Blurb from Goodreads:
Sixteen year old Arelia LaRue lives in New Orleans where the music is loud, voodoo queens inhabit every street corner, and the ghosts are alive and well. Despite her surroundings, all she wants is to help her Grand-mere Bea pay the rent and save up for college.
When her best friend Sabrina convinces her to take a well-paying summer job at the infamous Darkwood plantation, owned by the wealthy LaPlante family, Arelia agrees.
However, at Darkwood strange things start to happen, and gorgeous Lucus LaPlante insists that he needs her help. Soon, the powers that Arelia has been denying all her life, come out to play and she discovers mysteries about herself that she could have never imagined.
My thoughts:
I am a sucker for paranormal books. I admit it, YA or commercial fiction, so when I saw this I imeadiately downloaded it. I was not disappointed. The story flowed and kept me captivated from beginning to end. Saito has created an atmosphere in which its as commonplace to chat with the spirits as it is to ask someone to pass the salt at dinner. I got drawn in and stayed there. It's an amazing book.
You watch the main character, Arelia, grow into her role as a Voodoo Queen. She is the tough kid who isn't afraid of anything, but she is also vulnerable because of that toughness. It hides someone who's been hurt. It was so fun watching her learn to trust Lucas.
My one main bone of contention is I would have liked to have seen more interaction with Ivan, who is a main plot point in the book. He was more like an after thought, but needed a bigger role in this book.
Overall a fabulous read and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.