Author: Wendi M. Lee
Release date: April 17, 2014
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Buy on: Amazon
Goodreads
Sixteen-year old Kate can't live without London. Their friendship is intense to the point of obsession. Nothing else matters: not dating, college applications, or her military father’s disapproval. When beautiful red-haired Anastasia sweeps into town and becomes fast friends with the pair, life changes forever. Suddenly Kate's quiet world is threatened.
What makes an honor-student like Kate snap? Is it a redhead armed with seduction and lies? And how far will either of them go to get what they want?
I received a copy in exchange of a honest review.
Defying the genre of this book was so difficult. I feel like it doesn't really fit in anywhere. There is romance, but it is not romance. There is mystery, but it is not a mystery. There is angst, but is it not a thriller. It's just... everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I was confused for a big part of the book and I don't want to spoil anything, because the surprises were the better parts of this book.
One thing I couldn't get into and which mostly decided my enjoyment of this book were the characters. There was no real depth to them and the decisions made by them were with no explanation. I'd like to see in their heads a bit and get to know them and there were all strangers to me. Their behavior all made no sense to me. For example, Kate's father is a major jackass who seems to want his daughters life miserable. WHY THOUGH?! It's just a complete mystery why he's acting the way he's acting. Same for Anastasia. I don't get why she's doing what she's doing. It just makes me confused and frustrated with the book.
Another thing were certain events (read: surprises in the books) were so unreal that it was eye rolling. It was just hard to believe. I like realistic fiction and this wasn't that. Also things seemed to move fast, especially the last 5 pages or so. Another thing that was really hard to believe. Lastly, a couple of events didn't seem to add to the story and could as well have been left out.
Maybe I wasn't the right person to read this book, maybe it was too much out of my comfort zone, who knows. But I do think if you enjoy some mystery and thriller, this could be an okay read.
The author approached me with a request to review this book but since my tbr pile is outrageous, I declined. This book sounded really good but based on your review, it is anything but that. Oh well, on to the next book! :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounded interesting to me too, which I why I accepted, but it was just hard to follow and didn't always make sense. I just want clarity in my books!
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