Dangerous Boys

by Abigail Haas

[Leah]

Last year I read and absolutely loved Abigail Haas's debut thriller Dangerous Girls. It was unputdownable, completely gripping and the way the story switched from the present to the past was an awesome technique. So I was super excited to see Dangerous Boys up on Netgalley and I crossed my fingers that I would be accepted and I was so excited when it happened! It sounded just as great as Dangerous Girls and I couldn't wait to see if it lived up the Abigail's previous work.

If I had to use one word to sum up Dangerous Boys, it would be the f word. The long, drawn-out version, because I can barely believe what I just read. Even after reading Dangerous Girls and being aware of Abby's writing style, and technique I was still blown away by what I read. I was literally scared. Books generally don't scare me - the last time anything scared me I was a kid, and I watched Scream, but I took a good look around after I finished the final sentences of Dangerous Boys, just to be sure I was safe. It was bananas, let me tell you. More so, probably, than Dangerous Girls.

Love triangles are as old as the day is long, but the love triangle in Dangerous Boys felt fresh and different, mostly because the two brothers were like chalk and cheese. Ethan was super sweet, super kind, always wanting to make things better, and Oliver was dark and dangerous, offering Chloe something she's rarely experienced and giving her the chance to have some fun and excitement in her life when it's sorely lacking, since she didn't get to go off to college as she expected to. I was torn between the boys. I love a bad boy, but I thought Ethan clinched it for me, personally. The idea of a bad boy is nice, but the nice boys always win out.

Abigail Haas is one of the most talented writers around - she's proven that since she can write YA, Chick Lit and her thrillers. I mostly enjoy her thrillers best because I just love the rush of adrenalin as the plot unravels and secrets are revealed. I loved the back and forth action, from The End, to Before, to After. It's such a great writing method and I love how it ratchets up the pressure and it was so, so hard to put the novel down until the bitter end, which did not disappoint. Chloe literally shocked me. I had no idea that was how the novel was going to end and it was freaking insane. It was cray-cray. Seriously, you'll put the book down, as I did, and want to use the f word I would rather not type.

This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read