But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself. (Pub Date: Oct 4, 2016)
Review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. I want to also thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.
For once, the summary was very fitting of the story, I can't even think of a better way to tell it in my words. This was a nice YA version to thrillers like Gone Girl, despite being written by a man.
January is missing, and Flynn has no idea if she had motive to run away or if she was involved in anything dangerous. He knows she had been acting strange, but so had he in order to protect his secret.
This deserves 3.5, really. First, I really liked the cover—even before they added the red leaves falling. And the title not only agreed with the story but it was also enticing. All in all, it's met my expectations, and even gone beyond them.
On the characters, though, I can't say I identify much with January. Actually, she one of the characters I didn't find too well built. And yet, I did care for what happened. I liked how to the end you want her to be well, even if everything points in the other direction. It was a pity there were so many characters that held so much potential but turned out too shallow—I can't even say I hated them. However, others were also right on the mark. I'd say Flynn's parents were my favorite, I loved how they could be severe at times, and supportive at others.
For a main character, Flynn did very well—I tend to ignore them, actually. I wasn't feeling him much in the first 10–15% but he did grow on me considerably. I loved how palpable his feelings for January became to me.
As a thriller, this was entertaining. I'd add, above what's to expect from a YA. While the resolution wasn't fantastic, it was satisfying enough that it didn't spoil it for me. I also couldn't say I had predicted everything—although one big plot twist had been on my mind since almost the beginning.
A surprise for me was that this is also a romance, and an exciting one. The book doesn't forget its main genre and instead is able to mix them well.
Also, you can see I tagged this LGBT. I'm no expert but my impressions were that the author did well expressing the conflict inside the characters, and part of the reactions to it. I did not feel comfortable with the other part though—the way the character comes out was a nightmare even to me. Though if you look another angle, 'the worst happening wasn't so bad' may have been what the author wished to portray. Still, it bothered me.
I recommend this to anyone who likes the summary and wouldn't feel bothered with YA's or sensitive themes. I don't think this is adequate for younger teenagers, but I'm sure older ones will enjoy it just as much as the targeted audience. As for me, I'll keep an eye for this author's next release.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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