Although YA thrillers are not my typical genre, this one had me hooked. I binge read this book in two days and would definitely file this under "train wrecks you can't look away from."
First up though, I think it's important to mention that the plot revolves around several unhealthy romantic relationships, so if that is a trigger for you, then I would probably not read this. If addictive romantic thrillers are your thing though, then add this to your TBR!
As a debut thriller, the Donaldson's writing is strong and believable, and she is able to keep you guessing until the end. The story is told through alternative perspectives. Elyse live is Portland, and has never had the luxery of getting to act like a kid. With her dad in prison and her mom addicted to pain killers, Elyse is the one left in charge of paying the bills and making sure her and her mom don't get evicted. So when a new handsome theater teacher finally gives her a chance to be in the spotlight and claims to know what she's going through, no one is surprised that she develops feelings for him. But seriously, as a reader, all I did was cringe at how over the line this teacher is.
The other perspective is Gabe, who goes to high school in Austin. He's had the last straw with his extremely controlling girlfriend Sasha and breaks up with her. But Sasha is having none of it and will go to whatever means necessary to get Gabe back. If I met her in real life, I would be terrified of her. My reaction to literally everything she did was "WHAT!?!?!!"
There was so much drama in this book. I was shouting advise at the characters almost the whole time, scary movie style. If you are a fan of Big Little Lies or Pretty Little Liars, you will probably enjoy this book.
First up though, I think it's important to mention that the plot revolves around several unhealthy romantic relationships, so if that is a trigger for you, then I would probably not read this. If addictive romantic thrillers are your thing though, then add this to your TBR!
As a debut thriller, the Donaldson's writing is strong and believable, and she is able to keep you guessing until the end. The story is told through alternative perspectives. Elyse live is Portland, and has never had the luxery of getting to act like a kid. With her dad in prison and her mom addicted to pain killers, Elyse is the one left in charge of paying the bills and making sure her and her mom don't get evicted. So when a new handsome theater teacher finally gives her a chance to be in the spotlight and claims to know what she's going through, no one is surprised that she develops feelings for him. But seriously, as a reader, all I did was cringe at how over the line this teacher is.
The other perspective is Gabe, who goes to high school in Austin. He's had the last straw with his extremely controlling girlfriend Sasha and breaks up with her. But Sasha is having none of it and will go to whatever means necessary to get Gabe back. If I met her in real life, I would be terrified of her. My reaction to literally everything she did was "WHAT!?!?!!"
There was so much drama in this book. I was shouting advise at the characters almost the whole time, scary movie style. If you are a fan of Big Little Lies or Pretty Little Liars, you will probably enjoy this book.