Review: Realistic novel that took me for a ride
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2014
Favorite Quote(s):“When I glanced down at the display, I laughed when I read the contact name: It’s Only Kale. Just seeing his name clamed my nerves and had my insides melting. He talked to me for an hour, about everything and anything. Things that made sense and even more that didn’t. For ten minutes, he talked in this obviously fake sexy accent, saying the least sexy things possible, and had me laughing until my eyes watered. It was one of the weirdest and best phone calls I’d ever had.”“‘I figured you might be opposed to inviting me to your place—officially—or going to my place, so…comfort. Mostly. I haven’t actually tested it yet, but it has to be better than sitting on the ground. I thought about an actual picnic, out in the woods or something. Romantic, you know? But then I thought, who in their right mind thinks getting attacked by mosquitoes is romantic?’”Favorite Character: Kale.First Line:“The skin on the back of my neck crawled.”My Musings: When I saw this novel on Netgalley, I just knew that I needed to read it. I haven’t read any books thus far about stalking, so I wanted to see what exactly Jordan would bring to the table.Infatuated follows bartista, Ally, who is suffering from a bar customer, Earl, watching her. But everyone who she tells about it says it’s fine and that she should be flattered for the attention. When she starts getting weird phone calls of someone claiming her ‘mine’, she knows something is wrong. But just how far is Earl willing to go? Throw in a protective new guy, Kale, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success.“He made me feel different. Warm and wanted, sexy and shameless, eager and enticing. And that was before we’d ever made love. Now that we had, those things were intensified by a hundred. He brought out the best in me or made me see and believe it. I wasn’t like him, not really. I didn’t have his easy-going nature, but it blended with mine. It…smoothed me out, somehow. We just fit. It was the easiest explanation and it made complete sense.”Ally, the main character, was very realistic. She was just a girl working and going to school, and trying to make ends meet. So when Earl starts creeping her out, of course she talks to the bar owner, a family friend. However, he doesn’t do anything about it. So she takes matters into her own hands. Ally was a very strong and tough character. There is no way I could have taken being stalked as well as she did. Although she had her weak moments, she didn’t fall. She was selfless and brave.“‘I work on most weekends.’ ‘During the week is fine.’ ‘I have school. And no, I’m not coming up with excuses.’ He grabbed my hand, rubbing the top with his thumb. ‘So pick a day that ends in ‘y’ and I’ll be there. Name the time and place.’ ‘Are you always this persistent?’ His gaze was steady, unblinking. ‘When it’s worth it? Always.’”Kale was the main love interest. He was snarky and talkative and protective. Although he had a few faults (but not many) he was the most perfect book boy that I’ve read. He was in it for the long haul, and he had a calming affect on Ally. Their romance, although it moved very fast, was sizzling with chemistry. They had some problems, sure, mostly due to Ally’s paranoia and need for control, but Kale was steadfast. And although Kale had some issues (okay, a lot) confessing how he felt about Ally, it all happened at just the right time. Regardless, parts of Kale were the perfect boyfriend. Seriously.“I was barely handling second to second.”This novel deals with the issue of stalking. I had no idea that stalking in a novel could seem that real. It had my heart pounding in fear for Ally and those around her. First, it started off with just Earl watching her, then progressed to phone calls, and then got creepy as hell after that. It was tough to read at points, and the climax of the novel was downright scary. It really showed how serious stalking is. And to add to that, Elle Jordan, the author, was staked when she was younger. That explains why this novel was so realistic.Infatuated was a thrilling novel filled with creepy stalkers, a roller-coaster ride romance, and danger lurking wherever Ally was. It was an insight into the world of being stalked, and was realistic in a way that I never felt possible. Infatuated took me on a ride, one that I didn’t want to get off of until the very end.