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    One Hundred Candles
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    One Hundred Candles
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    One Hundred Candles
    Ebook251 pages4 hours

    One Hundred Candles

    By Mara Purnhagen

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook



    It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend .

    But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarlequin
    Release dateMar 1, 2011
    ISBN9781426887765
    Unavailable
    One Hundred Candles
    Author

    Mara Purnhagen

    Mara Purnhagen cannot live without a tall caramel latte, her iPod or a stack of books on her nightstand. She has lived in Aurora, Illinois; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio, and Duncan, South Carolina. She currently lives outside Cleveland, Ohio, with her family, two cats and a well-meaning ghost who likes to open the kitchen windows. Tagged is her first young-adult novel.

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    Reviews for One Hundred Candles

    4/5

    16 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It is really starting to look as though 2012 is going to be a good year for books. And I am very glad that I got the opportunity to read and review ONE HUNDRED CANDLES. This is actually the second book in the Past Midnight series the first book actually called PAST MIDNIGHT. There were enough mentions of what occurred in the first book to make me curious but I didn't feel shorted in the least by not reading it first. I want to give Ms. Purnhagen real kudos for striking that delicate balance as I do tend to be anal about wanting to read books in order. In some ways this is a typical young adult novel with the heroine facing the dilemmas of what to wear with what, who she was going to the prom with and dealing with the seeming disintegration of her parent's marriage. But then we toss in the Watcher who attacked Charlotte and all the strange happenings in her high school. When you blend it all together the result is a book that I had a hard time putting down.The characterizations were first rate and the pacing perfect. All in all I was very impressed and do recommend this book to readers of Young Adult and Paranormal. I rate this book a 4.2.I did receive this book from NetGallery in exchange for the review. No money exchanged hands and all opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      Put simply, I loved this book! I read it in just two sittings, not wanting to put it down in between. The characters are strong, well-developed and real. I didn’t find myself getting bored or frustrated with them. They were not over-the-top like some YA novels I have read. Charlotte is an easily likable character who craves normal actually. And her relationships with her family and friends, even romantic, are realistic and complex at the same time. The parents’ occupations as debunkers of the paranormal were an original and wonderful idea.The solid writing in this novel did not leave you guessing at the paranormal elements and therefore easily built suspense with elements of the unknown. Enough was revealed and enough was held back. I think the amount of subplots and plot twists added to the novel, grabbing the reader and not letting go. The author does a great job of raising tension, a nice build with subtle hints and lots of plot hooks. I found this book to be wonderfully creepy and truly haunting. Rarely does a book surprise me, but this one did. I can’t say exactly how or why, but this story walked that thin line between scary and entertaining and age appropriate situations. As a mom, I enjoyed it myself and would have no qualms letting my teens read it. In fact, I think it would be fun to discuss. As a former English teacher, it also touched upon enough of life’s issues like divorce and death that I think it would make a worthy class read. If you are a fan of ghost stories, I highly recommend it no matter what your age.
    • 5/5
      This is the second book in the Past Midnight series by Mara Purnhagen. At first I was not sure how I would like this series. I don’t like those ghost hunter shows on TV, but I was absolutely blown away by this series! I loved it! One hundred Candles takes place a few months after the events that happened in the first book, where Charlotte got a glimpse into the other world. While trying to act like a normal teenage girl, Charlotte agrees to go to a party with her friends, Noah and Avery. She runs into Harris, who invites her to another party across the street. Once there she finds a group of people sitting on the floor surrounded by candles. The object of the game is to tell a real ghost story or occurrence that has happened to you or someone you know, and then light a candle. When all one hundred candles have been lit, they wait for something spooky to happen… With nothing happening at the party everyone was convinced it didn’t work. Until a few days later when weird things start happening at school. With the strange things at school and the investigations Charlotte helps her parents with; she has a full plate of weird. Somewhere along the way, the weird and strange things start to affect her life and she is faced with a “thing” called the Watcher. If all that wasn’t bad enough, she is having relationship issues with not only her boyfriend, but with her friend Noah. I love how easily I was drawn into the life of Charlotte Silver. There was never a dull moment. This book was a complete page turner and had me on the edge of my seat till the end. With the end leaving you hanging, I had to start book three, Beyond the Grave, right away!
