Dragonfly (Dragonfly, #1)

by Leigh Talbert Moore

[Angie]

I really had no expectations for Dragonfly, but I was hoping it would surprise me. Well, it didn't. I was bored from the beginning, figured out the twist way before the amateur sleuth (aka wannabe journalist) main character, and then had to wonder why any of this was her business and what it had to do with anything at all! It all starts when a super rich family moves back to town. Lucy and Jack are twins, and Anna is immediately intrigued by them. Of course, she becomes fast friends with Lucy, and catches the eye of Jack. But then things happen to rip them apart, but not really, but kind of. Then Anna gets caught up in family secrets while interning at the local newspaper.

Dragonfly started off choppy. It just felt like random scenes of Anna hanging out with all of the important characters. Sometimes she's with Lucy, talking about her brother. Other times she's with Julian, and they playfully flirt. Then she's making out with Jack. Then she's talking to her mom, or some other minor character. It's just really boring. Then it turns annoying when Jack randomly breaks up with Anna, but then keeps showing up and inviting her on dates, but making it clear that they're not together, but they're making out. Then she's making out with Julian, and doesn't know who she wants to be with, even though only one of them wants to be with her. And by the end, I have no idea who she's into, or who she's with or not with.

The mystery plot of Dragonfly was really dull and out of place. It's obvious that there's something weird about Lucy and Jack's father (and probably their older brother, too). And their disappearance and return to the area was under suspicious circumstances, which come out fairly early thanks to small town gossip. But the main mystery winds up being about their father, and it's super duper obvious, although the reasons behind it haven't been revealed yet. And frankly, I don't actually care why he's doing or not doing what he should be, because no excuse would make sense.

In fact, there are a few things throughout Dragonfly that simply don't make sense. The one that bugged me the most was when a bunch of the local teens were hanging out watching their football star show off his new Camaro. It kind of reminded me of that scene in Grease. But anyway, he crashes along with Julian, so the cops are on their way. What does Jack do? He gives Anna the keys to his car so she can drive herself and their friend home so they won't get in trouble for underage drinking. Um what?! Wouldn't it be worse for her to get pulled over for drunk driving?! Or what if she got into an accident?! This coming from someone who, as far as he knows, mother was killed in a car crash possibly caused by drugs or alcohol.Uh huh, right.

Dragonfly failed to impress me at all. And by the end, nothing at all is resolved. Yes, it's a series, but instead of feeling like a first book, it felt like the first part of the first book, since it just ends in what feels like the middle. I have no intention of reading the next one to see what happens, since I have no kind of investment or interest in these characters, or their problems which Anna somehow thinks is her business just because she's making out with the sons of the people she's "investigating."

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.