Review: Dark Paradise (Dark Paradise #1) by Angie Sandro

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.

YES! YES! YES! I could really leave my review as just those three words and be extremely happy with it. Gosh, I really don't know where to start. Well, I went into this novel with a few hang-ups. I've been burned by witch and ghost novels in the past. I've sworn off these kinds of novels because of how terrible some of the ones I've read in the past have been. But this one spoke to me, I guess. If I was one of those people that can be won over by a gorgeous cover (who am I kidding, I totally am) then I would want to read it just for that... (which I did). The moment I read the blurb, I was hooked. 

From the first page, I was creeped out. Totally creeped out. I'm talking serious heebie-jeebies. Just thinking about it now creeps me out. And you're totally sucked into Mala's (the main character) world right from the get-go. The novel becomes more and more addictive the further you get into it. This morning, I was about a third of the way through. And now I'm done. I sat down and just read for hours today because I had to know what was going to happen. This is one of those books that makes you neglect the world around you. Be prepared to miss meals. 

I make it a point to not read anything about the authors or their other books when I find a new author. I don't want any outside influences on my first impressions. So I don't know if the author was born in the south but she is totally in tune with how things work down here! My husband and I decided to move our family from Oklahoma to southern Texas ... I mean close to Louisiana when I say southern Texas. Things are just different down here. ESPECIALLY when you get into Louisiana. This is Cajun country and if you're from anywhere up north, you're going to spend your days wondering what in the hell they are talking about and/or eating/drinking most of the time. My point is that this author really makes you feel like you're living out on the bayou and not in a way that makes you feel stupid. The author doesn't talk down to you or over-explain things (which insinuates that us readers are dumb) (and I didn't mean that as an over-explanation because I don't think that you're dumb) (at least not the majority of you). The author just writes like it's as easy as breathing.

About halfway through the novel, I picked out who I thought the bad guy would be. Oh, I was totally sure that I was right. I get all cocky when I can pick out the bad dude in a novel and now I've started doing it earlier and earlier in my readings because I think that I know everything. Well, I was WAY off this time. It was nice being wrong because who I picked would have been too simple for this mysterious and witch-y vortex of words.

Basically, I love this novel. I can't get enough of this novel. It was creepy and sweet and gripping and gritty and spooky and creepy and funny and everything else in between. It had a little bit of everything but not in a way that made it too much or insincere. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. A must read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. 

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