Book Review: Tangled by Erica O'Rourke

Tangled
Erica O'Rourke
YA Paranormal Romance - The Torn series (book #2)
Published: 2011

I don't read a ton of paranormal YA these days, but this series is a great mix of contemporary with mystical elements. Mo, short for Maura, lives in Chicago with a family rumored as connected to the mafia; her father is in jail, and her uncle controls most aspects of her life in a way that (he says) is meant to protect Mo and her mother.

Her uncle wants Mo to I.D. some thugs as part of a rival Russian mob infiltration (his competition), but she knows it's a set-up and won't agree. Suddenly, the nice things she has access to start slipping away, and even her life is in danger when men she assumes work for her uncle threaten her. Mo's uncle set her up with a bodyguard named Colin, a good looking guy a few years older than her. They begin an attraction in book 1 (Torn) but it continues here, although it's forbidden on many levels (she's in high school, he's over 18, he works for her uncle).

Meanwhile, Mo is also dealing with a mystical world that most people can't see, but Mo can since she accidentally took the place of her best friend (in Torn) at the pivotal moment her friend was set to receive power to control the magical realm. Now thrust into this role, Mo follows the orders of a different kind of mob -- a magical one. But of course, to further complicate matters is the helpful but entirely over-peristant Luc who she is supposedly destined for.

Mo makes decisions for herself, despite how much she's ordered around. So fear not if you detest weak girl characters who can't think for themselves. She also has a few chances to just act like a teenager which is also refreshing, along with believeable obstacles since people actually notice when she's missing unlike many YA books where characters frequently ditch school to save the world and none are the wiser.

Find out more about the author on her blog here. The post I linked gives background on her development of the story and the charcters from the Torn series.
Also, the third book in the series, Bound, released at the end of June!