Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things

Dead Things Series, Book 1

By: Martina McAtee

Narrated by: Kristin Watson Heintz

Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Seventeen-year-old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie.

Standing in the cemetery that's been her sanctuary, she's threatened by the most beautiful boy she's ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she's special, that she has a supernatural gift like them...they just don't know exactly what it is.

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember's life takes a turn for the weird. She's living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember's powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death.

As Ember's talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her.

©2015 Martina McAtee (P)2018 Tantor

How to Make CSPWDT

It was a fun book to get into once the dozen new names thrown at you settles down. There's some solid writing, a few tropes in the genre and an LBGT appeal in there as well. There were some things that weren't my personal taste in terms of lots of relationship pairings and romance, and on top of that it stuck to a "girl coming into her ultra-super powers when she was unaware" theme. There is plenty of promise to the writer and I decided to form a recipe to explain this to my movie brain:

Ingredients:
1 c. Twilight
1/2 c. Vampire Diaries
1/4 c. The Order
1/4 c. Bitten
1 Tbsp. Movie References
2 Tbsp. LGBT
pinch of English accent

Mix the movie and tv shows together in a bowl. Use a strainer to remove all vampire pulp leaving the werewolf, witches and other magical beings. Throw in the movie references and LGBT. Allow to chill for 1-5 hours. Sprinkle the English accent only on the oldest being/love interest of main character. Divide into separate relationships and garnish with Scandinavian folklore. Enjoy.

Oh my holy crispy crap!

This book was so much more than I was expecting. I adored it. The characters are engaging and the world building is amazing and very fresh. Highly recommended. I can't wait for the next one.

Good paranormal story!

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
Dead Things Series, Book 1
By: Martina McAtee
Narrated by: Kristin Watson Heintz
I liked how this started, mysteries unfolding slowly. The middle of the story has ups and downs, and the ending was good but a little rushed.
I found the plot great! Families of reapers, witches, and shifters, and even a vampire is in here. Family secrets, powers, and intrigue all blend together with characters you hate or love! A good mix of emotions and paranormal override any negative issues. Enjoyable!