Skip to main content

Review: Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas.


Book: Dangerous Boys

Author: Abigail Haas

Pages: 336

Read On: My Kindle

How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 hours

Plot Summary: Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?


Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces. 

General Thoughts: Last year, I read Dangerous Girls and absolutely loved it. Loved it. Read it in one sitting and adored it. It was deliciously twisted and dark and I loved that it drew upon some recent high-profile cases and made me think of how media makes murderers out of people even before the courts decide one way or another. 

When I heard about this book I wanted to read it immediately and got it on my Kindle to get my reading on!!! 

Things I Liked:

1. The premise of the book, obviously. The idea that there is this girl who can't wait to get out of her small town and get started on her real life. How she meets a boy and how things get complicated. 

2. I enjoyed the style of storytelling. The book moves between the present time and to a few months ago when Chloe first meets Ethan. You get to learn more about both these characters and see how things evolved gradually and also how Chloe's life was slowly not going according to her plan.. basically, how it was falling apart. 

3. Chloe was an interesting character. I liked how the author was very subtle in showing her evolution... devolution from the girl we first see at the beginning of summer and the girl we get to see at the end of the events of the book. 

4. The pace was great. You don't really get bored or feel that there were superfluous scenes in there that didn't belong. Always a great thing when you are reading a thriller. 

Things I Didn't Like:

1. There were a few character-related things that happened way too suddenly. I don't want to get into  that because they will spoil the book completely. While I liked how subtle Chloe's character development was but I wonder if it was too subtle? Perhaps that is why the events towards the end seemed very rushed? Anyway, the bottomline is that the end was rushed and the character-related aspects that led to those events seemed a bit out of the blue. 

2. Oliver was so predictable. There was no subtlety whatsoever in who/what Oliver is and what his entry into the story would herald. Not very fun to read about at all. 

3. The absolute last few paragraphs of the book (the ending, basically) was ridiculous and so hard to believe! The 'bargaining chip' that a character uses to do something is super-lame and, like I said, utterly ridiculous! 

Rating: 2.5/5

This book starts off well, builds up to what seems like a great mystery and then everything seems sudden, weird and rushed. Read it, but, perhaps don't expect a world-class mystery. Dangerous Girls (click HERE for the review) is a better book. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Magic of the Lost Temple by Sudha Murthy.

Book: The Magic of the Lost Temple Author: Sudha Murthy Pages: 163 Read On: Paperback How Long it took Me To Read: 1 day Plot Summary:   City girl Nooni is surprised at the pace of life in her grandparents' village in Karnataka. But she quickly gets used to the gentle routine there and involves herself in a flurry of activities, including papad making, organizing picnics and learning to ride a cycle, with her new-found friends. Things get exciting when Nooni stumbles upon an ancient fabled stepwell right in the middle of a forest.Join the intrepid Nooni on an adventure of a lifetime in this much-awaited book by Sudha Murty that is heart-warming, charming and absolutely unputdownable. General Thoughts: Ah! A happy little Children's Book! I wanted it the minute I spotted it in the bookshop. And I started reading it pretty much immediately. :)  I read it after reading a beyond dull and boring and soulless book. This book just cured my bookish blues. I l

Book Review: The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond.

Some snippets of the stunning art inside the book!  Book: The Room on the Roof Author: Ruskin Bond Illustrator: Ahlawat Gunjan Pages: 171 Read On: Hardback How Long It Took Me To Read: 3 days or so. Plot Summary:   Rusty, a sixteen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy, is orphaned and has to live with his English guardian in the claustrophobic European part in Dehra Dun. Unhappy with the strict ways of his guardian, Rusty runs away from home to live with his Indian friends. Plunging for the first time into the dream-bright world of the bazaar, Hindu festivals and other aspects of Indian life, Rusty is enchanted … and is lost forever to the prim proprieties of the European community.  General Thoughts: This book is super special. Not only this 60th anniversary edition an absolute beauty. This is also a signed copy I picked up from Mussoorie when I was in Landour earlier in the year. This is perhaps one of Ruskin Bond's most well kn

Review: Grandma's Bag of Stories by Sudha Murthy.

Book: Grandma's Bag of Stories Author: Sudha Murthy Pages: 176 Read On: Paperback How Long It Took Me Read: 2 hours Plot Summary:   When Grandma opens her bag of stories, everyone gathers Around. Who can resist a good story, especially when it’s being told by Grandma? From her bag emerges tales of kings and cheats, monkeys and mice, bears and gods. Here comes the bear who ate some really bad dessert and got very angry; a lazy man who would not put out a fire till it reached his beard; a princess who got turned into an onion; a queen who discovered silk, and many more weird and wonderful people and animals. Grandma tells the stories over long summer days and nights, as seven children enjoy life in her little town. The stories entertain, educate and provide hours of enjoyment to them. So come, why don’t you too join in the fun? General Thoughts: I've read quite a few Sudha Murthy books this year and really enjoyed them. I find them soothing, simple a