YA Review: Mystery Falls by Marilyn Phillips

Mystery Falls

by Marilyn Phillips

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble

 

Blurb by Goodreads

 

Secrets. Lies. Deception. For the past six years, Samantha Hunt has lived with the belief that the untimely death of her parents was the result of an unfortunate accident—that by the cruel hand of fate, she had been left an orphan. But it was a lie, a terrible lie told to her by those who wanted to keep her in the dark. And the truth... when revealed, will change her life and haunt her forever.

Suddenly plagued by a series of events which find her in danger and in need of a savior, Samantha is repeatedly rescued by the mysterious and elusive Shadow—a stranger who seems to know more about her past and the tragedy which befell her family, than she does. Drawn to him despite the antagonism she feels whenever in his presence, Samantha soon discovers that Shadow is not what he appears to be. Determined to learn his true identity and why he has come to Mystery Falls, the small town in which she has spent all of her seventeen years, Samantha not only uncovers the secrets he refuses to share, but also the truth about her own past. A truth which forces her to acknowledge that things are not always as they seem, and sometimes, not even those close to you can be trusted.

Resolved to seeking justice for the unwarranted death of her parents, Samantha embarks on a journey which brings her perilously close to her own demise. Can Shadow use his angel powers to save her yet again, or this time, will he be too late.

 

 

Mystery Falls had me hooked by the 5th paragraph in the prologue with Shadow.

“I’m drawn to her in a way that I have never been drawn to
anyone throughout my existence. And right now, there’s nowhere else I would rather be, than here, watching her.”

First I have to give a huge thank you to Marilyn Phillips for giving me the opportunity to read Mystery Falls. Second a another huge thank you to Nomis Paranormal Palace for having this wonderful book on her blog. Because of them I have now found another amazing author I look forward to reading more books from. I was hooked right from the beginning and not even half way through I had to buy a copy for my Nook.

　

Samantha but known to her friends as Sam thinks it is her fault for her parents death and have been living with the guilt ever since then. All she wants to do for six years is hide from the world, that is until she meets the mysterious stranger known as Shadow. She knows that he knows about her parents death, but is keeping her in the dark. I loved Samantha’s character. She will do what ever it takes to find out more about what happened to her parents.

Shadow is the mysterious new kid in school and has feelings for Samantha but at one point is a snot nose brat to her, but he does have his reasons. At the beginning he keeps her at arms length because he knows he will end up hurting her, but he seems he can not stay away from her. He is always right there when something bad happens and ends up rescuing her. He is a tad arrogant but is so sweet. The things he says and does for Sam are beautiful. He is definitely swoon worthy that had my heart pounding, skin tingling and stomach fluttering.

　

Their chemistry together is beautiful and steamy. The first time they meet it is intense as he knows everything about her. Shadow can stalk me anytime. Their time together is sweet and can be bumpy at times. I will admit I did want to beat him over the head a few times. But it always worked out with me wanting to root for them to have a HEA.

Marilyn Phillips has a beautiful writing voice and is an outstanding storyteller. I never knew what was going to happen next. Love all the twist and turns. The surprises just kept getting better through out the book, especially towards the end. I even shed a few tears in the graveyard scene. Do not want to give any spoilers away just know I was shocked and never saw it coming.

Marilyn Phillips is a phenomenal author not to be missed. Mystery Falls is perfect and a keeper for me that I will re-read over and over again. My review does not do good on how amazing her debut book is. Really you need to read it, to appreciate a good writer that in my opinion is right up there with some amazing world known authors. I would for sure highly recommend Mystery Falls and I am eagerly waiting for more. I honestly do not think I would ever get tired of reading about Sam and Shadow. Love the beautiful Mystery Falls cover and look forward to the next cover.