Black Flowers, White Lies by Yvonne Ventresca

Her father died before she was born, but Ella Benton knows they have a supernatural connection. Since her mother discourages these beliefs, Ella keeps her cemetery visits secret. But she may not be the only one with secrets. Ella’s mother might be lying about how Dad died sixteen years ago. Newfound evidence points to his death in a psychiatric hospital, not as a result of a tragic car accident as her mother always claimed. After a lifetime of just the two of them, Mom suddenly feels like a stranger.

When a handprint much like the one Ella left on her father’s tombstone mysteriously appears on the bathroom mirror, at first she wonders if Dad is warning her of danger as he did once before. If it’s not a warning, could her new too-good-to-be-true boyfriend be responsible for the strange occurrences? Or maybe it’s the grieving building superintendent whose dead daughter strongly resembles Ella? As the unexplained events become more frequent and more sinister, Ella becomes terrified about who—or what—might harm her.

Soon the evidence points to someone else entirely: Ella herself. What if, like her father, she’s suffering from a breakdown? In this second novel from award-winning author Yvonne Ventresca, Ella desperately needs to find answers, no matter how disturbing the truth might be.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

AMAZON

MY THOUGHTS:

4/5 STARS

This was the perfect October read. It had a creep factor, tons of mystery, and a thrilling plot that held my attention through the final page. It had plenty of twists and turns and a jaw dropping reveal at the end. I found it to be a fast paced and filled with lust, charm, gore, and thrills. 

Ella's mom is about to get remarried and along with a stepdad comes a gorgeous stepbrother. He is almost too perfect. Good looks, great ideas, overly friendly... It's easy to get wrapped up in the charm. Especially when he is helping her figure out the mystery behind all of the crazy in her life. Shortly before the marriage... dark, twisted things begin to happen. Black flowers show up at the cemetery, muddy prints find their way to mirrors, bloody hand prints drip from the walls, and sick twisted secrets begin to surface... It all builds up and eventually brings Ella crumbling down with it. It pushes her to believe lies and it forces her to think the worst of herself. While there are a few suspects only one stood out to me. Unfortunately, I was wrong and left dumbfounded. I sort of expected it, but I definitely didn't want to believe it...

Looking back at the book as a whole... I am pleasantly surprised by the strong character development and rich content. The Author really packed a lot in 272 pages and for that I am thankful. I thought the story was unique and brought a lot to the table. It was diverse in that it had a little bit for each reader. Whether you like paranormal, romance, horror, thrillers, or ya contemporary you will find a piece to love in this story. I highly recommend it. Especially during the Halloween time!