ARC, 263 pages
Release Date: April 21, 2015Published by: Balzer + BrayStand-aloneSource: ATWATFor fans of: Contemps, Romance, Thriller, Realistic Fiction, Road TripAn evocative and compelling story of two sisters who would do anything for each other–perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak. Joy Preble’s stirring new novel explores the lengths to which sisters go to protect each other, and the winding road that brings two strangers into each other’s lives.
Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can’t trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who’s moved them all to Las Vegas. It’s just the two of them: Paris, who’s always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind–going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love. But Leo isn’t going anywhere right now, except driving around Vegas all night with her sister.
Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris–a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared? When Leo reluctantly accepts Max’s offer of help, the two find themselves following a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is not a straight line. And neither is the path to secrets Leo and Max hold inside.
*MY THOUGHTS*
The beginning of this story was very sweet and though I was intrigued, I wasn’t fully immersed in the story. But as it went on, things started happening and let me tell you it wasn’t anything like I expected. This book turned out to be a total mind eff and I am so glad I decided to read it.
“Rules are everything. [,,,] One of them is this: life is untidy and ugly. People mess up. […] People hurt each other and make mistakes and shatter promises. Even people we love. Not to mention the ones we don’t.”
(ARC)
I’m not normally a fan of road trips and lately I’ve been reading them non-stop. I read this one because I wanted to see what the thriller part was when I saw it on Goodreads. But when I started it, there was nothing that seemed like a thriller. But as the story progressed, and Leo began to find more clues, they begin to get deeper in meaning and many different secrets are unearthed. It was then that I fell in love with this story completely.
“Sometimes I think people do things only because they’re afraid of not doing them.”
(ARC)
The first thing that made me love the story was the world-building. There were so many different places they went that Preble went into 100% detail in and it made me feel as if I was right there. It made me think of why I decided to call my blog Take Me Away. I may never get to go to Vegas, but Preble Vegas to me. Including the slot machines, the heat, and all things Elvis.
“Things happen like this, I know. One minute you’re whistling along and the next life has turned shitty and strange. The trick is to shift with it, like a computer restarting after an error.”
(ARC)
I loved that the mystery part of this wasn’t revealed at the very beginning. Because of this I wasn’t able to figure out who the killer was. I can normally guess it before the author reveals it, but with the clues only coming every so often, it was pretty hard to guess it until each piece was unveiled. Because of this I was on the edge of my seat until what really happened came to the light. I just loved that it started out as a simple road-tripping contemp and turned into a mystery. It made the big “A ha!” moment all the more better.
“Sometimes, that happens, I know. We ignore the warning signs.”
(ARC)
I also like the characters. Preble made sure that all of them were well thought out and that they all had a meaning to the mystery. I hate when stories have too many characters and they’re all different and doing different things. But this one is different. Each one has a purpose and I appreciated that.
“Destruction isn’t permanent.”
(ARC)
In the end, this book was not what I thought it would be and it ended up being a pleasant surprise. I love when I can be surprised by books like this. This is my first book by Preble, but I assure you it won’t be the last!
Overall, I give this
