Blue is for Nightmares/White is for Magic by Laurie Faria Stolarz

I wasn't as enamored with this book as I have been with most of my recent reads. When I picked up "Blue is for Nightmares" I was really excited because the plot seemed really good and I am a suck for the paranormal fiction genre. But it was only ok. I have purchased the second book in the series "White is for Magic" at the same time so I even though I was not impressed with the first book I decided to give it a try as well.

As fo for "Blue is for Nightmares," let me start by saying that the story was very good. I thought that the writing and the suspense was great. BUT…I was annoyed by the bed wetting in the book. I know it had a valid point in the plot, but I still thought that it got old and gross real fast. Maybe I am just being prissy about it, if so, oh well.

Anyways, the story is about Stacey. She is living at her boarding school starting her junior year. She is, according to anyone on the outside, a perfectly average teenager, but Stacey is a witch. Not a shoot fire from your fingers kind of witch but a general practitioner. She does however have these nightmares that seem to be warning her about a tragic murder….not just any murder, the murder of her best friend Drea. I thought that the friend she was trying to save, Drea, in this book was kind of an annoying/rude bitch. I was not a fan of her (which made it more difficult for me to want Stacey to safe her).

The love story aspect of the book was not very well developed either. Stacey has a crush on her best friend’s ex-boyfriend and he seems to feel the same, but it it not explored at all. As for those pesky nightmares, the last time Stacey was plagued by nightmares a little girl way murdered and Stacey has never forgiven herself for not being able to prevent it. Now Stacey must follow the clues in her nightmares to prevent Drea’s murder. With everyone as a potential suspect, Stacey turns to the one secret weapon she can trust, magic.

After reading "Blue is for Nightmares" I decided to try the second book in the series, "White is for Magic." I mean the bed wetting was specific to the situation in the first book and that was my only real complaint. BUT… once again I was annoyed. In this book Stacey is puking all the time. Also relevant to the story like the bed wetting but still! I am reluctant to read the rest of the series because I just don’t know how many more bodily fluids I want to read about this girl secreting. Once again, the story/plot was good and I liked the new introduction of Jacob to the list of characters.

Stacey is having nightmares again, but so is Jacob (the new student who seems to be popping up everywhere). She may have more in common with Jacob then she ever imagined. This time it is her life on the line and the death of that little girl in her past is coming back to haunt her. At the begining Stacey is dating Drea’s ex from the first book, which I was happy about in the first book but I found myself quickly hoping she would drop him after Jacob was introduced. Stacey’s friends drove me a little crazy and I am not such a fan of Drea in particular (the author can spin it anyway she wants but if a friend made moves on someone I was dating that would be the end of that friendship but I digress). Jacob was a breath of fresh air and from what I hear he is in the rest of the series. I might actually pick those up at some point. This book has redeemed the series a little for me. I just hope that in the rest of the books she isn’t peeing or puking on herself again….that is getting old and kind of gross to read about.

Side note: This review may make it sound like I didn't like these and thats not true I did like them its just....I guess I just didn't like all the ick factor I felt while reading it. Maybe it wont bother you.