ARC Review: One Hundred Candles

Author: Mara Purnhagen
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Release: July, 2011
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4/5

Description: It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

Review: Charlotte Silver is the daughter of parents who make a living scientifically disprove the existence of ghosts. This is fine, except for the fact that Charlotte has been contacted by an evil spirit bent on harming her. And then, she goes to a party where they play a game called One Hundred Candles, which unleashes other spirits that may put her friends and family in danger. What's a girl to do?

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

• The only thing I didn't like about this book is the fact that I have to wait til September for the next book, Beyond the Grave.

WHAT I LIKED

• The spooky level in this book is high. I so wasn't expecting it, but boy did I enjoy it. Ms. Purnhagen's descriptive writing adds to the all-around creepiness.
• Charlotte's character. She wasn't a whiny weak character. I love books where the heroine is flawed, yet strong and Charlotte is such a character. She's got a lot of spunk, even when it comes to dealing with the spooky factor. She has to deal with this evil spirit, whatever's threatening her friends, the problems her parents may be having in their marriage, and normal teenage problems, yet she doesn't bow down to the pressure. She's not emotionless, tho. The problems bother her just as it would other teens in her situation.
• Sometimes, the love triangle thing gets played out in YA books, but it worked in this one. It wasn't a love triangle all the way cos one of Charlotte's love interest didn't own up to his feelings.

One Hundred Candles is a fast-paced, action-packed read. I didn't read the 1st book in the series, Past Midnight, so I love the fact that I didn't have to read it to know what was going on in One Hundred Candles.