Dark Paradise - Angie Sandro - 5 stars

This book was amazing to me. The premise of the story, the imagery, and the characters. I could not put it down once I picked it up. I was totally consumed by the story and was completely engaged the minute I turned to the first page. It was very fluid and easy to follow. I liked the 2 person POV too and how the author marked each person's perspective.

In this story we have Malaise LaCroix who comes from a long line of witchery. She struggles at first to believe that she has any part of that even though her mother swears to her that she does. And then Lainie, daughter of a reverend is found dead on the LaCroix property and everything spirals out of control from there.

First of all, the premise of this story is amazing and is what prompted me to start this book in the first place. I have to say I loved every minute of it, and the imagery is also fantastic. I found that I could actually place myself there in the midst of all the craziness and witness everything that was going on. There was a nice creepiness to the story as well. I could feel the impending doom before anything actually happened. Beautifully done!

The characters were my favorite part of this book. I loved Mala so much. She had so much more strength than she herself felt. And I found myself cheering her on when she was trying to get a point across. I had a love hate relationship with Landry at first till his true colors began to shine. I think he is a beautiful person even though he is a little rough around the edges. I am still on the fence when it comes to George. He rubs me the wrong way a lot of the time and I find myself trying to urge Mala not to trust him. He is so hell bent on proving that Landry is a bad person, that it makes me question whether or not he himself is all good.

I enjoyed the 'romance' part of this book with Mala and Landry. The author allows space to let it grow which makes it more realistic than what you normally find in romantic relationship inside books. I liked how they did not just automatically say I love you and they have to work at it to make things happen. It leaves the readers a little breathless and frustrated at the same time.

I look forward to being able to continue reading this series. The cliffhanger at the end of this book certainly can make the readers yearn for more.