Review: Dark Paradise by Angie Sandro

Dark Paradise by Angie Sandro 
Release Date: July 1st, 2014
Pages: 400
Publisher: Forever Yours
Series: Dark Paradise #1
Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:
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.

Since I've been reading a bunch of contemporary lately, I thought it'd be a good idea to throw something into the mix to change it up. Something paranormal or fantasy or SOMETHING. And I do like magical, witchy stuff. So I decided to pick up Dark Paradise. I'm not entirely certain what I was expecting from this book, but whatever it was, I was so very wrong. It threw me for a complete loop, and I actually really enjoyed that.

The paranormal elements of the story weren't completely apparent right from the start, and they grew as the story progressed. I liked that, since it made it so we were pretty much learning about everything as Mala does. She had some prior knowledge, of course, but the major aspects addressed in this novel were foreign even to her. That fact alone helped make Mala into a protagonist I enjoyed reading. She also had a good sense of humor, and held a pretty confident air. 

The book is dual POV, so Mala only told part of the story. The other half went to Landry, a guy who's had something of a crush on Mala for a while. Not an instalove crush, more like a crush where he knew he was attracted to her and wanted to know her better. I actually really loved that. It added more of a conflict once the events of the novel started going down, but it was also just plain cute. Landry was a nice, charming guy. I liked the time spent in his mind, and found his perspective to be highly valuable as I made it farther into the book.

Plot-wise, Dark Paradise ended up more mysterious than I'd anticipated. I planned to go into this and read a fun paranormal story and instead spent loads of time pointing my finger at people who could have been the murderer. Mixed with the paranormal elements, I must admit I had some fun with that. I was suspicious of just about everyone, and then decided that I KNEW who did it...and then I was wrong. I wasn't entirely shocked, but it was nice to be wrong. 

As far as romance goes...as much as this conflicts me, there is a love triangle. I tried to deny it throughout something close to the entirety of the novel, but I can't be in denial anymore. It's a triangle. And I am FIRMLY Team Landry. I think. Because looking at that preview for book 2 made me feel like I may waver later on. But for now, I heart Landry. He's a good guy, and he and Mala made a great couple. Their romance crept up on me, and I enjoyed it. Landry's crush grew, and Mala started feeling something for someone. It was perfect. I liked Georgie well enough, but I'm not completely sold that he'd make a love interest I could swoon for like I did Landry. 

Overall, Dark Paradise was a well-written, unique story that mixed paranormal, mystery, and a bit of romance perfectly to create a story I absolutely enjoyed. I loved Landry and Mala, and I will definitely be back for the next installment to see where their story takes them next. Though I must admit, I'm nervous as to where that might be. 

Actual Rating: 3.5 hearts 

(But I'm rounding up to 4 because I'm super excited for book 2, which is always a good sign!)

Review: To My Hero by Danielle Sibarium

To My Hero by Danielle Sibarium 
Release Date: April 2013
Pagecount: 260 pages
Publisher: KFR Communications
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review
Buy It: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:
It would’ve been different if I had courage, even an ounce of it. But I was a coward from the day I met you, Ryan Crowley. I still am. In the end it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is the same. It’s my fault.

When the unthinkable happens Carly Cavanough is left beaten, betrayed, and devastated. Her best friend doesn’t understand. Her parents won’t listen. Everyone in her life turns against her. She’s alone. Completely alone, except for Ryan Crowley, the boy she’s been crushing on for years. She won’t admit to him what she can’t admit to herself. But he understands without words. He knows more about what she’s going through than she can possibly imagine and he knows what it will take to start the healing.

With Ryan’s help Carly begins to piece together the fragments of her once perfect life and embarks on a journey of love and healing, just long enough for the rug to be pulled out from under her again. Can she find the strength and will to pull herself together to save Ryan and herself when their lives are on the line?

I tend to be a fan of books in second person POV. I haven't really read a bunch written that way (the only two coming to my mind right now are Stolen and this one, though I am certain there was at least one or two more), so I don't have a huge pool to prove this, but I do know that I love the idea of a whole book written TO one person. And that is what this book is--one big letter (blog, technically) to a guy. Her hero. And yeah, I loved it.

The writing was very well done. It wasn't glaringly obvious that this story was written TO someone, except for every now and then. And by that I mean that I didn't spend the whole time being annoyed by seeing "you" did this and "you" said that. The writing was done well enough that I was immersed in the story enough that all the "you" talk didn't bother me. Plus, the story was so intense. Right away, I felt the impact of the story, and that held true throughout the whole thing. Danielle Sibarium also did a great job of approaching a serious topic, from the situation to the characters' actions and reactions, the situation worked and the serious tone was felt.

The plot hit the ground running, which I was thankful for. There wasn't a supremely long amount of time spent introducing us to everything. We just hopped in and caught up as things moved along--I was cool with that. I didn't get bored with the beginning of this book in the slightest, which is honestly an accomplishment. Beginnings can take some time to truly win me over sometimes. 

Carly wasn't a bad MC. I felt like she jumped to conclusions sometimes, like when she stopped being friends with her best friend so easily, and I thought she kind of needed to stop being so pessimistic, but I'm going to excuse the majority of her annoying qualities because her situation had to have been a struggle. I mean, DANG. It was cray cray. But she handled it well, and I liked that. The only thing I really fault her for is ever distrusting Ryan. He was clearly a good guy, and he was clearly 100% there for her no matter what. She needed to chill out before accusing him of stuff. Speaking of Ryan, I totally heart him. He was an awesome hero to have, and Carly was so lucky to know him. I respect this guy something fierce, and I loved reading about him. If there were ever a book boy who deserved a whole novel written to him, Ryan could definitely be the one.

The romance was slow at first, understandably, but the gap in which the romance would normally fit was filled with sweetness. Caring. All Ryan. Once they started being actually romantic with each other, things were so, so great. Ryan was patient and kind, and I approve of this couple so much. I would approve of just about anything that made Ryan happy. That's how much I adore him.

There were, of course, a few things that I did not like. Carly's best friend, first of all. I think she gave up to quickly on trying to figure out what was up with Carly. I understand that she had a problem with Ryan, but wouldn't she care enough for her friend to at least put some more effort into helping her? And Carly's parents. It felt a little far fetched that they'd jump into siding with her ex-boyfriend so easily. I mean, I get they had issues, but that was crazy. I did like that her parents seemed to not totally suck at the end, but still. And lastly, the whole drama with Ryan's ex-girlfriend. I kind of felt like that was over the top. We didn't need that little extra thing. I get that we needed something to test their trust for each other, but I didn't feel like that was the right thing. 

Overall, I highly enjoyed To My Hero. It's a well written story that seethes intensity the whole way through and is filled with characters I felt for, especially Ryan. I was already a fan of Danielle Sibarium, thanks to her Heart Waves books, but I am now seriously looking forward to when I get to read another novel by this author. :)

 Actual Rating: 3.5 hearts