brebeaumont

firstly, this is definitely something i would recommend to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance. it has a good amount of spooky stuff before our love interest is introduced, and it actually has a subject that's often ghosted over in ya romance books: female-female friendship.

that's where i will start this review, in fact, by saying that i absolutely loved lacey. she had a good head on her shoulders, a lot of common sense. she was the perfect mixture of bitter over being dead and happy to be there for/with her friend. the fact that she was a lesbian didn't detract from her friendship with mary in the slightest and that was something i thought was awesome, too.

our mc mary was actually very cute! she had realistic worries, realistic priorities. i was a little wary of her love interest (whose name i actually can't remember because he was, honestly, quite unremarkable as far as book boyfriends go) because of how suddenly he was introduced, and how... convenient it seemed that mary met and was attracted to/took a chance on him of all people. i do, however, like that fate seemed to play a big part in this. i like that their romance was a whirlwind, a summer fling the way that quite a few teenage romances are: fast, hot, and heavy, but temporary. i like that they didn't use the word love, that neither of them made it out to be something it wasn't. i like that it didn't overshadow the story itself.

now, on to the story itself (and the reason why this lovely book is 4 stars instead of 5!)

our antagonist (if you could call her that) was a poor little girl named amy. her backstory was a tragic one, and her presence was a disturbing one. there was a lot of build up here, a lot of development and anticipation, and i was holding my breath for the final showdown between amy and mary & co! but then it happened and it just.. well, happened. there was no honest emotional payoff for me personally, no real.. development so much as an "okay this happened, we totally won in 5 pages when this was built up for 300!!" that was followed up by condensed little rundown of what happened more than an actual ending.

it took on a bit of a third person, happily ever after sort of feel, even from mary's pov. what happened wasn't bad by any means - the ending was what i would have chosen for everyone, but the delivery just fell flat on its face and left me wishing there was more! that could be seen as a good thing, because i would definitely pick up a copy of a sequel or a novella/short story companion, but that's not a very good way to feel on a story that seems to be completed.

overall, this was a very, very good book, albeit not flawless! the cover art is gorgeous and the author's writing style is quirky, endearing, and can pack a strong emotional punch with very simplistic wording, which is a rare talent to behold. :)