Smoke and Key

First let’s just gush over the beautiful cover. Funny how a beautiful cover can draw a person in to buy a book. But not only that, the synopsis of this book made me want to read it, so different and original. A group of characters who are named after the possession they carried with them to Under when they died…oh and they are all dead. There is Smoke and Key (ah the name of the book) and Ribbon, Journal, Doll, and Tintype to name just some of the characters. They have all fallen from their graves to Under, but are all being killed, again and Key is trying to figure out why, before she is next. What I liked: This book is an original with mystery and romance and the story unfolding throughout in life and death. The characters are built through understanding dawning the more Key’s memories come back to her. I love the premise of this book and what it has to offer. What I didn’t like: I found myself getting lost quite a bit with the constant jumping back and forth between Under and Key’s memories from when she was alive to present. While I like how the characters came together from living and dead, it was discordant at times and difficult to follow. I am not sure if all the characters from Under are explained from the sporadic writing. However, while I found the book confusing at time, I still give this a solid 4 stars and recommend it. Maybe you are a better reader than me and will not find the jumping back and forth confusing. If so, bravo and you will find the story richer for it.