    • 4/5
      I’ve developed a slight obsession with the “Past Midnight” series. The characters are likeable, the story lines are interesting, and the pacing is wonderful. Plus, the fact that they are slightly over two hundred pages, as opposed to the [what seems to be normal] four hundred page young-adult novels, doesn’t hurt. These books are easy to read and incredibly enjoyable.“One Hundred Candles” did a good job of summarizing the events that took place in “Past Midnight”. From the first line until the very last, I couldn’t tear my interest away. Charlotte’s family is finally settling down. She’s getting the chance at a normal life; she even has hope of attending prom for the first time. And them – BAM, it hits you fast. The scene with Charlotte and Marcus. Thing’s settle for a while, until New Year’s when Charlotte spends time with Harris. The entire one hundred candles ritual was interesting. The reader can sense something is coming, but Purnhagen is great with her pacing and she manages to set it up perfectly so that it hits you hard when all hell does break lose.Before he finds them, Charlotte’s life seems to be finding a balance: her parents are getting along better, her relationship with Noah has grown, and she thinks that the worst is over. Then her father delivers the news that they have to run, everything comes crashing down around her just as it was beginning to fall into place. From that moment until the final page, you hope for the best, but Purnhagen doesn’t gloss over everything. He’s coming to punish Charlotte. This isn’t going to be a happy ending. Not yet. There’s a lot of pain headed her way. There’s going to be a lot of healing that needs to take place before she can get her life back in order. And she’s not safe yet. There’s still a chance that the energy will manifest itself again. She may have won this time, but safety isn’t promised.I can’t wait to start “Haunting the Night” and “Beyond the Grave”! This series is honestly addicting.
    • 4/5
      I really like Charlotte Silver, the star of this delightful ghost series. Charlotte's family are debunkers. They investigate paranormal activity (on tv) and then try to prove what is causing the disturbances or activity is NOT ghosts. But there have been a few things along the way that are impossible to explain away. In the first book "Past Midnight", Charlotte's family settled down in a new town and Charlotte demanded some roots be set down after years of wandering from place to place. Now she has friends and the popular football hunk is wanting to date her. At a party, the kids play a game called a hundred candles where they tell a hundred ghost stories (supposedly true ones) and then light a candle for each story. When those stories seem to come to life around Charlotte's school, she and friend Noah start to look into it. Also there seems to be another malicious spirit that is after Charlotte. Charlotte's mom seems ready to believe that sometimes ghosts ARE to blame, but her dad is still adament that there are no such things. Can they pull together and put aside their differences in time to help Charlotte? As I mentioned before, Charlotte is a nice girl who doesn't spend a lot of time wallowing in the drama. She is a good friend, smart, and very willing to help her parents. She tries to keep peace all around her. Her personality really comes right off the page. Her friend Noah also stands out. He too is smart and kind, and more than a little bit funny. The books are clean but the teens still feel very realistic. I love the ghost stories and the author does a great job pulling together tales that keep the reader guessing at least a little bit. The book isn't perfect. Some weird things happened in the book as far as the 'timeline' goes and also at times I felt Charlotte should've seen something in someone that she convienantly didn't. I know that some of that is inevitable to keep the book moving forward but still Charlotte was too smart for some of her ignorance to feel real. Still this is a great series and I would have no problem letting my younger teens pick this up and read it, and as an adult I still feel the story is engaging and worth the read.
    • 4/5
      Near the beginning of the book there is a ceremony with 100 candles and the book ends with a ceremony of 100 candles. I liked that Mara Purnhagen was able to connect the beginning and the end.I would say that the paranormal activity is more intense in the second book. I felt more connected to the story and was drawn into the world that Mara created.Life isn't easy for Charlotte. She has some emotional issues that she is dealing with. She has guy problems, demon problems, and parental problems. There is a lot of growth from the beginning to the end of the story. The time line is about a four month period. I liked the way the story was written. It is perfect for the audience, the young adult and teenager. The emotional issues were expressed well and I think many could relate with them.The ending of the book is not what I wanted, but I hope in the next book it will all be resolved. I look forward to reading it.I received a copy to review from Netgalley. Thanks to Harlequin teen for accepting my request to read the book.
    • 4/5
