Dark Paradise: Blitz, Giveaway, & Review!

Title: Dark Paradise
Author: Angie Sandro
Release date: July 1st 2014
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About Dark Paradise:

DARK LEGACY
Mala LaCroix has spent her whole life trying to escape her destiny. As the last in a long line of "witch women," she rejects the notion of spirits and hoodoo and instead does her best to blend in. But when she finds a dead body floating in the bayou behind her house, Mala taps into powers she never knew she had. She's haunted by visions of the dead girl, demanding justice and vengeance.

DEADLY SECRETS
Landry Prince has always had a crush on Mala, but when Mala discovers his sister, murdered and marked in some sort of Satanic ritual, he wonders if all the rumors about the LaCroix family are true. Yet after Mala uses her connection to the spirit world to identify his sister's killer, he starts to form his own bond to her . . . a very physical one. As they move closer to each other and closer to the truth, Mala and Landry must risk everything-their families, their love, and even their lives.

Excerpt:

Landry’s truck sits in the driveway when I stroll out of the house at a quarter to eight in the morning. I’m in such a glorious mood that I don’t bother trying to sneak off without him catching sight of me. It would've been easy, I learn upon climbing on the bumper and sticking my head through the truck’s open window. He has the seat pushed back and his legs stretched out kitty corner across the passenger seat. Snores, loud enough to scare a bear, echo through the cab.

I reach in and poke his shoulder a few times. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Landry’s thick lashes flutter then open to meet mine. “I’m supposed to be woken with a kiss, not a jab.”

I snort. “I don’t kiss slimy critters. You’re playing double duty as a frog, and I throw them in a frying pan with a little butter and garlic.”

“Oh, so now you’re trying to butter me up?”

The heat of a blush rises. “Saints, boy. You’re fraying my last nerve.” I plant my hands on my hips, toe tapping. “What are you doing here? In case you forgot, I’m mad at you.”

“No you’re not.” He grins and runs his fingers through his thick hair. My breath catches as my brain stutters. I shake my head to dispel the wave of pheromone-induced stupidity that washes over me. My noses twitches. Why does he have to smell so good? Like cinnamon and brown sugar. “Did you forget yester—”

An oily paper bag flies in my direction. I grab it out of the air before it drops to the ground. It’s warm in my hands, and the smell makes my mouth water. “Ooh, cinnamon rolls,” I mumble around the melting mouthful of cinnamon-y goodness. “I love these.”

“I know,” Landry says, throwing open the truck door.

I hop off the bumper with a scowl. The arrogant jerk thinks he has me eating out of his hands; all he has to do is flutter those insanely long eyelashes, smile to show off his pearly whites, and tempt me with fresh, warm buns.

“These are mine?” I clutch the bag to my chest as I eye him in suspicion.

“Yeah, they’re your favorite, right?”

“Mmm hmm.”

Landry props his elbow on the open window and ducks his head. Black hair tangles across his face, hiding his eyes. “I hoped you’d be more accepting of my apology if I bribed you with sweets. Forgive me for being an ass yesterday?”

Lucky guy. He figured out the fastest way to soften my heartstrings—sugar. Wait how does he know they’re my favorite? Stupid question. It’s like him knowing my nickname and my job. He pays way too much attention to me, and I’m kinda scared to ask why. I stare at my sticky fingers, then lick the icing off one by one. Landry’s gaze draws my attention. He’s staring at my mouth. My gut tightens in response, and I slowly lick my lips. Get a grip. Don’t trust him just because he says he’s sorry.

I concentrate on the mouthful of cinnamon roll. Each chew echoes the rapid patter of my heart. God, why does my body react like this when I’m around him? Why? He’s still staring at me. Can’t he tell I’m uncomfortable? Oh, I get it. He’s irritating me on purpose so I can’t totally ignore him.

I pass the empty bag to him. “You’re not going away, are you?”

“Nope.” He smiles.

