Meh

Plot
Poppy, Marcus, Azumi, Dash, and Dylan: these five kids, invited to Larkspur House by some as yet unknown entity, are in grave danger. Book one of the Shadow House series saw them discover they weren't alone in the Larkspur mansion; five ghost children known as "Specials" roam the house, wearing animal masks and possessed of supernatural physical strength. Poppy, Marcus, Azumi, and Dash managed to evade the Specials, but Dash's twin brother Dylan ran off by himself when he learned a shocking secret: he has been dead for months, the victim of a practical joke of Dash's that went horribly wrong. Deep in denial, Dash has routinely conversed with Dylan's ghost ever since, but the other kids at Larkspur can see him, too. They want to help Dash track his brother down so they can all escape Cyrus Caldwell's mansion. The place isn't safe for any of them.
Alone, and struggling with the horror of remembering his own death, Dylan falls in with a sinister being who uses the boy's negative emotion to confuse him. The twins were lured to Larkspur by the promise of a film project for them to act in, and the "director" asks Dylan if he's ready to deliver a virtuoso performance. Dylan is given a scary clown mask that latches onto his face and accentuates his worst personality traits, enslaving him to his trickster side. The "director" wants him to torment Dash, and Dylan readily complies. While this drama plays out behind the scenes, Poppy, Marcus, Dash, and the two Azumis learn more about Larkspur House and devise a tentative escape plan: Cyrus Caldwell did heinous behavioral experiments on the children in his care many decades ago, but he created a way to escape the mansion. It's up to Poppy and her friends to solve a series of abstract puzzles and get out of Larkspur House before the Specials catch up to them, but one nagging question remains: who is the true Azumi? The consequences for guessing wrong are worse than any of the kids imagine...

What I didn’t Like
So Dash and Dylan's whole drama just got annoying. It was quite an interesting thing at first, but then it got old. They both make some stupid mistakes butis the most annoying. Really, he knows about what happened to the kids with masks, and yet he is stupid enough to just fall for this mask stuff. It made me roll my eyes. I don't care that his memory might be messed up, I didn't even see it as that, I saw it rather that he was just a whiny little brat who never got what he wanted and now he is finally able to do x and y, and he takes it. He did make a good villain, and he was creepy. But I am so sorry, I couldn't get over the fact that he kept whining. One moment he would be all sad and wanting help, the next moment he hated his brother, hated that he always helped him, hated that he always needed his brother's help. Do you know what you want? I think the brother who is dead.

Then there is the whole let's hate on Poppy. Yes, the girl isn't really the best at social cues, but she did help you guys a lot! She is often the only one who gets to the solution in the end. She is the one saving your buts continuously. But does she ever get credit? No. :|

Marcus also wasn't really a fantastic character. He never really wasn't my favourite, but he made some really stupid decisions, comments, and more in this one. He pissed me off quite a few times.

Overall
All in all, it was a decent read, although it didn't live up to the first ones charm. The ending is the only thing that really saved it for me. I am looking forward to the next one. I can't wait to see how this series ends!

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