A review by danagavrila
Blacklist by Alyson Noël

4.0

Thank you to NetGallery for providing me a copy for review! Blacklist comes out April 4th!

I was so pumped to read this after finishing the first book in the series, Unrivalled. It ended in such a cliffhanger and as soon as I finished it I started reading this one! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! It answered all the questions left unanswered in the previous book and it become more eventful which was so much more exciting!
This instalment is mostly based on the disappearance of Madison Brooks and what the gang - Layla, Tommy and Aster, discover about Madison's secretive past. Which may I add was so exciting to find out about. I was hoping that more information about her character would be given to us in this book and I love love loved the way it was revealed.

The book definitely had more of a Pretty Little Liars feel than the previous one, I found it so creepy at points but it only made me want to read more. I also really enjoyed trying to piece the mystery together and failing hard, with every new character introduced I was so weary about them, much to how I reacted when watching Pretty Little Liars.

I was also really happy with Ryan's character in this book. You kinda get to know his story more although I have my suspicions. I still feel like there wasn't much character development, like in the first book. But Aster became more bearable. The new romance also had me excited, the way the author went about it came across really mature, which is what YA novels lack these days. Layla and Tommy stay the same, flat characters they were before, but we are also introduced to new characters. I still have my suspicions.

I think as a sequel this was a fantastic book! It delved much deeper into the story and all the things that got me really excited in the first book. Overall it was a brilliant read, I read it in one sitting and I was so absorbed in the story. I was a little bit skeptical since I've never read a book by Alyson Noël before and I've heard mixed things about her most popular Immortals series. But I was so pleasantly surprised! I love the first book and I loved the second book even more!

Its such a great and fun read if you're looking for a different YA contemporary novel, opposed to the typical ones. I cannot wait for the third book, I felt like I had it all figured out when the book ended, only to be met with another cliffhanger. (darn it)