The Darkworld by Cara Lynn Shultz (review)

With a ghost for a best friend and the ability to see dead people, sixteen-year-old Paige Kelly isn’t exactly a newbie when it comes to the supernatural. She’s nonetheless thrown for a loop when a fire demon attacks her at school, killing a classmate and setting a classroom ablaze. Fortunately, the swoonworthy new guy, Logan Bradley, shows up with a magical sword and defeats the demon; he then informs Paige that her ghost-seeing ability places her amid the ongoing war between demons and warlocks in Darkworld, an alternative realm. A romance ensues, several battles are had, but a secret of Logan’s puts their relationship and the fates of both the mortal world and Darkworld at stake. The snark and camp are similar in tone to Hawkins’ Rebel Belle (BCCB 4/14) or Clement-Moore’s Prom Dates from Hell (BCCB 7/07), but the mechanics here are more obvious and contrived, with the feisty, independent-minded Paige making some rather uninspired and boy-centered decisions that are more plot driven than character motivated. Still, the whip-smart banter between the two leads is entertaining, smart and stylish with an almost old Hollywood glamour, and the push and pull romance takes a dramatic turn when Logan’s secret is revealed. Formulaic, sure, but when the formula makes for a breezy beach read with a touch of demonic fun, it may be hard to resist.