Something is going on with Dolores and Prudence, they are being chased by inquisitors after they broke the rules and helped rescue a fellow student.

I found the book hard to get into having not previously read the first book in a series and hence maybe this clouded my judgement but I do prefer a book that you can read as a standalone as well as part of a series.

A fun read but not one I’d come back to again and again.

SOMETHING has happened, and it's stirred up the paranormal world, as things involving dead people might tend to do. So when our two girls come back to Edinburgh from exile, or refuge, or somewhere, they find the bloke that ought to help them in an almost comatose state, and an Inquisitor there trying to get their secrets out. Luckily for this first sequel, I didn't find myself as unresponsive as the old chap – I knew nothing about the Book One's even existence, let alone the relationships and world here, but it was pretty easily brought to life. It seems I missed a bus-load of needless bickering between the girls, which is only a good thing, and was soon able to get on with this actual narrative with the barest minimum of backstory.

The issues with it are, however, possibly compounded by lack of knowledge of what led to this. The Inquisitor is a bad thing, the coma is a bad thing, and the girls will need help to fully know why, and turn every bad into a good. But here at least we just don't know why. This is a low fantasy, ie set in our Edinburgh, but it suffers from what I was forced to call "Hellboy 2 Syndrome", where the entire undead, underworld, paranormal universe can be about to be self-destructing, or just plain destructing, and we mundies just don't need to care about it, for we never see how it affects us.

So, this is a fantasy featuring two strong girls – who, yes, do bicker far too much for anyone's own good, especially ours – in a very dark spot, involving seeing dead people and facing some eldritch authority they'd rather not be. And whether it's for lack of an earlier read or just the way the series wants to motor on without showing why this matters, we're not told enough to ever feel enough of their jeopardy. I guess that is to make this inconsequential, then, for we are grasping at straws knowing how bad the outcome could be – but I can see why this would have appeal for returning readers. It's brisk, clear, and a rich fantasy world. But as far as having our own horse in the race, this is a no-starter.

A two-star rating is from the newbie point of view – I am sure the returnee would rate this more highly. But not that much if this were looked at closely enough.

I enjoyed this book. One of the aspects I enjoyed most was the descriptions of Edinburgh, which I found so evocative that I felt like I was walking the cobbles myself. The story line was exciting and had me interested in what would happen next. I did find the beginning a little confusing as I haven’t read the first book yet and there is a lot of references to things that happened in the first book, so I would definitely recommend people read the first book before this one as it seemed like a continuing story rather than a new adventure which someone could fully enjoy without needing a knowledge of the first. I’m definitely going to go back and read the first book and I think this is a great series for kids.

One of the things I love about a sequel is the way you hit the ground running. You know the characters, the world has been created for you and I entered this one ready for action.

The author does a lovely job of remonding you of key facts from the previous book without ot ever feeling like a recap.

The wonderful creepy atmosphere of Edinburgh is still prevalent and lots of paranormal events fill the pages. Delores and her 'friends' have to overcome someone from a position of authority from the paranormal world who is abusing their power and threatens to overturn everyone at the Tolbooth's lives. Margoria is a villain you love to hate and your desire for her to get her comeuppance drives you to read on.

I was brought to tears out of nowhere, gasped on a couple of occasions when the action was at full speed and was really incested in the characters.

The story finishes with the suggestion of more to come and I'm delighted, these make for perfect spooky season reading for everyone from the age of around 8 or 9.

I enjoyed the first book in this series a lot and was eager to pick up the next one. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much, with many of the great features in book one diluted or written out in this book. The way the book starts was very confusing, and initially made me think that I had missed a book. There is very little preamble to the current situation, with Delores and Prudence returning home from a time away with Prudence's mother to find that the inquisitor they were hiding from still present. While some details are given about their time away, it is mostly just vague comments about doing things they didn't like.

In the first book there was a wealth of wonderful characters, and while new ones are introduced to fill some of the void, it felt very odd for a whole new cast and new settings in the second book. It all felt a bit rushed, and up in the air, whereas book one felt comfortable.

In book one it seemed certain that there were three main characters; Delores, Prudence and Gabriel. Yet in this one it felt like it was the Delores and Prudence show, despite the cover clearly showing all three. I'm not sure if the author isn't sure what direction she's taking the series in, or if this is the case of an editor or publisher making suggestions.

As a disabled reader with low vision, I was not particularly impressed that the reason for writing out the male main character was that his eyesight had deteriorated to the point that he didn't feel safe leaving the building. Not only are there accessible options available, the character has magic at their disposal. The deterioration of his vision was known to him and the adults caring for him, and while one of them was unavailable, the doctor played a large role in this book.