About the Author
Angie Sandro was born at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Within six weeks, she began the first of eleven relocations throughout the United States, Spain, and Guam before the age of eighteen. Friends were left behind. The only constants in her life were her family and the books she shipped wherever she went. Traveling the world inspired her imagination and allowed her to create her own imaginary friends. Visits to her father's family in Louisiana inspired this story. Angie now lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and an overweight Labrador.
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Title: Dark Paradise
Author: Angie Sandro
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: July 1st 2014
Source: Netgalley

★★★★

This is a book that had me suckered in from the get-go. First of all, look at the cover. It's just gorgeous. It's so simple and yet is so striking, and it would definitely grab my attention if I saw it on display in a book store. And then of course, we move to the story itself. Dead bodies, magic, and budding romance? Yes to all of that, please.

What really stood out to me the most in this book was the setting. I used to frequently visit my dad down in Louisiana, and I've grown to be a sucker for southern settings. Dark Paradise didn't disappoint. The language and descriptions of the areas around Mala are brilliant. From the Spanish moss hanging down in the trees to the stagnant, oddly colored waters of the bayou and the wet heat that seems to drape over the entire landscape, the language of this book draws you ever closer into the plot. Of course, the characters and powers are well described too. All together, I was just really impressed with the flow of the vision and story that Angie Sandro wanted to tell and how well it came out on paper.

I was also really impressed how this book managed to blend quite a few different genres together into one really good story. While I am a big fan of southern fiction, fantasy, New Adult, and paranormal books, I have a history of being not all too crazy about books involving murders and crime. This book made it work. From the moment when Mala stumbles onto the body in the bayou, I was curious and eager to find out what sort of foul play was afoot. I really can't put it into words, but somehow the superstition of the south, romance, fantasy and a good ole fashioned corpse join together to make an intriguing story that is hard to put down. The suspense killed me and made me excited to find out there will be another book to continue the plot.

I really liked Mala. She was set in her goals and her views, and when presented with new information they changed accordingly. Though I didn't always agree with her decisions, and sometimes I thought she came off as a bit young for her age, I was cheering for her. I also really liked the way her relationship with Landry pans out. He was a believable mix of sweet and infuriatingly irritating that made him endearing. Even the more secondary characters like local police and family members were memorable and well written.

Although my pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to Dark Paradise, one thing I did notice was that at some parts the dialogue felt a bit forced or a bit unrealistic. However, it wasn't often enough to really hinder my reading experience too much. I think this is part of what made Mala come off as a bit naive or young. While I did notice this more than once, it didn't put me off from finishing the book, nor will it stop me from picking up the second book in the series.

If you're a fan of darker themed YA/NA books, enjoy magic and hoodoo, a steamy romance, or a suspenseful mystery with forces that may reach beyond our mortal world, than this is definitely a book worth checking out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Yours for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)
Author: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 563 pages
Pub. Date: November 20th 2012
Source: Purchased

★★

2 Stars.

Gatlin is a small town that no one's ever heard of. Its inhabitants go to church on Sunday, they support the Confederacy (even though the war is long lost and over), and they stick to their Southern morals and hospitality... Unless someone goes against the grain. Lena Duchannes is everything that the teenage girls of Gatlin aren't- pale, darkly dressed, and well versed in poetry and literature. And to make it worse, she's related to the town shut in. She never stood a chance of fitting in. Ethan feels attached to her for reasons he doesn't quite understand, but when a series of paranormal events afflict the town, Ethan learns that there's way more to Lena than meets the eye. She's in danger, and even though everyone says to stay away, Ethan knows he'll lay it all on the line to help her, and to save her.

----

I honestly don't understand why there's so much hype surrounding this series. I tried, but it just wasn't for me.

-The first 100 or so pages dragged on forever. I'm not the fastest reader in the world, but it normally doesn't take two weeks to get so little reading accomplished. Every time I used my Goodreads "currently reading" page tracker, I got sad because it would only move about 1% at a time. I understand that it's set in the South, and that can be a bit slow, but there's a difference between slow and completely stopped. Still, I trudged on.

-Have you ever seen the old Batman series with Adam West? Remember how the villain would always explain in absurd detail how he would capture Batman, instead of just showing the sequence? "Well, Batman, when I pull this switch, the log will come rolling down the ramp, setting off sparklers that will ignite the oil path until it gets to the bonfire which will burn the rope that lowers the knife that will bring your doom!" That's how this book felt at times. Instead of letting scenes just play out for themselves, things are explicitly explained, as though reminding the reader of background information they should already have... But I didn't. And I think that's because....

