Review: Crazy tale of 2 lives
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2013
When I read the synopsis for Bitter Angel I was instantly intrigued. How would this be played out, how would the author follow these alternate plot lines? So when I was given a chance to review I took it.Lila and her two best friends do everything together. On the night of her friend Neelah's birthday she is forced to choose: go out and party with her friends or stay in and spend the evening with her long term boyfriend, Jay. The events following these possible paths lead to either the death of her friends or saving her friends but being traumatically drugged, beaten, and almost raped by a gang of young men who prey on young women.When Lila wakes up screaming after seeing herself at her friend's graveside she realizes that the Friday night in question hasn't happened. She is given a chance to make sure these events never occur. Her behavior is frightening to Neelah, Heather and Jay and all three want to stop her from going anywhere. Lila decides to use the knowledge she gained from her lucid nightmare to stop the gang from raping any more women.The story follows Lila as she tries to convince one member of the gang to help her stop them, convince the police this is going on even though they have no proof, and convince her boyfriend that she isn't crazy. Jay wants to protect Lila from harm and uses the drugs developed by Trigger (one of the gang members but an unwilling participant) to knock her out so she stays away from danger. Lila ends up waking up from the drugs and going alone to track down the gang leader.This was an action packed, frightening story. The subject manner is plausible and that made it more terrifying. Gang rapes, date rape drugs, violence against women, it's in the news daily. My only critique is Lila goes through a LOT in this story. She is beaten, knocked out, drugged, beaten some more, tied up, and eventually shot...a normal person would not be able to do some of the things she has done after that sort of trauma.It was a good read, despite the difficult subject matter and the somewhat unrealistic superhuman abilities of Lila.3.5 out of 5 starsI received a copy of this novel for an honest review