I found the whole situation to be badly handled, especially as this is a young adult book. It worries me what young readers will take from this. As someone who started wearing glasses at age seven, reading something like this as a teenager would have left me with some very dark thoughts.

Likewise, the introduction of a new power 'beguiling', made me unseasy as a queer reader. It felt very much like a suitable excuse for why two teenage girls are mesmerised by the female doctor. Nothing specific is mentioned in either book regarding their sexuality, and the way they act around the character could be read as a teenager's looking up to an authority figure or as inflatuation. What bothers me is that whatever it is has now been labelled as false, as something caused by magic. It very much felt like a quick fix in case any conservative parents read the book and complain about it.

The issues with representation aside, the book came together at the end and quite literally the last page of the book was amazing. It ends on a powerful note that not only echoed the feelings of the first book, but surpassed it.

The plot

Having accidentally caused a paranormal rift between the human and spirit world whilst trying to save a fellow student,(see my review of book one) Delores and Prudence have been sent away from their paranormal schooling at the Tollbooth Bookshop. It was an attempt by Oddvar, their vampiresque teacher, also known as an 'uncle', to protect them from the ensuing investigation into the unacceptable behaviour. Uncle Oddvar's students, Delores, Prudence and Gabriel, all have skills developing that the Paranormal Council find unacceptable. To the point, they would likely be snatched away, imprisoned, or worse, just like Delores' parents – vanished.

Delores and Prudence's arrival home seems somewhat premature, and the bookshop is in darkness, and on entry, the shop has been ransacked and Bartleby has been chained up in his favourite dark spot. Quickly after that discovery, they meet Magoria Jepp, Senior Inquisitor of the Psychic Adjustment Council. She has been charged with investigating the Paranormal Malfeasance not far from the shop, aka the rift created by Delores. And she will get to the bottom of it by picking away at everyone's mental defences and prying deep into their memories like a vicious parasite. In an attempt to save his pupils, and thinking the girls safe, Oddvar has put himself into a catatonic state, in effect he is killing himself off. 

But with the girls returned early he isn't there to protect them against Jepp. She is stronger than the children, that much is sure. And she is intent on shutting the school down once and for all. It seems she has a grudge or alternate reason for her actions and fervour.

Thankfully for our three protagonists, they have an ally in Dr Reid, who is as you would expect, gifted in her own way. And she can act as a guardian in Oddvar's absence. But will only protect the kids so much. To ease the tensions and save interrogations, Dr Reid takes Prudence to get new clothes, special clothes to help conceal her changing body. They head to a tailor's renown in the paranormal world. And whilst Delores isn't special enough (yet) to warrant new clothes, she goes along too. It is at the tailors that they discover another young paranormal who speaks to those who have passed over. 

It is shortly after that a restless ghoul assails Delores with coloured petals some of which she inhales and swallows, then collapses unconscious. That proves to be a pivotal point as, after she has come round and returned to the bookshopshe throws up the petals, one of which isn't a petal at all. It seems the Bòcan (a soul that doesn't cross over) is starting to draw away Delores' powers so they can return to the living. But in doing so, it will kill her. When Delores saved Maud from passing over, she has inadvertently attracted Bòcan intent on regaining their once lives. It is a trait that Jepp will relish finding and use to close the school as well as imprison Delores.

Now, all I should really say at this juncture is that the hunt for who the Bòcan is becomes as important as discovering why Jepp hates the school so much. But with the Inquisitor closing in on the real secrets of the Tollbooth Bookshop and its inhabitants, earthly and not, including Bartleby and Chef, it is all Delores can do to fend off a power-hungry ghoul that’s pursuing her through Edinburgh’s streets and stay alive, let alone keep and discover longtime secrets and save imprisoned colleagues.

What follows is truly gripping, and delivers all manner of action, fun, and gothic horror shenanigans. You just won't want to put it down till the very, very end. And if you like twists, then this does have them. Who will survive in the land of the living come the end, you will just have to discover yourself.

OK, but what did we think?

What stood out, above the tangible atmosphere, was the way the cast is pushed and pulled when their world and life at the Tollbooth Bookshop comes to an abrupt stop with the arrival of the dreaded Inquisitor Jepp. Think Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter (but worse) meets a sallow Cruella Deville and you have how I see Jepp.

