Review - The Casquette Girls

Title: The Casquette Girls
Author: Alys Arden
Publishing Date: 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses
Book Disclosure: I received this book in a goodie bag at the RT book convention 2016.

The book begins with sixteen year old Adele Le Moyne coming back to New Orleans after a terrible hurricane struck the city a few months earlier.  Her father had shipped her off to France to live with her mother while they waited for it to be safe to come back to the city.  She finally convinces her father to let her come back to the city.  When she arrives she is shocked to find the city mostly uninhabitable.  Fortunately they are one of the few whose home is mostly intact.  Strange happenings are occurring in the city.  A number of people are found missing or dead in the city and the hurricane is not the cause.  No one is sure what is exactly causing the death toll to rise.  Adele discovers that her family history may be more deeply rooted in New Orleans and weird unexplainable things seem to happen when Adele is around.  She discovers a diary from a past relative and hopes that the story will enlighten Adele to these strange happenings that are occurring in the town today.

I really enjoyed this story!  You are fully immersed post hurricane New Orleans.  The author clearly either has lived in the city or did her homework well.  The setting of the book plays a major role in the story and really draws you into it.  The story has many gothic overtones as Adele tries to pick up the pieces of her life post hurricane, meanwhile many unexplained paranormal happenings keep occurring.  The story slowly unravels to reveal many plot twist and turns which keep the reader waiting for what comes next.  Adele is a likeable girl, with a strong sense of self.  There are a few male characters who end up vying for her attention and she, as well as the reader, will not be certain who she will end up with at the end of the story.

There also is a story within the story because of the diary that Adele finds.  The diary is of a young woman traveling from France to New Orleans in 1728.  As Adele reads the diary, she is awarded with clues that help her unravel the mystery that is happening in present day.  The two stories blend well together and add a level of history which enriches the story.  This is my first novel by Alys Arden and I very much enjoyed it.  I recommend it to fans of young adult and paranormal who enjoy a rich historical setting.