Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Summary:

After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died.

Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after -- seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills. 

Review:

With the stunning cover this one has and tagline of "His love captivated her...His secrets might kill her." it's simply a given to say that I was excepting greatness from Shadow Hills, and lucky enough for me, greatness it exactly what I received! Since Shadow Hills was a fast paced and captivating novel that went as far as to show that Anastasia Hopcus is a fantastic new star in the YA world!

Phe is character who's hard not to love because she had a backbone and constantly stood up for what she believed in, even if others don't always agree.  I loved her relationship with Zach, who is totally swoon worth by the way, since it never felt forced and developed in a way that was real. Plus, her boarding school friends were simply hilarious, leaving them to constantly steal the show! My favorite out of the bunch would have to be Adriana because I loved her wit and the way she never ceased to make me laugh with her diva-like attitude.

The idea of which this was based off of always proved to be intriguing and enthralling because of the fact that it brought together a murder mystery, paranormal aspects (not involving vampires for once brining a big yay on my part), and mythology. This all left Shadow Hills to be simply fantastic when adding in Anastasia's writing to the mix as well. Though, while I did love finding out more about Zach and his powers, I would have liked to seen more development to the ones Phe had, as well as her problems with her one friend have more of a conclusion.

But even with the slight faults that Shadow Hills had, it's still a book that I can't help but suggest you run out and buy once it's released because it's definitely going to be ONE GIGANTIC HIT this summer; that I can say for sure.

Grade: A+

Shadow Hills will be released July 13, 2010.

Source: Around The World Tours