The Lovely Reckless

by Kami Garcia

[Sam@WLABB]

When I saw that Kami Garcia was releasing a contemporary romance, I knew I had to read it. I wanted to see how she would do contemporary, and I loved it! This story hooked me right from the beginning, and just got better and better with each page.

We have a once good girl, who is trying to find herself again after seeing her boyfriend brutally murdered. We have a bad boy, with a good heart, who is just trying to protect the people he loves. We also kind of have a whole Romeo and Juliet thing going on (I would love to share my thoughts, but I don't want to give away any plot points here) when they get together.

Frankie is suffering from PTSD and struggling with who she is. She knows she is not the Frankie from before, but she is still trying to figure out who she is now. She finds a kindred spirit in Marco. He is also a little broken, and but unlike the rest of her friends and family, he is not trying to fix her. Garcia did such a good job of creating the softer side of Marco. He totally won my heart with his pretty words and sweet gestures.

"I don't want to fix you, Angel. I just want you."
"There's nothing disappointing about you, Frankie."
"Sometimes scars make people stronger."

Frankie is still experiencing flashbacks of that night, as she tries to piece together what happened in an attempt to catch Noah's murder. She cannot sleep, has avoided her best friends, and abandoned all her activities. She has lost all hope, until Marco.

"I feel it every time we're together now - possibility."

There is a lot of drama that threatens to keep Marco and Frankie apart. I cannot lie, I got really emotional during those parts.

"'But I just found you. I don't want to love you.' My heart stalls. 'I don't want to get lost.'"

This book is filled with so many wounded characters, but the beauty is in the permission Garcia gives them to hurt, and how she lets them heal.

If you like gritty contemporary romances with a little bit of mystery, you will enjoy this book.