Bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely books Melissa Marr’s first contemporary YA novel is a twisted southern gothic tale of obsession, romance, and murder. A killer is obsessed with Eva Tilling. Can she stop him, or will he claim her?
When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.
For the first time, New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr has applied her extraordinary talent to contemporary realism. Chilling twists, unrequited obsession, and high-stakes romance drive this Gothic, racy thriller—a story of small-town oppression and salvation. Melissa’s fans, and every YA reader, will find its wild ride enthralling.
Rating: 2/5
Eh. I usually enjoy Melissa Marr’s writing, but this one fell a little flat for me. So we have Eva, society darling in a small Southern town, who gets horribly injured in a hit and run. Only problem is, it quickly appears that this was no accident, and that the killer is obsessed with her, hurting the people she knows, one by one, until he gets to her.
After her accident, Eva is seriously upset about the scars on her face, and not being pretty anymore (in exactly those words) – going to the point of having the hospital mirrors covered up. And then I remembered the time I was 16 and refused to leave the house FOR THREE WEEKS because of my bad acne, and I realised I was just as vain as I accused Eva of being. People stare, and appearances are valued above almost everything in society, and it’s no fun feeling unattractive. She acknowledges that she’s lucky to be alive, and she knows it’s a shallow thing to care about, but she can’t help it.
As for the killer? I guessed him pretty early on – process of elimination made it pretty damn easy. I must say though, for all that this wasn’t very “thrilling” for a “thriller”, Marr certainly nails the creepy, narcissistic, simmering violence of the killer’s narrative.
I loved best friend Grace, and her ballsy attitude. She doesn’t give a damn what the other high school small town teenage royalty think of her – she’s just there to finish school and do well and head off to college where all this will be a distant memory.
Finally, the romance didn’t feel very authentic to me. I’m sorry, the dude you had a crush on hasn’t spoken to you for years and ignores you when he sees you – then suddenly BOOM he sees you in the hospital, and oh let’s start over? Yeah, no. I don’t care what issues you have, that doesn’t make up for treating people like crap and then suddenly bouncing back into their life.
