Sunday 14 February 2016

In Place of Never review


Author: Julie Anne Lindsey
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release Date: 2nd February 2016

This was an ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Can the truth set her free?…
 
A part of Mercy died the summer her sister tragically drowned. Now Mercy has a chance to discover if Faith’s death was an accident—or murder.  Her first step is to confront the lead suspects: a band of traveling gypsies—the last people who saw her sister alive. But Mercy finds an unexpected ally in Cross, the soulful musician in their ranks. He’s a kindred spirit, someone who sees into her heart for the first time in, well, forever. Yet stirring up the past puts Mercy in danger… 
 
Suddenly someone is shadowing Mercy’s every move, making her even more determined to uncover the facts. With Cross by her side, she is ready to face it all, even if that means opening up to him, knowing he may one day leave her. What she discovers is a truth that rocks the foundation of her small river town—and a love worth risking everything for… (Publisher's Blurb)

I'm a huge fan of books about travelling performers so I was really excited about this. There were a lot of interesting elements, including a compelling story about loss and a love story. This book was thoroughly addictive and I ended up reading it really quickly!

Books about coping with grief are a difficult sell for me. Sometimes I find them too painful to read and it can be difficult to come across as sincere. Loss was handled beautifully in this book and it felt very genuine. The subject of self-harm in relation to this was also dealt with in a sympathetic though realistic manner

The mystery element was also intriguing and well-paced. I found it hard to predict what was going to happen on Mercy's journey to find out what happened to her sister.

It's no secret that I love YA romance and this one totally won me over! Cross and Mercy's relationship was believable and really sweet. The relationships in this book in general were interesting, including the interactions with Mercy's father and the close relationship that developed between Mercy and her younger sister. 

The only part of this that I was less keen on was that a couple of plot cliches and clumsy dialogue pulled me out of the narrative, though overall I enjoyed the plotting and writing style.

This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely look out for more by Julie Anne Lindsey.

Image result for 3.5 stars




If you liked the sound of this, now try:

-The Accident Season by Moira Fowley -Doyle
-The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

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