      Creepy, fantastic read! The descriptions of the paranormal happenings had me pull the covers up to my nose at night and jumping at every little noise I heard. I loved the way Mara described everything in this book, the strength and personalities of the characters, and the downright creepiness of the paranormal beings. I don't think there was any part of this book that bored me. It had me flipping the pages all the way to the end. Charlotte gets invited to a huge party where she gets overwhelmed and ends up gazing at the stars with the big jock on campus, Harris. When Harris offers to head over to a party that is more up Charlotte's alley the ghosts stories begin. A game called One Hundred Candles in being played when Harris, Charlotte, Avery and Noah arrive. Gwyn explains the rules that you can only tell a paranormal story that is true and has either happened to you or someone that you are close with. Once the story is told a candle is lit. After all of the one hundred candles are lit, there will be one hundred spirits in the room with them. Little did they know, the stories would haunt them long after the stories were told. This is something that Charlotte isn't easily spooked by and is always thinking of a way to debunk the story. What happens where there are no scientific explanations, and personal experiences that haunt your every thought? A vision so burned into your mind you are forced to believe. The premise of this story, of one hundred candles being lit and each frightening story being played out had me hooked! To me it seemed like an urban legend story. But, urban legends don't end up with a creepy possessed demon (or something worse) hunting you down. Along with the story you learn a lot about Charlotte. The family troubles she is trying to deal with, the new boyfriend in her life, the mystery of the hauntings happening at her school and the 1-year anniversary of Adam's death. With the scary aspect of the story, you also got the real life feeling too, and that's what I loved. I am also a huge fan of ghost stories and scary movies. I don't know why, because I am the biggest scardy cat ever. This book did for me, what the exorcist did. Made me turn on every light on in the house. Why I didn't rate this the full five stars is because it wasn't (for me, at least) a book that I couldn't live with out. While I loved the story and I am looking forward to the next, I didn't LOVE it. But I did enjoy it and I am glad that this was my first paranormal read. Recommendation I would recommend this book to those who love ghost stories, anything paranormal, ghost hunting, possession and a bit of mystery. I do love all those things and I don't know why I haven't read something like this sooner.
    • 4/5
      I thought this book was a fun read. With an easy to follow story line, strong character, a plot full of creepiness,deception,sadness and of course love Not knowing it was a second book in a series I found it to be great on it's own but look forward to see what the future holds for Charlotte and her family.I recommend One hundred candles with 4 stars!
    • 4/5
      Well, it's taken me quite some time to write this review. I started this book on the plane home from Barbados and I finished the book on the plane home from Barbados. Like the first book in Purnhagen's series, I could not put this book down. I really enjoy a good ghost story and this book didn't disappoint. As I said in my review of Past Midnight, I really relate to the main character in this book. This book added another layer to Charlotte's character; she caught in the middle of her parents fighting. Again, while in high school my parents split up and I remember almost feeling relieved because I wouldn't have to deal with their constant arguing anymore. In this novel, Charlotte is frustrated with the way her parents are acting throughout a good portion of the novel. Again all this is to say that I related to Charlotte in a new way. I have to admit that the ghost story of this book wasn't as intriguing as in the first novel. I don't want to give too much away but I had figured out a good part of the mystery to the story. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the mystery of the book but I had it figured out pretty quickly for the most part. There was an added twist at the end and I hadn't figured that out. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I would definitely recommend any book written by Mara Purnhagen. Her writing flows really well and her characters are endearing.
    • 3/5
      The beginning didn't really catch my interest as Charlotte bemoaned her "single lady" state, but when we get to the ghost stories gone real, I admit that I had trouble sleeping that night! one hundred candles was a little confusing - I think mostly because there might be a book before it that hopefully explains what happened to Charlotte before now, but partly due to trying to build the suspense without giving too much away.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this addition to the series much more than I did the first book, Past Midnight. While Past Midnight was slow for me at times, the pacing in this book was great. It keep me guessing, keep me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. There was a lot more action and a lot more mystery.This time around, not only is Charlotte dealing with school drama, boyfriend problems, and parents who are always fighting, she is also dealing with with something stalking her that isn't exactly human. I love that this series concentrates just as much or the mortal problems that Charlotte deals with as it does the paranormal element.I love that Charlotte is a girl like anyone, with no extra special powers, no added advantages. She has to figure out how to deal with the paranormal world around her and find the strength within herself and her family and friends to face things down. She has a great support system of characters that are very enjoyable to read.Overall, this was a great mystery, but even more a coming-of-age story. Enjoyable, fast, and fun read that I think will appeal to most YA fans.
