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smitch29 's review for:
Very Wicked Things
by Ilsa Madden-Mills
3.5
I really liked this book. I thought this story was really interesting and just original enough to make it even more intriguing.
This was Cuba's story. About a year before the story takes place, he dated Dovey and fell in love with her but pushed her away, because he was being a martyr and thought she'd be better off without him. He spent the next year living in a fog without her. At the end of that year is where the story picks up and we see that Dovey and Cuba still have a strong connection, but it is heavily muddled with hurt and confused feelings. Dovey is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, hoping to improve her life and get out of her situation through ballet. She's got perseverance in spades and she utilizes that when her guardian (the only person who has ever loved her) gets into a pickle with the mob. Dovey makes choices she has to learn to live with, ones that push her maturity well past her age, all while dealing with typical teenage/high-school things. Through it all, Dovey and Cuba find ways to infuriate and compel one another (usually in equal measure). By the end of the novel, they each have to decide if a relationship with the other person is worth all the hurt they'll have to overcome to be happy.
This book was definitely high on drama, but that is part of what made it a quicker, more interesting read. I honestly didn't love any of the characters except Sebastian (who also was featured a lot in the first novel). However, I came to understand the characters' decision and that is all I can really ask for from an author. I felt like I knew them and lives.
At the end of the book, Ilsa Madden-Mills asks if readers would rather read a story about Spider (Dovey's friend that fell in love with her) or Sebastian. I was not happy with that question because it probably means that no real book is in the works, so it's probably going to be a while until the next one. And I like the author's writing style enough that I would read the next one, though I'm not particular to Spider and whether he finds happiness, and while I like Sebastian, I am not sure that the future that was set up for him in this book is my favorite (it certainly doesn't make me want to grab Sebastian's story, anyways). So I guess I will see what the next book will be and check it out from there.
I really liked this book. I thought this story was really interesting and just original enough to make it even more intriguing.
This was Cuba's story. About a year before the story takes place, he dated Dovey and fell in love with her but pushed her away, because he was being a martyr and thought she'd be better off without him. He spent the next year living in a fog without her. At the end of that year is where the story picks up and we see that Dovey and Cuba still have a strong connection, but it is heavily muddled with hurt and confused feelings. Dovey is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, hoping to improve her life and get out of her situation through ballet. She's got perseverance in spades and she utilizes that when her guardian (the only person who has ever loved her) gets into a pickle with the mob. Dovey makes choices she has to learn to live with, ones that push her maturity well past her age, all while dealing with typical teenage/high-school things. Through it all, Dovey and Cuba find ways to infuriate and compel one another (usually in equal measure). By the end of the novel, they each have to decide if a relationship with the other person is worth all the hurt they'll have to overcome to be happy.
This book was definitely high on drama, but that is part of what made it a quicker, more interesting read. I honestly didn't love any of the characters except Sebastian (who also was featured a lot in the first novel). However, I came to understand the characters' decision and that is all I can really ask for from an author. I felt like I knew them and lives.
At the end of the book, Ilsa Madden-Mills asks if readers would rather read a story about Spider (Dovey's friend that fell in love with her) or Sebastian. I was not happy with that question because it probably means that no real book is in the works, so it's probably going to be a while until the next one. And I like the author's writing style enough that I would read the next one, though I'm not particular to Spider and whether he finds happiness, and while I like Sebastian, I am not sure that the future that was set up for him in this book is my favorite (it certainly doesn't make me want to grab Sebastian's story, anyways). So I guess I will see what the next book will be and check it out from there.