Review: One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

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.

Review:

I have read and enjoyed all of Mara's published books so far and I've been eager for One Hundred Candles to be released. Luckily, it was a fabulous follow up to Past Midnight! Filled with more spooky twists and turns and new characters, One Hundred Candles sent shivers up my spine and kept me reading into the night!

The plot of One Hundred Candles was intriguing and fast paced. The action starts almost immediately and comes to a high point when our protagonist, Charlotte, and some friends go to a party and get involved in a mysterious game called "One Hundred Candles". The room is dark and mysterious and Charlotte, her best friends Avery and Noah, and her maybe-boyfriend Harris, are all present as well as a bunch of other kids from their school. Each of them has to share a paranormal experience and then light a candle. Unfortunately, afterwards, some freaky things start happening to Charlotte and at their school. Are Charlotte and her friends really being haunted or is there a more logical, human approach to the occurrences?

Charlotte was a strong and determined main character and always wanted the best for her family and friends. Unlike in the first novel, the Silver clan is not as happy and "together" as they once were. Charlotte's parents are constantly arguing and having differences in opinion. On top of all that Charlotte is dealing with some of her own problems. Like her new boyfriend Harris. And tensions with her friend(?) Noah. And of course all the freaky things happening at school. Charlotte held her head up high through it all and always sought out the most realistic answer. Luckily she had her best friend Avery, who was always there for her, and her older sister. I liked all the secondary characters in One Hundred Candles as I got to revisit with some of my favorites from the prequel and get to know them better as well as to meet some likable, new characters.

I love how Mara Purnhagen's novels always keep me on the edge of my seat and One Hundred Candles was no exception. New plot twists were always thrown in when I least expected them and certain characters had more going on than met the eye. The ending especially was so creepy and horrifying I couldn't put it down for one second.

One Hundred Candles in no way suffered from sequel blues and I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series. Charlotte is a main character I was constantly rooting for and I was truly scared during a few scenes. Now I am counting the days until Beyond the Grave is released!

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

February 15, 2011/Harlequin Teen/235 Pages/Young Adult/Book Two

Source: NetGalley

Other books in the series: Past Midnight