Dark Territory by J Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel

Star-Crossed Love, Martial Arts, and Supernatural Evil meet at the Abandoned Tracks in the Deceptively Quaint town of Middleburg...When Ignacio Torrez moved from the rough streets of Los Angeles to a small town dead smack in the middle of nowhere, he never expected to find himself in the midst of a gang war. But, he soon learns, these are no ordinary gangs. The wealthy, preppie Toppers on one side of the tracks and the working-class Flatliners on the other adhere to a strict code of honor and use their deadly martial arts skills, taught to them by the wise Master Chin, to battle one another for pride, territory, and survival. When Raphael, leader of the Flatliners, falls for Aimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare for a bloody, all-out war. The only hope for peace between them lies within the dark territory of the abandoned train tunnels where the tracks cross. Under the direction of the mysterious and frightening Magician, the awesome power within the crossing sends the rivals on a terrifying mystical quest to fight the malevolent force that threatens the existence of Middleburg


For the majority of this book I could not help but be reminded of the Karate Kid movies. A new kid attending a new school, gets into some rough times with another gang of boys. They call themselves the TOPPERS and the FLATLINERS. They fight each other with martial art skills that can become deadly and serious very fast.
The twist to this story that takes it away from being too similar to Karate Kid is the combination that we get to have half of the story from a Aimee, and that was nice to get some alternative perspectives into the story.
There is also some supernatural twists to this one, as well as some incredibly creepy Train Tracks in which the town refers to as the "Dark Territory" some magic, kidnappings full of ransom notes and danger.
I have read other books by J Gabriel Gates and appreciate the flow of the stories he tells. Just like sitting back and watching a good film. A great ensemble of characters and dialogue that really keeps the reader interested with the plot. This for instance is a 504 page book, but once you get into the story you'd never realize it was.
I think that the amazing this is that this book at the time I am writing this review is only $1.30 on Amazon, both the ebopy and the physical paperback copy! Now this amazes me, it's a steal at this price and a great story with great characters. I don't know why'd you ever want to pass up this offer.
Happy Reading.