The characters aren't just on a single adventure or mission. It isn't just getting rid of Jepp. Besides having to work with each other, something the girls find very hard at the best of times, they have their own changing bodies and secrets to try to hide from the inquisitor's probe into their minds. Each is developing skills that the higher powers consider dangerous and undesirable. And to make matters worse, to do what they need to do, Delores also needs to resolve the matter of the spirit that has been draining her talent of Necromancy with the hope of getting all of her skill – killing her in the process – and thus return to the world of the living from beyond the grave. 

Clocks are ticking down left and right, and fellow users of the shop, ie Bartleby and the Chef, need rescuing. There is a brilliant chase scene towards the end that really gets the blood racing. The tension mounts more when Delores's sister, Delilah, makes an appearance as part of the team set to send all at the Bookstore to Norway for the inquisition and an untimely fate, like Delores' parents.

There is also more than one element of duplicity, which sneaks in very craftily . . . but that will be saying too much.

So, Crunch time. 

Utterly, brilliantly, spooky and chilling in all the right places and ways. 

The adventure has a real sense of place, and the magic and paranormal goings on seeped around us the other evening as we read the final chapters as though we, too, were enveloped in a mist from the granite city of Edinburgh. I swear one of the lost souls turned a page for us and sighed at the end!

It has a very clever plot, and an ending that is more than satisfactory, yet tinged with sadness. With the promise of even greater fun in the next Delores MacKenzie adventure, we consider this a must-read along with book one.

Loved dipping my toes back in to this spooky world. Whilst it was a little slower than the first book I feel like a lot of groundwork may have been laid out for future books and still found it captivating.
I completely adore Bartleby and spent half the book in utter outrage for him! The characters continued in their growth and we continued to find out more and more about their interesting powers and how they work. I love the magic system and love how this story has continued, I can't wait to see where it goes next!

I really loved the first book in this series. It was so vibrant with amazing characters and a fun story.
This book seemed to have lost all of that. I couldn't make it to the end because I'd completely stopped caring what happened. I made it about 3/4 through.
It felt very slow paced, and because of the circumstances of the book, a lot of the characters that were really interesting (oddvar, Gabriel and the gargoyle) weren't really in it much or doing much. It was just the 2 main girls and honestly they became boring quite quickly. Like they'd lost a lot of their personality.
I hated the new character brought in as the villain, which I know is the point...but she brought out some bad feelings and memories from childhood that I just did not like.

There's no specific reason why i disliked this book so much, especially after the first was so good. So I'm really sad to have to give it such a low rating as I'd been so excited to read it.

A much anticipated sequel to the first book, this story is just the right side of terrifying for middle-grade.

Hartigan Fox, the ‘Bocain’ trying to capture and steal Delores’ gift, is proper scary and there’s tonnes of jeopardy involving the kid’s freedom and way of life.

This is a slower start than Book 1 but the pace soon ramps up. Fans of the first story will love this, as well as the new characters introduced. I’m particularly intrigued by Obsidian Strange and look forward to learning more about him.

I absolutely love the first book in the series and must have bought around 10 copies in total up till now, with 9 of those as presents for my students. I agree with the others that this one may be difficult to follow if you have not read the first one. It also has a slightly slower start than the first one but it is still an intriguing fast paced read once you have got past the first chapter or so.

I may be a good two decades older than the recommended age range for this series but I don't care. I absolutely loved the first one, it was so original, so witty, and just had some brilliant characters and brilliant storytelling.

It's quick and easy to read at 288 pages; I read it in less than a day, and I think most people, especially children, will be able to read it just as quickly as it just flies by. It is a really fun book to read, for all ages.

This is a series I definitely recommend you read from the start, otherwise you may be lost by all the characters and the things mentioned that hark back to book one. It gives you all that was magical from the first book and builds on it. The sequel has given Yvonne more scope to develop everything we loved about the first one. She has further explored the characters, introduced new ones, and given us everything we expect, and most certainly does not dial down on the magic.

I did feel it lacked a little of the excitement the first one had from the get-go. That's not necessarily a negative, just an observation. Whereas I felt the first one had more get-go from the get-go, this one is more conversation, more secrets etc. which is good in its own way.

I definitely think they've got the age rating spot on - I think any younger and it might scare readers. I will definitely be recommending this series to the children in my family, but also to older children and adults. They're great fun, full of mischief and magic, fantasy and adventure, but there is a warm heart about everything that makes it captivating for older readers.

It does exactly what I wanted it to do, which is sew the seeds for a third book, and I for one am hoping this will be a long series, a I can't see myself ever getting bored of them. Yvonne has created something that is entertaining and appropriate for younger readers, but gives adults an excuse to relive their magical childhoods.