-As long as we're being nostalgic, remember that one kid that when you would play super heroes, his power was infinite powers? I feel that at parts, that was the case for Beautiful Creatures. New kinds of "Casters" were introduced whenever something needed explaining. It seemed like there are only so many to make the plot work, not to make a well-rounded setting/magical world.

-A lot of the characters I found to be unpleasant. There's so much crankiness in this book. I have enough of that in my own life, I don't need to read it. I'm all for dark/gothic/horror/what have you in books, but the only characters I really liked were Marian and Ridley. They at least had personalities that set them apart.

-+This isn't positive or negative, but, if Ethan instantly has to let go of a Caster book, why could he hold it long enough to lift it out of a grave and over his head to Lena? I feel like I missed something there.

+One positive I did have about this book is the Southern setting. The town of Gatlin, while closed-minded, came off as a town of pure Americana. Everyone knows everyone, people drink sweet tea and all go to the games of the high school. It made me miss when I lived in Louisiana.

+I liked the aspect of the curse, of the females having no say whether they were dark or light. It was an interesting dynamic, even if not really original.

+My cover is pretty, though I have the movie tie-in edition. That means Jeremy Irons is on my book, and that makes me happy. It also came with a movie poster, which has Jeremy on it, which also made me happy.

All in all, I feel like this series is a weird reverse Twilight mixed with the House of Night and True Blood. A girl can communicate with her mind with one boy, she's dangerous, she tells him to stay away, he doesn't, love story happens, in the South, with a 50/50 shot of Light or Dark. While original in its own way, it blended too much with other series I've read, and for that reason I don't think I'll remember this book very well.

If you are a fan of Twilight or the House of Night series, then Beautiful Creatures might be right up your alley. If not, I'd suggest staying away.

PS: Though this is a book review, I must also add, I don't recommend seeing the movie either (even if you did read the book, the film is WAY different).

The River Witch by Kimberly Brock

Title: The River Witch
Author: Kimberly Brock
Format: Paperback, 246 pages
Pub. Date: April 6th 2012
Source: Goodreads First Reads

★★★★

Four stars.

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

Needing a break from a more than stressful life, Rosalyn Byrne rents a house for the summer on Manny's Island, Georgia. Forced to walk away from a career as a ballerina from a car accident & a miscarriage, this little island is the perfect place to just disappear for a while. But that old house holds secrets of its own. The Trezevants own that building, & not all of them are willing to let go so easily. There's Damascus, a little girl named for the river who has a mission to grow pumpkins, her father, Urey, who's not always around, old Nonnie who claims that Rosalyn is the one calling all the alligators to the island with her hoo-doo. Together, all of them will learn, change, grow, but will Rosalyn ever come to terms with her past?

First of all, this cover is beautiful. To be honest, I judged this book by its cover, & I am very glad I did so.

Now, for what's on the inside of the pretty wrapping. I was stunned to find out that this is a debut novel. This is a very striking start, & I hope Ms. Brock produces more in the future.

This book is a beautiful work of Southern fiction. I'm not usually a fan of the genre, admittedly, but if all of them were written like this, my shelves would be stocked with them.

Her words effectively paint a picture to the extent that I felt I was watching Damascus & Rosalyn's stories unfold, not just reading some text. Each of the characters was detailed & relatable, & by the time the book was over I thought I truly knew them.

I am pleasantly surprised that this book didn't end at all how I thought. On about page fifteen or so, I thought I had it figured out. I was off. Very off. And that is a great thing.

This book definitely isn't a light read. It's full of emotion & drama. I admit that I cried, which I also wasn't expecting. It's very powerful, & even in the happier parts there is an underlying tone of haunting & despair. In my opinion, that makes it even more beautiful.

The only negative for me was that I felt it ended too abruptly. It lazes along at a good pace, like a summer day in Georgia, but then all of a sudden everything unravels (or ravels, depending on the character) & then the story's over. It was a bit rushed for me.

But all that aside, this book was a solid 4/5 stars. I recommend it for women & fans of Southern fiction.