Recent Reads - Skeleton Lake

Skeleton Lake (Skeleton Lake #1), by Angela Kulig

 4 of 5 Stars

Buy It:  Amazon  /  Barnes & Noble

Genre:   Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 290

Publication:   10/21/2011, Red Iris Books

Why I Chose It:  I received an advanced readers copy from the author. In the interest of full disclosure I will tell you that I know the author. This has in no way affected my review.

Synopsis (from Good Reads):   Unsure if she's drowning or being saved, all Marlow wants to do is run away. Ensnared in a haunting love triangle, she realizes both boys have holes in their hearts; gaping spaces she can never hope to fill.

Scars from loving the same girl, a girl who managed to stay dead.

Now she is being hunted, for what she has become and what she never asked to be. Even as a Skeleton Marlow isn’t the worst thing in the night—she isn’t even close.

My Review:  The idea of soulmates is one I cling to. I like to believe that somewhere in the world we each have someone with whom we were meant to be (in case you didn't know, I'm a little bit of a hopeless romantic). What I like best about Skeleton Lake is the fact that Raidan and Marlow are in fact soulmates. Instantly drawn together and destined to love one another. Yeah, swoon.

Of course at this point enter Conrad because, after all, you can't have a love triangle without three sides. I didn't love Conrad, but I found myself sympathizing with him a lot. Something about unrequited love and being the odd man out will pull at my heartstrings every time. I felt so bad for him. I couldn't imagine loving someone knowing that they would never love me back. I couldn't break my heart like that over and over.

I think the funny thing is that despite the two possible love interests presented for Marlow in Skeleton Lake, I fell for Alex. All of the characters were well-rounded, fully fleshed out. And Alex was strong, kind, and brave. And I loved the portrayal of his relationship with Lena, his soulmate. So I'm officially declaring myself Team Alex. Unfortunately this will probably be a team of one since Raidan and his heart-melting words will inevitably get all the love.

I truly loved this book. It's full of action and romance. And, um, skeletons. Does it get more unique than that? Throw in a mystical lake that I'm still not certain isn't alive and evil, and well, I'm hooked.

Is it perfect? No. I could point out a few stray commas here and there, or some run-on sentences. As a reader, does it matter? Not at all. Because there's something that Angela does better than some of the most well edited authors out there. She tells a good story. She understands the elements that make outstanding fiction and she executes each of them flawlessly.  She sucks you in, and once you're in, you're in. There's no escaping her writerly clutches until you reached The End.

And when it was over, I was sad. I wanted more. I know a sequel is in the works, so I'll have to wait a few months. Highly recommend to lovers of the paranormal romance genre and for anyone looking for a fresh mythos.

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