    • 4/5
      Things are never normal in Charlotte Silver's life. Since the last book she has grown immensely and is still having problems with ghost. After attending a party playing a ghost game, all of sudden all the stories are coming true. Some students are scared, while others are excited. But Charlotte looks deeper realizing it is not as all as it seems. Its something much more.I will go straight into it and say this book lost it pizazz from the first book. I still enjoyed reading it. I just felt like something was missing. Charlotte's character felt different. She has matured in a lot of ways. This time in the book the ghost are not the only problem as much as the drama. The drama in this book was intense. As things always go in Charlotte's life she is faced with fighting parents. I admit that this hurt me. Only because I have been there done that with the fighting parents and its not cool. It put an extreme amount of stress on Charlotte. I do like that it gave a fresh prospective on real life. Cause lets face it. Life is not perfect, not even our parents.The boy drama had me fuming. I thought the guy was selfish and a jerk. I like the way Charlotte handled it. I would have done the same thing. For one thing, her best friend is awesome and a life saver. I loved how she was always there for her and always had her door open. Charlotte need help and she got it.This book does contain major life drama like a roller coaster. I was mad, angry, upset, and I even cried because I felt so bad. I just really wanted to hug Charlotte and make all the bad things go away. I am happy that things did turned out okay in the end.
    • 4/5
      I thought this story was interesting and creative, and I really enjoyed it. Charlotte certainly has a different life, and I liked seeing just how much her life revolved around the supernatural due to her parents’ job. The pacing of the book was perfect – it didn’t drag at all, and I was pulled in at all the right moments. I also enjoyed how Purnhagen pulls together the supernatural and the realistic. Adding the extra elements of protective crystals, candles, and ceremonies really made it stand out for me. Although this seems like stuff that would seem to be in all supernatural stories, I have found it in very few. It’s also a great stand-alone book, even though it was the second in the series. I was able to catch on quickly as to what was going on and wasn’t confused as to who the characters were. However, I think that if I had read the first book, I’d have had a stronger connection with the characters, which would have been nice.As I said, I really enjoyed the story, but the writing was a little too simplistic for me. The characters are very black-and-white and predictable. The main character says everything that’s going on in her mind in a very simple, direct manner. I think it’s a classic example of the writer “telling” rather than “showing.” Instead of showing that the main character was worried or sad by having her do something or act a certain way, she directly stated, “I am worried.” It makes the story less interesting to read, and definitely made me feel distanced from the characters, because I wasn’t interacting with them as much.I thought the climax and ending was wonderfully done. By the time I got to the high point of the novel, I couldn’t put it down – I had to finish.I would rate this at 3.5 stars, but it has a cool cover, so I’m bumping it up.
    • 4/5
      I was lucky enough to receive this as an review galley prior to publication and I really enjoyed reading it. I had not read any previous works by this author but I found her style to be very easy to read and enjoyable.This is the second book in the series but it can be read as a stand alone novel. The author does refer to events in the first novel but she also explains them so the reader does not feel like they are missing out by not having read the first novel.The plot moves well, there are no drage or lulls and none of the events felt forced like there was a timeline that had to be stuck to. The characters are all fully developed, believable and it was easy to invest in them. Charlotte, the main character, was likeable as a reader you felt her confusion as she dealt with her family issues and worried about her friends. The relationships she has with her friends make her seem more real and the minor characters never felt flat, they felt like full characters with whole stories behind them.I really enjoyed how the authoer wrote the character of Harris who dates Charlotte, you know something is just a little off about him but you aren't sure what it is so you end up hoping and rooting for Charlotte to be happy with him.If you payed attention you will see some plot twists coming but not enough so that it ruins the enjoyment of the novel. The ending is one that I did not see coming at all and it was a big one, I will def be waiting for the third book while I hunt down the first one.