Review: Compelling & Emotionally Engaging NA Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2014
As a fan of the NA genre I love those books that juggle emotional intensity with a sweet and heartwarming romance.  This story had that in spades along with a lot more.  From start to finish I found myself fully engaged in this story but ultimately this was a book that left me very conflicted as to how to rate it.  I enjoyed the start and how the characters were portrayed, but as the story progressed the action started to take a much darker turn and everything I thought I knew about Katie turned out to be a lie.  Throughout the story though Lucas remained my one constant with emotions that he expressed truthfully.  He was a good guy with pain of his own that he was remorseful over but his care and kindness got Katie to reveal the truth of her past which tarnished my admiration for her slightly.At the start of the story Katie is running from her past and tries to cut herself off from life.  The only people she's let in are her sister and her next door neighbor, until the night saving a stray cat leads to meeting the sexy and charming Lucas a once popular boy who's hiding too.  Though she tries to fight her attraction to him he slowly works his way into her heart and soul.  As her past comes back to haunt her in a very deadly way the happiness she's found might be over before it starts, especially as she continues to keep the new threats from her past a secret.  Not only is her own life in jeopardy but so too is her twin sister as a psychotic villain from her past wants her to hurt as badly as possible.  Even with the danger so close Katie still didn't fully disclose to anyone other than Lucas, and even with him I didn't feel her remorse was that deep.  In my opinion her part in this cruel deed from the past made her just as guilty.  Until this point in the story I felt she was punishing herself too much, but this revelation made me think she deserved more punishment and I became disillusioned in her.  Even after the final terrorizing moments with the villain from her past didn't completely redeem her in my eyes.Katie was clearly a complicated character compared to Lucas.  Her personality twisted and turned as opposed to Lucas and his calm and unwavering support tempered with his own quiet dealings with his past.  He was everything you'd want in a book boyfriend and added a much needed bit of sweetness to a story that became increasingly difficult to swallow as events from Katie's past came to light.  Along with a compelling main couple there was a small group of cohorts surrounding Katie who were colorful and carefree in how they lived their lives which reinforced how closed off Katie had become.  Even with its few flaws this was still a compelling read that kept you on the edge of your seat.  With its admirable hero and tarnished heroine it sets itself apart from other books in this increasingly popular genre and has me excited for what the author has planned next.