Title: Rory (The Ghosts of Palladino #1)
Author: Ciye Cho
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Ghosts
Publisher: self published 
Publication Date: 10th August 2013 
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.

Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant… and perfect.

But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory… or destroy her.

My Review:

I jumped at the chance to read another Ciye Cho novel. I adored his two Florence Waverley books (Florence and Luminaire) and I absolutely adore books with ghosts.

Rory tells the story of eighteen year old Aurora, a cake baker who diligently visits her mother in hospital every day before dark. Her mother had always warned Rory that the shadows are no her friend but until an incident in the night breaks Rory’s mother’s fragile mind, Rory never really understood the dangers. Now Rory is left alone in the world… and things just keep getting weirder.

Kidnapped in the night, Rory now finds herself in the realm of Palladino. Here girls are taken away from the world and forced to train at a bizarre type of finishing school before they are auctioned off to become companions to the ghosts who live there. Ghosts who live forever and require their companions to remind them what living was like.

This book was crazy – in the best kind of way. There’s creepy ghosts, strange teachers and some very cool inventions of Cho’s – like Dust Tea which invokes memories. Rory was a fantastic heroine. She’s brave and interesting. Her willingness to stand up for her beliefs and others was fantastic. But best of all, she was awkwardly perfect with her flaws. Quirky with a quick temper, Rory is real. The other characters were great to read too but none of them were quite as vivid and authentic to me as Rory.

Cho outdid himself with the world building. He has such a way with words that even the otherworldly eccentricities of Palladino were described in a way that felt like I could see them just as Rory did. And not just the world, but the feelings too. Rory’s memories evoked by the tea were beautifully expressed.

I had a great time reading this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series to rejoin Rory and the ghosts in Palladino.

This book has not been released yet. I will put links of where to purchase Rory from after it’s released on August 10. 

In the meantime, check out the gorgeous trailer for Rory!