Monday, January 9, 2017

Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano

Standalone
360 p.
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Published: 1/3/17
Source: NetGalley and Entangled for review
Amazon: http://bit.ly/LostGirls_MD
B&N: http://bit.ly/LG_MerrieDestefano
(from the publisher links above)
Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.

She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.

Black to cover the blood.
And she can fight.
Tell no one. 
She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.

But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves—the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…
The only rule is: There are no rules.
My thoughts:

If you don't know already, I don't often read YA contemporary, but I've read his author before and I enjoy her work plus this sounded intriguing. I was not wrong. In fact, I was captivated from the beginning and I could not wait to see how this played out. I also think that this book will go down as one of my favorite contemporary thriller YA books.

The story plays out and you are just as confused as Rachel waking up and trying to piece together why a year has totally gone missing. She was only gone for 2 weeks and a lot had changed within that year. New friends, a new look and a mysterious ability. Bits of information make it's way to Rachel and it is perfectly paced to relay a sense of foreboding and danger. I'm not sure I want to give away more than that. Don't want to spoil anything.

I will say that while I enjoyed the ending, it was probably the weakest part of the story. The reason is that it felt like it was very quickly wrapped up but then again, I'm not sure how it would be made better. Considering how strong the rest of the book felt to me, this was not a big problem. The ending also made me love the secondary characters more so you see how it really wasn't too weak it probably just felt that way in comparison to the rest of the book.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed this book and if you enjoy thrillers of all kinds, I do highly recommend this book.


56 comments:

  1. I recently read a book where the novel itself was wonderful but the ending was so weak, and I hate when that happens! I'm glad you still enjoyed this one a lot, though, Melissa! I haven't heard of this author but I'll have to check her out for sure!

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    1. It wasn't really weak, but it just seemed that way b/c the rest was strong me thinks. :) I think you'd enjoy this author's works!

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  2. I'm really curious about this one. It sounds interesting but then several people have mentioned the weak ending.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. I'm wondering if it was because it contrasted with the rest of the novel. I really don't know what could have been done differently.

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  3. Glad it paid off to read this and you ended up really liking it. I'll have to add this one to my pile. ;)

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  4. yay that's great to see that it was a good YA thriller there!

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  5. I haven't seen this one but it sounds captivating. I agree about rapid endings. I had that experience recently with Under Rose Tainted Skies. Glad to have you back. Juggles.

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    1. I do think you'd like this one. Good thriller.

      Hm... I may have to learn to juggle... :D LOL ((HUGS))

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  6. It's good when you find a great one

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  7. Glad to see you enjoyed even with a weaker type ending. :)

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    1. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I had a feeling I'd like it. :)

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  8. YA thrillers are not what I love to read, but there are ones that do catch my eye. Even the ones I've read lately have been kinda meh. I'm hoping to remedy that soon. Great review!

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    1. I think this one will be more than meh for you. :) I don't read them too often but this one I really recommend.

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  9. I'm currently at 76% right now. I'm really loving the story and how it's unfolding. Can't wait to finish it! :D

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  10. I loved this book and was totally sucked in from the beginning. The whole waking up in a ditch thing and screaming- I was like what the heck happened to her?? And I loved how tough and vulnerable she was at the same time. I agree about the ending a bit- don't want to get spoilery so can't say too much- but yeah overall loved it.

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    1. Yea, I'm still thinking it was because the rest of the book was so strong. Oh I couldn't wait to find out what happened. She did that part SO well! :)

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  11. Missing time trope is tricky sometimes. I know I'll probably get confused, but at the same time, it's fun to piece together the missing parts along with the character. Glad you enjoyed this one!

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  12. Well, well, well ... hello there, Lost Girls. I'm adding you to my wishlist right now. :D

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  13. I do really like YA thrillers. There don't seem to be enough good ones out there, so thanks for sharing this one. I'm glad it's a favorite now!

    -Lauren

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  14. Even though the ending wrapped up a bit quickly this sounds intense and like something I might enjoy. I tend to read very little YA contemptoray's but I'm tempted by Lost Girls.

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    1. It wasn't too bad, but it did contrast with the rest of the book. I think you'll be fine with the ending.

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  15. Well I am already confused. How can she miss a year of her life if she was only gone two weeks? I am completely intrigued now! I may just have read this one. Well done review!

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    1. It does make sense even though you wonder if it will at times. :)

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  16. Like you I don't venture into YA often, but dang I love an unreliable narrator and your review has me wanting to give this a go.

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    1. I think this one is for you! *evil laugh* YaY! I added one to your shelf. ;)

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  17. I'm not a huge fan of YA contemporary but I've been digging YA Thrillers lately. This sounds like a great one to consider.

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  18. oh man this looks good, the book must have been strong enough that even with a weak ending you still enjoyed it so much

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    1. It wasn't too weak but I do think it was in comparison to the rest of the novel. I think this one is one you would enjoy.

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  19. I am pleased to see that you enjoyed this, it has been on my wishlist as I do enjoy a good YA Thriller, it sounds like something I would enjoy!

    A great review, Sharon - Obsession with Books

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  20. For whatever reason, the description made me think of a video game called Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit in the UK). Long story short, you play both sides of a story of a man who wakes up realizing he's murdered a man (and has no idea who he is or why) as well as of the detective hunting the man now.

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    1. Oh intersting. Now I'm going to have to check out that video game. :) It really is just one POV here but I'm curious to know how the story would be with dual narratives.

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  21. Oooh it certainly draws you in, I want to know what happened and read this, despite having a weak ending. Great review!

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. It makes you want to get to the bottom of things and frustrates you in just the perfect way. :)

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  22. You have my intrigued by this one. I'm just bummed that the ending wasn't strong but if you really liked the first half then I'll give it a shot and hope for the best.

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  23. I have to admit that the cover and synopsis sound really tempting ! if I see it in the library I will grab it.

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  24. Always exciting when you read one in a genre that's not usually yours and it rocks so hard :D

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    1. I do read thrillers and mysteries, but just so few contemporary YA. Oh and I agree. :D

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  25. This is new to me but it sounds like a really good and intense suspense read! Glad you enjoyed it, I'll have to keep this one in mind!
    Great review, Melissa!

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  26. Sounds intriguing but what I really love is that cover for some reason!

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    1. I like the cover too. Love this book, I think you'll enjoy it.

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  27. Oh wow! Missing a year of your life! That sounds interesting! I haven't heard of Merrie Destefano before, but I have now~!

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