Review: Shadow Hills - Anastasia Hopcus

Where I got it: ARC from 1 ARC Tours
Rating:  4.5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Pretty eye-catching)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Page Count: 387 p.

Phe's sister was drawn to Shadow Hills. When a flier for Devenish Prep shows up in their mail for Phe's dead sister Phe knows she has to go. She finds a journal her sister kept her dreams in and realizes soon that she too is starting to have very odd, vivid dreams. When she arrives in Shadow Hills Phe can feel that there is something a little different here. When she starts seeing real things that she thought were only in her dreams, she knows she needs to find out more. With the help of a few people that she meets, maybe Phe can find out what happened to her sister and what is so special about the people of Shadow Hills.

I loved this book. I loved Phe. I loved Graham. I loved Zach. I loved that our heroine Phe (though not perfect) did not fall for a bad boy. *breathes* Okay so this story was so awesome. Witchcraft + mythology + romance + supernatural happenings + teen angst = this story. I loved how all the elements fit together. It was a little weird how easy Phe starts to accept the things she finds out. Although, she is pretty odd herself, but she seems to come to terms with everything maybe a little too quickly. At one point in this book I actually got chills, which hasn't happened to me while reading in quite awhile. I really think this is a great step in the right direction with paranormal romance. It wasn't super romance-y but there was still just enough that you didn't think Phe odd. Also, if I might add the fact that I love Gogol Bordello and all the other bands in this story. It was so amazing to have such a great soundtrack to associate with the different characters. I think Phe and I could definitely be chums(even though she's from California). This was a great debut novel and I am most certainly looking forward to more from Anastasia. If you like paranormal stories with a dash of romance that doesn't quite leave you gagging be sure to check out this book. Heck pre-order here.

First Line:
"I had thought nothing could be worse than what they had already done to me, but I was wrong."

Favorite Line:
"It was no longer my sister's sanctuary; it had become a cavernous wound."