Book details:
Charming by Krystal Wade
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: October 6th 2014
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: October 6th 2014
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
Synopsis:
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s great . . . as long as you don’t die.
Sixteen-year-old Haley Tremaine had it all: top-notch school,
fantastic family, and a bright future, but all of that changed when an
accident tore her family apart. Now, an alcoholic father, a bitter
younger sister, and a cold headstone bearing her mother’s name are all
she has left.
Chris Charming has it all: a powerful CEO for a father, a prestigious school, and a fortune at his fingertips, but none of that matters when he lands a reputation as a troublemaker. Struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, he reaches out to the one person he believes truly sees him, the one person he wants: Haley.
Little do they know someone’s determined to bring the two together, even if it means murder.
Sixteen-year-old Haley Tremaine had it all: top-notch school,
fantastic family, and a bright future, but all of that changed when an
accident tore her family apart. Now, an alcoholic father, a bitter
younger sister, and a cold headstone bearing her mother’s name are all
she has left.Chris Charming has it all: a powerful CEO for a father, a prestigious school, and a fortune at his fingertips, but none of that matters when he lands a reputation as a troublemaker. Struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, he reaches out to the one person he believes truly sees him, the one person he wants: Haley.
Little do they know someone’s determined to bring the two together, even if it means murder.
Purchase:
My review:
NOTE: I received an eARC of this book from the blog tour organizer, Xpresso Book Tours.
I've been on a teen murder mystery streak for the past month, so when I saw this title pop up, I thought 'Awesome!' It didn't turn out to be a masterpiece, but it wasn't abysmal either, so I'll go for average and you can read my dissection below.
Writing style:
It definitely needed to be polished and proofread. There were scenes that could've been written better, more fluently.
Story line:
Charming started out slow and the story seemed to turn from the murder mystery I was advertised in the synopsis, to a story of parental abuse. I did not enjoy that first half of the book at all. Reading about Haley getting both verbally and physically abused by her own father almost had me putting the novel away. But then strange things started happening so I decided to stick around. When weird things started happening, I finally thought that the book was redeemable.
Themes:
-parental abuse
-sibling love
-keeping secrets & the consequences of that
-friendships
-psychological perversion
Characters:
Haley was one strong, but exceptionally confused girl. After her mom died in a car crash, she had no one to count on, no one to seek advice from. Her father beat her and abused her verbally all the time just because she'd taken her looks from her mom. I don't think I liked her reasoning much. She was only in high school, but she was playing the mother bird for her sister and grandma and sickly enough, her father. Things would've been so much better if she used that head on her shoulders differently.
Joselyn, Haley's little sister, needed someone to sit down and talk to her, or better yet, slap her. Being the lazy sibling, she had no right to talk down to Haley. She wasn't so young that she wouldn't understand what was happening with her dad or sister, but she seemed to willingly close her eyes to the abuse that Haley went through on a daily basis.
Chris Charming came out of nowhere, was too good to be true, and fit the mold of the knight in shining armor to the dot. I'm not entirely sure I liked him all that much. He seemed too well moulded to fit the author's needs instead of having him be his own character.
Christine was Haley's best and only friend who could be counted on for all things. Having a history of her own, she was still the most loveable character of the lot. Except from her smoking pot, that is.
In conclusion:
If you're looking for a fast-pace murder mystery, this book isn't for you. If you're looking for a sweet romance, this book isn't for you either. However, if you're looking for a slow development of both, then you may be in for it.
My rating is:
AUTHOR BIO
Krystal Wade is happily married to the love of her life (don’t gag)
and raising three beautiful children in the gorgeous state of Virginia.
They live just outside Washington, D.C., and every day she wakes up to
find herself stuck in traffic trying to get there.
The horrid commute gives Krystal plenty of time to zone out and think
about her characters in full, brilliant details (she’s a safe driver;
don’t worry). Stories give her a way to forget about the sometimes
smelly strangers sitting next to her on the fifty mile trek into town
(she picks up hitchhikers every day. True story. Check out
www.slug-lines.com if you don’t believe us).
Krystal has been a part of organized hitchhiking for nearly fifteen years, but that’s just one small aspect of her oh-so-large life. When she’s not working, commuting, or chasing after her three children (four if you count the man), you can usually find Krystal outside talking to her chickens like they’re the cutest things in the world (they are), or training her amazing dogs how to herd said chickens (which they love), or curled up on the sofa with a good book (why can’t that be 100% of the time?).
Krystal has been a part of organized hitchhiking for nearly fifteen years, but that’s just one small aspect of her oh-so-large life. When she’s not working, commuting, or chasing after her three children (four if you count the man), you can usually find Krystal outside talking to her chickens like they’re the cutest things in the world (they are), or training her amazing dogs how to herd said chickens (which they love), or curled up on the sofa with a good book (why can’t that be 100% of the time?).
Author links:
Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (US)
- A Kindle Paperwhite
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