This is the second book in E.J. Stevens' Spirit Guide series and it's even better than She Smells The Dead. Yuki is such a great character. She's not your typical Goth girl. She smells the imprints of the dead. And she's in love with a werewolf who is also her best friend. Oh and he's the Alpha of the pack. And she's got an outspoken militant vegan female best friend, Emma.

And she's got the best assortment of boots I've ever read about in the history of YA. Oh, and she loves Cal Miller. She says that a lot and you might think that would get old, but it doesn't at all. Because it's so sweet that this tough (not really) looking Goth girl with her spikes and safety pins melts every time she sees Calvin Miller. And when he touches her or kisses her, time seems to fade for both of them. This is one of the sweetest love stories that plays out through a mystery that I have ever read. And it's very believable. They've been best friends forever and just seemed like they were always meant to be. But who knew they were actually soul mates. You need to read She Smells The Dead to read about how they become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Calvin Miller smells like wet dog and sunshine, a smell that Yuki finds very appealing as opposed to the Burnt Brownie smell she's smelling at the beginning of the book, the smell imprint of a werewolf that was murdered. Yuki has to help find his killer in order to help him pass on. But in this book that's not her only problem. First Cal gets hurt in a fight with the killer and is unconscious for several days. He visits her in her dreams and he doesn't look too good. And with the coming of Samhain, Yuki will be vulnerable to all the spirits of the dead when the veil is at it's thinnest. Yuki's spirit guide, the Scarab, or more commonly known as the Dung Beetle (yes she's so lucky) warns her to "Let the spirits guide you, but never let them take you."

Simon is second in command to Cal and he and Emma fight like cats and wolves. But you know how that goes. Simon is "old" in Yuki's eyes, but Emma is very responsible and mature. Still the two mix like oil and water. I'd watch that relationship though. Emma acts as pack veterinarian. She uses herbal treatments to heal when she can because the wolves can't exactly go to the vet or the hospital.

There is a good bit of paranormal in this story with ghosts, spirits, werewolves and spirit guides. Witches and faeries even play a small part. From murderers, to kidnappings, to travels in the spirit realm, to a real spirit storm to stealing, Spirit Storm has it all. And as Yuki would say, "Son of a dung beetle," you'll be kicking yourself if you don't find out why she wears a safety pin shirt or what the Amulet of Nera is.

This was a great second book in the Spirit Guide Series and in case you missed the pictures here's the link to pictures of Emma, Yuki, Simon, Cal and Gordy. Oh, Gordy? He's Yuki's friend from Anime club and he's dating Emma. Well he was, but he's still a part of the story. And a great friend to Yuki. So see their pictures Here and see why Yuki melts in Cal's arms and why Simon turns all the girls' heads.

This isn't really a heavy series at all, but it's sweet and light and very interesting for it's paranormal content. There's nothing else like it out there. And book three, Legend of Witchtrot Road is already out and it's great. Look for my review later this week.

Highly Recommended for all ages! ( )

reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

The SPIRIT STORM picks right up after SHE SMELLS THE DEAD ends. I'm so glad I got both books at the same time so I didn't have to wait to read what happened after all the lead up to the event. There is lots of mystery, suspense and action. Yuki has a lot on her plate, she has to worry about Samhain, help her injured boyfriend, look for clues to who is murdering members of Calvin's pack. Yuki is a strong character with a great group of friends behind her. The relationship between Calvin and Yuki continues to grow stronger. My only complaint was the actual Samhain event. After all the drama of book 1 and the preparation it just wasn't that big of a deal at the end, I can see how all the preparation made it that way but it just kinda left me feeling "That's it?". Having said that the other events in the book definitely made up for that everything is wrapped up nicely and I cant wait to see what Stevens brings us next. ( )

Yuki isn't a typical high school student. She can sense and smell the spirits of dead people. Halloween is coming and the spirits are able to run free on Samhain. Yuki is worried at how she will cope with this.

Calvin Miller, Yuki's boyfriend, the Alpha, is the leader of a pack of werewolves. He and his subordiinate, Simon, are attempting to find who recently killed a werewolf. They want to prevent further killing.

Yuki has an idea that might help identify the killer. She feels it might be someone who is a student so she goes to the library to find if anyone had been checking books concerning methods of killing werewolves. She crosses path with someone rushing from the library. When the librarian informs her that this person had been looking into werewolf matters, Yuki believes that this must be the killer.

Yuki is still worried about Samhain but through her research, she discovers that there is an amulet that can ward off the evil spirits that arrive on Halloween night. Her concern is where to find the amulet and to see if she can get it before it's too late.

Yuki's love for Calvin is well expressed. She shows that she's strong, yet vulnerable. At one point where she interacts with Calvin's spirit, it reminded me of Claire Abshire in "The Time Traveler's Wife." Both Claire and Yuki are brought into a spirit world by meeting their respective lovers, Cal and Henry. Both young women fight to keep their love alive and overlook any oddities in their lovers' existence. They are two charming characters in two unique and memorable novels. ( )