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Thursday, April 23, 2015

A Magic Dark and Bright by Jenny Adams Pernovic ARC Review

4/5 Stars
Details of the Book
eARC, approx. 330 pages
Published by Bookish Girl Press
Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Synopsis: She meant to help a ghost...not unleash a curse.

Amelia Dupree hasn’t seen the Woman in White since the night her brother died. 

The ghost seems to have disappeared from the woods surrounding Asylum, Pennsylvania—that is, until Charlie Blue moves into the creepy old MacAllister House next door. Amelia can’t help liking him, even though she spent her childhood thinking his grandmother was a witch. And she definitely can’t ignore the connection between his arrival and the Woman in White’s return. 

Then Amelia learns that the Woman in White is a prisoner, trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead. Devastated by the idea that her brother could be suffering a similar fate, Amelia decides to do whatever it takes to help the Woman in White find peace--and Charlie agrees to help her.

But when Amelia’s classmates start to drown in the Susquehanna River, one right after another, rumors swirl as people begin to connect the timing of Charlie’s arrival with the unexplained deaths. As Charlie and Amelia uncover the dark history of Asylum, they realize they may have unleashed an unspeakable evil. One they have to stop before everything they love is destroyed

I almost DNFed this book because of the teen drama in the beginning. I pushed myself a bit further though and got to the paranormal parts of the plot, boy, was surprised. It's chilling and suspenseful, and once the plot picked up I couldn't put it down. Word to the wise, this is not the book to read when you're trying to sleep. I'm not ashamed to admit that it gave me goosebumps and made my heart race. This has to be the first time where I was pulled into a book by its plot and not its characters. That's not to say that the characters are bad because they're not, but the plot is so interesting and intense. I generally stray away from creepy paranormal books (Somehow I'm okay with romantic ones. Don't judge me haha), but I have to say this one impressed me.

Strengths/Likes:

1) This paranormal plot is different than what I'm used to reading. Marin is more than a vengeful spirit, she has an interesting history and twists around all of the living. I have no idea what her goals are but I can't wait to find out.

2) The dialogue was pretty funny and sarcastic. You guys should know by now that I love sarcasm.

3) This book keeps you guessing. When reading, you think you've figured it out and then the plot takes a wicked turn and suddenly you realize just how wrong you are. It was great.

4) I'm loving the twist to Charlie and Leah's relationship at the end. The twist attacked instalove but made you question if it was in-fact instalove at the same. I'm sure that doesn't make a lot of sense but I'm trying not spoil anything for you guys. You'll just have to read it to find out what I mean ;)

5) I adore Leah. She's a great character and I'd love to be her best friend.

Weaknesses/Dislikes:

1) I felt like there was a lot of extra details that didn't need to appear in this book. Like who is dating Leah's mom, I'm not sure how Mark was important at all, and details about people in town. If I'm being honest though, I'm just being picky because I wanted more answers to my zillion questions this book left me with.

2) I think the ending was rushed. It felt like for the entire book we were leading up to this grand finale and then it was over in a heartbeat.

3) You guys will see this in a quote that I'll list down below because I liked the dialogue. My problem is that I've never heard of a concussion patient being cleared to normal activities in a week. Maybe they can, depending on the severity of the concussion, but it sounds a little unlikely to me.

Favorite Quotes/Moments:

1) She sighed. "No. You can't. You just had a concussion, for Christ's sake--"

"A week ago--"

"Your brain bounced off the inside of your skull. You're not ready."

"The doctor just said I was ready," I protested. "What are you going to do, make me wear a helmet all the time?"

"I haven't ruled that out yet."

2) "She wrapped her pinky around mine, like she had when I was a little girl and a promise from my mom could fix anything.

If only things could be that easy again."

3) It's a bit too long for a quote but I loved Leah and Erin's exchange at the grocery store.

4) "Nice." Leah's voice was flat. "Puppies are nice. This ice cream? It's nice. Kissing that boy? That should definitely be something more than nice."


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