Friday, July 24, 2015

Review: Bloody Mary: The Summoning (Bloody Mary #1)


Author: Hillary Monahan
Goodreads Rating: 3.71
Pages: 245
There is a right way and a wrong way to summon her.

Jess had done the research. Success requires precision: a dark room, a mirror, a candle, salt, and four teenage girls. Each of them--Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna--must link hands, follow the rules . . . and never let go.

A thrilling fear spins around the room the first time Jess calls her name: "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY." A ripple of terror follows when a shadowy silhouette emerges through the fog, a specter trapped behind the mirror.

Once is not enough, though--at least not for Jess. Mary is called again. And again. But when their summoning circle is broken, Bloody Mary slips through the glass with a taste for revenge on her lips. As the girls struggle to escape Mary's wrath, loyalties are questioned, friendships are torn apart, and lives are forever altered.

A haunting trail of clues leads Shauna on a desperate search to uncover the legacy of Mary Worth. What she finds will change everything, but will it be enough to stop Mary--and Jess--before it's too late?

 A very creepy and quick read! This book had me hesitant to look into shiny surfaces (especially) mirrors for a while.

What attracted me to this book was I, like many young, teenage girls, did Bloody Mary when I was a kid. Like they say in the book, it was thrilling (at the moment) to close yourself in a dark bathroom and say the words while you wait for something creepy to happen. Often times, your mind plays tricks on you (or your rotten friends pound on the door to make your heart almost literally beat out of your chest). There are some things that many people say can't be explained. Now, I'm not a huge ghost hunter (I'm a huge skeptic though), but I admit to when there are things I can't explain and I do my research.

This book handles a lot of the Bloody Mary lore VERY well. The idea that salt can keep bad ghosts at bay is a common thought (especially if you are a fan of Supernatural <3), as well as the lore of a mirror sucking in your soul when you die (a common origin story for Bloody Mary). I liked the extension that Mary can come out of any reflective surface, not just mirrors. I also really enjoyed the background story of Mary. The letters written by Mary Worth were really a great way to see Mary's personality before she went all evil and ghostly.

The book starts off really quick too! At first I was put off almost because it didn't seem like the girls were that scared when they first summoned Mary but I quickly put that thought away. The book continues in a very up-paced manner as more creepy things happen and you try to figure out (with the girls) how to make Mary go away. I didn't know this book was a series and was wondering how it would end and I am happy to say that the ending wasn't really disappointing. There were shocks and twists everywhere and I could say I saw almost none of them coming. The ending left on a good cliffhanger that left me curious as to what will happen in the next book.
 

This is the first horror book I've read and it did a great job at freaking me out at times (seriously... I couldn't read it at night...). This would make for a very interesting horror movie (if the movie kept close to the book unlike some do...) and I am actually kind of wanting to get the second book, if not just to see how/ if they beat Mary. 
The Court's Decision:
 

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