I was gifted a copy of “Dark Paradise” through Net Galley. That in no way affects my opinion or this review.

To be honest, it took me a while to get into this book- half way through to be precise. But once I got into it, I did not want to put down. A lot of people give up after a few chapters if the book doesn’t capture their attention, but I try to give books the benefit of the doubt. This is one of those times I am glad that I did.

Dark Paradise is written from two point-of-views, Mala and Landry’s, but each chapter labels which pov you are reading from, so it is easy to keep up. I do like the author’s writing style, and the suspense of this book, but I do not care for Landry’s character. He is border-line bi-polar. Then again, I would probably be acting psycho if my sister was killed and there is no suspect.

Mala was born into a family of female witches, and she has been branded as one as well. No matter how hard she tries to escape that label, it follows her everywhere; which makes it hard to have friends. What’s even worse? Landry’s younger sister, Lainey, was found dead by Mala on her property. Which then sparks talk that her family had a part in her death- going so far as to say that Mala and her mother sacrificed Lainey in some voo-doo ritual. But Mala is determined to find out the truth behind the murder and put an end to the rumors.

Mala and Landry team up to find out the truth, against the wishes of their families, and the warnings of danger for all involved. Are they strong enough to survive and find out the truth before someone else gets hurts?
( )

I love a good mystery and Angie Sandro’s Dark Paradise was that and a whole lot more. The mystery kicks off from within the first few pages and takes off running with elements of romance and paranormal, all jiving quite nicely together.

There are alternating POV’s here between Mala and her love interest, Landry. Mala is a great heroine and I liked her voice in the story. She is is tough, and got tougher as the story progressed. Mala’s family relationships are unique and was a nice addition to the story as well. Landry’s voice might have appealed to me more if I liked him even a smidgen, but as it turns out, I found him to be an egotistical, judgmental, user, of a loser and I hope that I like him more in future installments since I see from the synopsis that he sticks around as a main player.

There are portions that ran a little too slow near mid-range and I didn’t like the romance between Mala and Landry. Landry is a big fat jerk and Mala is one of those girls who can be a serious bad-ass, but is a real doormat when it comes to guys. Sure, she had her moments of stomping away, but I never felt her roar like I wanted to.

In the end I was glad to have read Dark Paradise and was pleased with the conclusion of the story and the resolution of the mystery. I will definitely be on board to see what comes next in the second installment, Dark Sacrifices. I am just hoping that there isn’t a love-triangle, which was near the surface through out Dark Paradise and indicated more in the end. ( )

There were things I quite enjoyed in this book - the heroine has character, for one - but there were things I just didn't understand. ( )

"Dark Paradise" By Angie Sandro

The first book in the Dark Paradise series.

Release date July 1st.

Mala LaCroix's life isn't ideal. Her Mother is the town hooker, alcoholic and rumored witch. The man she has been crushing on for years thinks of her as his annoying kid sister and oh yeah, she just had to pull a dead girl out of the bayou behind her house. To make matters worse the dead girl is now haunting her and forcing her to use powers she can't control, powers that she has denied the very existence of for years.

Landry Prince is in love with Mala. He watches her from a distance, never having the courage to talk to her let alone speak his true feelings. However when he discovers that Mala might have information on his sisters brutal murder he will stop at nothing to find out the truth, even if that means proving that Mala herself had something to do with it.

I can't express how much I loved this book.
Mystery, murder, love triangles.
Check, check and check.
Throw in some witch hoodoo and I'm completely hooked.

I loved Angie's writing style and her characters. The way she described the town and the people within it made me feel like I had been living there my whole life, walking along side Mala while the judgmental looks and un-approving glances were thrown her way.

I don't want to dive too deep into the story for fear of accidentally spoiling something so I will leave you with this.

Add "Dark Paradise" to your TBR list, pre-order it, wait in line at midnight to get it.
You will not be sorry.

Until next time,
Ginger

In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review.
My review is my honest opinion. ( )