Sometimes love...can be deadly.
Ellory Graham detested high school. She relished the fact that she was a rebel. A wild, carefree, type of girl. She basked in the glory of being the type of girl who stood up to authority. Unfortunately for her, her upfront, honest and bitchy nature always managed to land her in some kind of trouble.
Adam Jacobs was everything Ellory was not. Not only was he beautiful, but he was smart, artistic, and sweet. To almost every girl he seemed like the total package -- that all around perfect guy. But in a town where nothing particularly interesting happens, and gossip seems like the only fun thing to do, sometimes those perfections become flaws. And it doesn't take long for Ellory to find out, even Adam has secrets.
But Adam's secrets, are the kind people die for...
BUY: Amazon
I really wanted to like this book, really I did; I just recently read two other books by Lauren Hammond and I just absolutely loved them, so I was hoping I would love this one just as much. *Le sigh* I didn’t. Maybe it’s just not my cup o’ tea because the majority of the reviews I have read were positive, but there was just too much I couldn’t get past. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Ellory is a rebel with a mouth like a sailor and a just-don’t-give-a-damn attitude. She sneaks out of the house, gets drunk at high school parties then proceeds to make out with random dudes, and generally doesn’t care for anyone except her two friends, Wren and Molly. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship…ever…because she refuses to even entertain the idea of possibly getting her heart broken.
Adam has issues. Not small issues like he doesn’t like the circus because clowns creep him out, or he thinks there is a zombie under his bed; no…the dude is obsessed with blood. It starts when he sees his dad cut himself shaving, then he escalates to killing animals, and then…well… he starts wanting to slit girls’ throats. He is accused and acquitted of murdering his former girlfriend in Chicago just before his parents pick up and move to a small town in Ohio. He’s trying to keep his “urges” under control, and Ellory is the only girl he can be around and not want to slice her throat. Charming. Any who, he tries to hide the fact that he’s a monster from her, but how long can he keep his urges at bay…and if she does find out what he really is, will she run away screaming? (Um… she should!)
This book just didn’t do it for me. I think part of it was the fact that him being a sociopath was kind of downplayed, and Ellory was just like “Oh, you’re a sociopath? Ain’t no thang!” I get that she’s in love with him, but the fact that she seemed to accept this maaaajor issue with the solace of knowing he would never hurt her just bothered me. I couldn’t get past it. I like female characters that have a backbone and are independent, as opposed to the ones who act like they need a man to survive (I’m looking at you, Bella Swan) but I just didn’t really care much for Ellory. Not to mention, if she’s such a b*tch to everyone, how in the world did she end up on the homecoming court? It’s not like she has a ton of friends, she seems to sleep through quite a few of her classes, and doesn’t go out of her way to be friendly to her classmates. I’m…confused.
I still don’t quite understand the end. I may go back and re-read the last 15 or so pages just to try and maybe figure out what in holy hell actually happened…but that’s a solid maybe. I know it’s a self-published book, but even so, there were an extreme number of typos and words left out of sentences all together. I try not to let that stuff bother me because I love indie authors, but it was a bit excessive in this book.
Oh, and there’s a quote that explains Adam’s skills as a quarterback, saying he can “throw a football like Jerry Rice.” I’m a huge sports fan and maybe that’s why this bothers me…but Jerry Rice wasn’t a quarterback. He was a wide receiver. Not just a wide receiver, but probably the best wide receiver to ever play in the NFL! He’s doesn’t throw the football; he catches the football. I know, I know, I feel like I’m being a nitpicker (and I’m really not trying to be, I swear) but that just killed me!
Now there were some redeeming qualities about the book: I liked Wren, even if she wasn’t a huge character, and there were some really sweet moments between Ellory and Adam; but the dude is crazy. The suspense and mystery surrounding Miss Miller was intriguing, and honestly, that was a big part of why I kept reading. I needed to know what the sh*t was up with this weirdo teacher!
Overall, this just didn’t do it for me. Like I said, I loved the other two books by Lauren Hammond that I’ve read, so I really wanted to like this; I just couldn’t. Clearly a lot of other people enjoyed it so maybe I’m just not getting something, who knows. I hate giving bad reviews, especially to authors who have written books that I love, but I just can’t pretend to like a book if I don’t. I just can’t do it.
2 STARS
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