For as long as humans have shared stories, they have told one another tales of the supernatural. A quarter of the way into the 21st century, with all of our increasing reliance on science and technology, many of us still yearn for stories of ghosts and with the schools going back very soon, it can only be a matter of time before the shops are preparing for Hallowe’en season once more and young readers’ thoughts turn to appropriate reads to go alongside their trick-or-treating costumes.

Here is the sequel to a properly spooky read, The Dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores MacKenzie, a book I read almost two years ago and absolutely loved. Having stated in my review that I really hoped for another outing for the titular Delores, my patience has been rewarded in another creepy story that is filled with mystery and one that has – again – left me in dire need of further adventures.

Having not initially wanted to go to the Tolbooth Book Store in Book 1, when we meet necromancer-in-training Delores again she is excited to return, along with new friend and fellow student Prudence. Arriving by taxi, Delores is surprised to find the shop in darkness and casts her mind back to the last time she was here, when she encountered a Bòcan – one of the reluctant dead – and caused a paranormal rift rescuing classmate Maud from its clutches, an event which led to Oddvar, one of the Tolbooth’s Uncles, warning her that an Inquisition was likely to take place to investigate. As the two girls pause on the doorstep, Delores annoys Prudence by asking if she thinks her mother might have lied when she said it was safe to return and Prudence replies that there is bound to be a simple explanation for the inactivity.

While Prudence tackles the door, Delores senses a cold hand touching the base of her skull and turns around to face a partially formed figure, alerting her to the local Bòcain’s realisation that she has returned and prompting her to chalk a troll cross next to the door to keep them out. Entering the shop, the girls find everything in disarray and Bartleby, the shop’s demon gargoyle, chained up in his basket. Talking to him, Delores and Prudence listen in horror as he tells them that She has been hurting his brain with her questions and he instructs them to leave. Wondering just what is going on, things get even stranger when a woman’s voice they don’t recognise welcomes them back and introduces herself as Magoria Jepp – a Senior Inquisitor sent by the Psychic Adjustment Council to investigate what has been going on.

Following Magoria to the dining room, Delores and Prudence are reunited with their friend Gabriel and Oddvar, but it is very quickly apparent that the Inquisitor’s methods have affected Oddvar greatly as he is unresponsive in his chair and covered in a bizarre network of silken threads. With the threat of Magoria turning her attention to her and Prudence hanging over them, Delores vows to rid the bookshop of her malign presence but when a Bòcan arrives and starts to steal her powers, everything she knows and loves starts to drift away from her. With the help of her friends, can Delores overcome both the unwelcome spirit and the Inquisitor and banish them to restore Oddvar and the Tolbooth to full strength, or is everything she has grown to know and love about to be snatched away from her?

Delores is, obviously, the main focus of the unfolding story here and her ability to speak to the dead is one that will be familiar to many readers. Following the events of her first outing, she takes her talent more seriously here and having been forced to take time away from the shop while the paranormal rift was being investigated, is shocked to discover the presence of Magoria on her return. Feeling responsible for what has happened, and what is now happening, she is a far more mature and responsible character than when we met her and it will be very interesting to see how the events of this instalment affect her in the Book 3 that I am very much crossing my fingers for.

Now that the gifts that not just Delores but also Prudence and Gabriel possess have been firmly established, the author has been able to expand upon the events of the first book to use them to great effect here. All three children are now facing changes to themselves that we – and possibly they – could not have anticipated, leading us to wonder just what is happening and how the three of them will develop their powers further. In Magoria, they face a ruthless and malicious nemesis – someone with the power to interfere with their minds, as she has Oddvar’s, which together with the presence of the Bòcan gives the book a really sinister feel throughout without resorting to lazy tropes.

I really enjoyed reading this. I know that I am not the only fan of the original story and I hope that there will be plenty of people picking this up – certainly Nathan Collins’s gorgeous, bold artwork will tempt many readers to take it from the shelf. No knowledge of the first book is necessary, as enough of the backstory is woven into the text to enable this to be read as a standalone, although if you like a creepy middle grade, I suggest you will want to read both and I can recommend both books for upper KS2 readers.

My enormous thanks, as ever, must go to publisher Firefly Press and to Net Galley for my advance, virtual read. The Haunted Life of Delores Mackenzie publishes 12th September.

I wasn’t aware this was a sequel but it explained why it felt like something was missing.

I really enjoyed my time in this world. It was fast paced and a quick read. Full of great characters.