Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen

Summary/Cover Image from Author's Website:

I can’t move forward with my life

Until I know my demons are confined to the past…

Being Charlotte Silver, the daughter of famous paranormal investigators, means my life isn’t like other girls. Especially after what happened to my parents. Things changed. I missed prom and deferred my big college plans. But while my future is on hold, everyone else around me is moving on. At least I’m not alone. Noah is everything I could want in a boyfriend—if I can figure out what’s going on with him.

I feel like Noah’s hiding something from me, and I’m sure it has to do with what happened to us three months ago. The bruise he suffered during a paranormal attack has never completely faded. It’s a constant reminder of what a vicious entity whispered to Noah: You’re interesting.

Now Noah is researching demons and won’t talk about it. And when he disappears, it’s up to me to find him—before something else does.

Review:

After devouring the first two books in the Past Midnight series, I couldn't wait to read the third one. Because not only did the second leave off with a semi-huge cliffhanger but also because there's just so many aspects I adore about this series. Luckily, Beyond the Grave was yet another fabulous addition. It was actually probably my favorite one so far!

Beyond the Grave starts off a couple of months after One Hundred Candles left off. Charlotte is still reeling with the fact that her Mom is in a comma, one that she may never recover from safely. Because of this, Charlotte has decided not to head off to college just yet. Instead, she's hanging around home and taking a few classes at a local community college. However, it's not helping as much as she though it would. Her dad's never home, her best friend has abandoned her for college, and Noah, her usually fabulous boyfriend, is slowly beginning to pull away from her. Charlotte doesn't know what to chalk that last one up to, but she thinks it may just have to do with what happened a couple of weeks ago when Noah and her went on a paranormal investigation that went terribly wrong. Charlotte knows it's up to her to find out what's up with Noah and possibly save her mother in the process, but is she willing to put a few major things on the line? Charlotte's not too sure but she's bound to find out soon...

I have to admit: Beyond the Grave is probably the most serious book out of the series. Not to say the others were always light, fluffy reads, but this one definitely showed the less sunny sides of life. From Charlotte's mom's current state to the mix feelings she felt about that as well as her family specifically to her problems with Noah, Charlotte faced a lot of different challenges in this novel. Some were good and somewhere bad, but they all did one thing: they brought some major development to Charlotte's character. Charlotte truly bloomed into a strong, brave, and kick-butt character in this one. She refused to back down and let others determine her fate more times than one, and that's not even adding in all the times she put her own self on the line. I loved seeing this side of her, and I'm sure other fans of this series will feel the same way.

The other characters got some development as much. However, one of my favorite parts of Beyond the Grave was seeing the focus on one new character and one character who hasn't always been the nicest one prior in the series. I'm not going to give any names because I don't want to ruin any surprises, but I will say that both ended up being surprising adds. In some ways, they actually stole the show.

The plot in Beyond the Grave was also top notch. It contained many twists and turns that constantly managed to capture my attention. For the majority of the novel, I was on the edge of my chair, dying to know what would occur next. Would Charlotte's mom wake up? What exactly was wrong with Noah? Would Charlotte be able to save him before it was too late? There were so many questions, and the ways to the answers were nothing less than action packed to say the least.

The writing in this one was snazzy as well. I've read every book of Mara's with the exception of the two eBook short stories for this series, but I have to say Mara's writing has managed to get better and better over time. Beyond the Grave especially highlighted her talent of creating an action packed plot and an even better conclusion.

Full of twists and turns, Beyond the Grave certainly makes quite the impression. While I've heard this one is the last one in the series, I truly hope that's not the case. I would love to see more books about Charlotte and her friends/family or even a spin-off with the two characters that managed to steal the show in this one. Now that would provide an interesting storyline to say the least!

Oh, and if you haven't started this series yet: What are you waiting for? Get to it ASAP. I demand it.

Grade: A+

Beyond the Grave is now available!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley