Shadows....</div>

<b>Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows:</b>

"This book was perfectly horrible! Horrible meaning amazingly awesome, of course. Eve's world once again sucked me in and would not let go until this part of Eve's story was finished" -- LILI LOST IN A BOOK

"This is a perfect combination of YA, Horror, Paranormal and Fun!" -- BOOK LOVERS PARADISE

"I love love love Eve. She's a strong, awesome, female character that I would be delighted to recommend to any little girl. (No sexism at play here, boys will love this book too!)" — MUST READ FASTER

"I absolutely love this series and cannot wait to keep reading the fun adventures of Eve Hallows. Mr Gray has such a fantastic style of writing and his books are such fascinating tales, that everybody should read them for the fun factor. The topsy turvy lingo, adorable creatures and imaginative Gravesville, make one horrible book." — TURNER'S ANTICS

<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Purchase</b></div>

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hallows-Shadows-Nightmare-Series-ebook/dp/B009ADRP6K/">Kindle</a> * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eve-Hallows-Book-Shadows-Volume/dp/1478378069/">Amazon</a> * <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eve-hallows-and-the-book-of-shadows-robert-gray/1112878877?ean=9781463001537&isbn=2940015701524" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></div>

<strong><a href="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/robert-gray.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1304" alt="robert gray" src="http://www.bookblasttours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/robert-gray.jpg" width="200" height="199" /></a>Author Robert Gray</strong>

Robert Gray is a writer. If that job description doesn’t impress you, how about fantasy writer? Too general? Well, he doesn’t get insulted if you call him a horror writer. If horror’s not your thing, then scratch out horror and replace it with suspense. And for the kiddies, you can slap on a YA or MG in front of that title.

Gray lives in Bushkill, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children.

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://robertgrayfiction.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a> * <a href="https://twitter.com/RGrayFiction">Twitter</a> * <a href="https://www.facebook.com/robertgrayauthor">Facebook</a> * <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5370784.Robert_Gray">Goodreads</a></b></div>

<b>Blog Tour Giveaway Details</b>

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/8/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from <a href="http://iamareader.com/">I Am A Reader</a> and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

<a class="rafl" id="rc-0a00961165" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0a00961165/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>