Review: laced in wicked deliciousness
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2013
When I began reading Laced In Malice I could not have predicted where author Riley Gray was going to take me. In fact, I'm not sure where I ended up. I love that she had this suspense aspect to the story that my mind was doing somersaults trying to find which way was up cuz it just got completely handled. When I got done with the final words, I sat there thinking 1--WTF just happened? and 2--WTF just happened? I was convinced I was Team Oliver, yet then again I'm not so sure. No, I must be Team Oliver right?Riley Gray did a fabulous job of hooking you into the story from the get go. She didn't let up either. I kept turning the pages trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I like to think of myself as a great problem solver. Well Riley Gray shook that confidence out of me and stomped on it. Right when I thought I had it all figured out, Ms. Gray decided to switch it up and go left. She had great character development where you really thought you knew the characters but she made them so multi faceted that I honestly don't think that she wanted you to be able to figure everything out. And there lies the beauty and brilliance of Laced In Malice. I think that you can take the story and run with it. You can decide what the sequence of events means in the end. You can decide the true intentions of individual characters.Amongst all this brain labor, Riley Gray distracts you with gorgeous book boys who steal your heart. Oliver is a delicious a**hat who you want to slap yet let him have your way with you. I teetered on a fine line with him but I think in the end, he came out on top and he is so on my book boyfriend list.The female characters of Laced In Malice make me want to spit evil words and slash every designer top in their closet. Definite mean girls--that have their own chapter on how to be one. Lizzie was the ultimate bitch. She was the ideal antagonist and the character that draws you in with her callous and devious ways.Zara I don't even think knows what hit her. She doesn't know whether to run, to hide or to put it all out there. The Nixon twins (Oliver and Lizzie) are sending out signals like a graceful and unassuming jelly fish that has the sting of death.This is an absolutely fun and Machiavellian read. It definitely has the movie vibe of Mean Girls and Cruel Intentions, which makes it a great summer read with all the right elements--cunning, devious, gorgeous, delicious, evil, sexy, and sinful!I am absolutely looking forward to book two Laced In Deceit of this wicked tale.