A Book Obsession..: Mara Purnhagen

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Beyond the Grave (Early Review)

, by KT

Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen

Past Midnight #3

I can’t move forward with my life until I know my demons are confined to the past...

Being Charlotte Silver, the daughter of famous paranormal investigators, means my life isn’t like that of other teenage girls. Especially after what happened to my parents. Things changed. I missed prom and deferred my big college plans. But I still have my boyfriend, Noah. He’s everything I could want—if I can figure out what’s up with him. Suddenly Noah is secretive.

I fear it has something to do with what happened to us three months ago. The bruise Noah suffered during a paranormal attack has never completely faded. Now I’ve learned Noah is researching demons. And when he disappears, it’s up to me to find him—before something else does.

Charlotte just wants to move on with her life, but she can't until she knows that The Watcher is gone for good. She's put her life and future on hold in order to try and hold things together in the aftermath of his attack. She wants to be there for her father as they cling to hope for her mother's recovery, but things aren't looking good. The only thing she can count on is Noah, or so she thought. Something is different about him, and she isn't sure what is going on. All she knows is that he's suddenly being very secretive and not where he says he will be. She has the nagging feeling it has something to do with the Watcher's attack on him as the bruises never faded. Charlotte is going to have to use every bit of strength she has left to keep her family and her heart from falling apart completely as the final showdown looms just around the corner.

Charlotte was a little too clueless for my tastes at times, especially when it came to Noah. Perhaps she was just trying not to see what was in front of her because she didn't want to believe anything was wrong with him. I guess it was just a really bad case of denial, but it struck me as a little immature. She also hadn't learned from her past mistakes of not telling her family everything from the start. Considering the fact that her mother probably wouldn't be in a coma right now if she had come clean immediately I found her continued secrecy to be a little baffling. She self-justified this by saying that she didn't want to worry anyone or cause more stress, but honestly that was a cop out to avoid confrontation.

I was a little frustrated that we didn't get to see Charlotte and Noah together very much. I guess I shouldn't be surprised after reading the synopsis, but it took so long for them to finally get together in the previous books that I was really looking forward their relationship in Beyond the Grave. I just feel that there is so much potential between them and I would have loved to have seen their relationship really grow. I was really happy with the addition of a new character named Michael as he really added something great to the book. Also it was nice to see another side of Bliss. I always thought there was much more to her than met the eye, even though she had previously spent every interaction with Charlotte being nasty.

Beyond the Grave had a slow start but eventually picked up. I felt things ended rather well, and definitely left me with a sense of satisfaction. I think the best part about this series was watching all of the characters grow, especially when it came to their beliefs in the paranormal and how those perceptions changed. Some came to belief rather easily and others were extremely stubborn to almost the bitter end, which made for a pretty diversified cast of characters, in turn making the books even more enjoyable. Now that this series is complete, I'll definitely be on the lookout for future books by Mara Purnhagen as I think she is a very talent author. Fans of the previous two installments won't be disappointed in Beyond the Grave as it is a very good tie up to a great paranormal YA series.

(Received copy from Netgalley)

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Beyond the Grave (Harlequin Teen)

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One Hundred Candles

, by KT

One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

Past Midnight #2

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.

Charlotte is just starting to get used to a semi-normal life. She's now lived in the same place for longer than anywhere else in her life, and finally has some real friends. She even seems to be on the path to gaining her first boyfriend as Harris, the star of the football team is showing some major interest. So life is really looking up, but of course all that can change in a heartbeat. Things are turned upside down when Harris drags her into a party telling ghost stories in some sort of ritual to raise some ghosts. Charlotte doesn't believe any of that until some pretty strange things start happening at school. Even so, she isn't worried until things take a turn for the worse and now the danger is very real, with everything seeming to directly target her.

The spooky factor got ratcheted up several notches in One Hundred Candles. In the previous book, Past Midnight there was a definite feeling of creepiness at times. However, the ghosts or "energy" never really felt like an actual threat when it came down to it. I mean the worst that happened physically was that Charlotte got pushed a little bit, just enough to make her stumble. In One Hundred Candles the threat is a whole new level. I definitely felt the danger a whole lot more, and for good reason too. Be prepared for some major heart pounding moments.

While the marital problems Charlotte's parents were having definitely upped the tension factor in this book, I also think it was a very good includement for a YA novel. So many teens have to deal with their parents having marital issues. I have a feeling that a lot of teens will relate with what Charlotte is going through while dealing with the threat of divorce, yet it never once thrown in your face as a life lesson. I just really admire an author that deal with major "issues" subtly, just enough to be relatable.

I had been a little disappointed in my lack of attachment to the characters in the previous installment. Now after reading One Hundred Candles I feel much more engrossed in the story and genuinely care for the characters. I'm really looking forward to seeing how things turn out next, especially when you consider the ending events leaving things very uncertain. If you enjoyed Past Midnight, then One Hundred Candles will not disappoint as everything is stepped up a notch making it a truly enjoyable read.

Rating:

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One Hundred Candles (Harlequin Teen)

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Past Midnight

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Outdo Yourself
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Past Midnight

, by KT

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen

Past Midnight #1

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive...

Charlotte Silver has had an interesting life. She's traveled all over the world with her ghost-debunking parents, never staying in one place for very long. All of that changes when they went to Charleston, and things go very wrong. Charlotte gains a set of spiritual stalkers that follow her to their new home. As if starting a new school while keeping her parent's occupation is hard enough, things get a little hairy when those spirits turn demanding. She's start to question everything she thought she knew about the supernatural and hope she figures a way to get rid of her stalkers before things get any worse.

This book was a little lighter on the paranormal side than most books in the genre, but it worked very well. In fact most of the things that were happening, the parents kept trying to come up with rational explanations like the rest of their debunking methods. However, when push came to shove, they stepped up to the plate to help Charlotte, even going so far to contact spiritualists, something they never would have given the time of day for. I'm happy the author took thus route as it could have easily gone the other way considering her parent's beliefs. I really was glad to see a supportive set of parents, something that you don't seem to see in many YA novels.

I had a hard time getting attached to these characters, especially Charlotte. They all just felt a little one dimensional leaving me feeling detached. I prefer stories to grab me from the start and suck me into caring about the characters and what was happening to them. Yes, there are some spooky parts that had me feeling not a little creeped out right along with Charlotte, but other than that, I just had no attachment to the story. I'm hoping that changes in the next book as there is a really great potential here, and I do like the premise behind it all, so if the characters form a little more depth I would feel a lot more invested.

Okay so I did enjoy reading Past Midnight. Granted some of it felt to be a little "fluffy" at times, as well as a little predictable, but when it all came down to it, the book read quickly and held my interest. Perhaps I would have liked it just a little more if there had been a little romance or a least a tease of a potential love interest, but there wasn't really anything at all in that department. I'm hoping some possibilities open up in the future as I think that would really add to these books. I'd recommend Past Midnight to YA fans that like their books with just a touch of paranormal mixed in with a high school setting full of problems both mundane and supernatural.

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