The good girl, the bad boy, the diva, the hustler, the rock star, and the nerd. Six teens legally liberated from parental control for six different reasons, all with one thing in common: something to hide.
Now they’re sharing a house in Venice Beach, acting like a family, and living their lies. No parents. No limits. No alibis. One witnessed a crime, another might be a murderer—and one’s been spying on them all.
As they cling to a fantasy of freedom and slowly let down their guards, the past creeps up on them. And when one of them gets arrested, everyone’s carefully constructed facade comes crumbling down.
In this steamy, drama-filled series, relationships are tested and secrets revealed as lies threaten to destroy their perfect setup.
Rating: 2/5
The only reason this has two stars instead of one is that I found myself mildly entertained once I stopped eyerolling and finished it it one go.
But yeah. I don’t have the energy to write an in-depth review, but suffice to say the concept is completely implausible and cheesy – really, 6 teens all get emancipated and live in a fabulous house on the beach? And are all comfortably well-off, and drive nice cars and go to school or work as an actress or code apps or used to be child tv stars or screw middle aged cougars at a fancy tennis club? I know a lot of YA novels make use of over the top concepts/scenarios e.g. teen says, but I expect a SMIDGEON of plausibility – at least show me how this could work flawlessly. It’s too easy to say ‘connections and rich relatives’.
The characters were cardbout cutouts of each other in a way – they all had some kind of special talent, a special secret, and some strange family situation. And frankly, even though some supposedly deep-and-meaningful things happened, I found the whole thing rather silly and shallow.
Urgh, I can’t quite pin it down, but a glimpse at the other low rated reviews, of which there seem to be many, will give you a better idea. Basically, this novel is like reality tv. Trashy, but you can’t quite take your eyes away.
ARC received from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
It does sound pretty outrageous, lol! Six kids living in a gorgeous beach house with no parents to interfere? Because that happens all the time. What is a kid supposed to take from it? Don’t worry, life is a breeze! I hope no one takes it too seriously, or they’ll be in for a nasty surprise. Excellent review.
LikeLike
I mean, if the rest of the book had been good – quality writing, great plot – then I could have forgiven the less-than-realistic aspects. But it was pretty much low on all of those points.
LikeLike