For fans of Colleen Hoover, Laura Nowlin, and Sloan Harlow.
"A compulsive page-turner with a shocking twist—get ready to stay up all night!" —Sara Shepard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars
Gabe and Elyse have never met. But they both have something to hide.
Quiet, shy Elyse can't believe it when she's cast as the lead in her Portland high school's production of Romeo and Juliet. Her best friend, Brynn, is usually the star, and Elyse isn't sure she's up to the task. But when someone at rehearsals starts to catch her eye--someone she knows she absolutely shouldn't be with--she can't help but be pulled into the spotlight.
Austin native Gabe is contemplating the unthinkable--breaking up with Sasha, his headstrong, popular girlfriend. She's not going to let him slip through her fingers, though, and when rumors start to circulate around school, he knows she has the power to change his life forever.
Gabe and Elyse both make the mistake of falling for the wrong person, and falling hard. Told in parallel narratives, this twisty, shocking story shows how one bad choice can lead to a spiral of unforeseen consequences that not everyone will survive.
Content Warning: Car crash, threats against a child, breaking and entering, statutory rape, kidnapping, gun violence,
I won an ARC copy from Bookish First. Honestly, I wasn't keen on it based on the description but I read the first chapters preview and got hooked. I became totally engrossed even though I was reading on my computer, which is my least favorite way to do so. I kept wondering about it after the fact when waiting to receive the book. If I hadn't gotten so lucky, I'm sure I would've bought or borrowed it to find out what happened next.
It kept me going, that's for sure. I was late coming back from lunch and breaks late because I couldn't put it down. It has interesting dynamics and writing that make up for the cliche villains: perv teacher and psycho mean girl cheerleader. Dude had an interesting backstory and the girl was really clever in her deviance at least.
I will say this though, the hype over the twist ending hurt it more than it helped for me. Maybe if I wasn't so on the lookout, I wouldn't have figured it out early. *shrug* Still glad I read it but I'm glad I didn't spend money on it.
Still a good read. Especially for YA thriller being so sparse.
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
Finished reading
-
12 May, 2018:
Reviewed