Review: Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

Title: Truly, Madly, Deadly
Author: Hannah Jayne
Series: n/a
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

The potential for creepiness was off the charts with this book.  The title, the cover, those two eerie words.  All of this led me to believe that Truly, Madly, Deadly would be a great psychological thriller...the kind that would keep me up reading till all hours of the night and leave me with disturbing dreams.

Somehow, the execution failed to deliver for this reader.  First, the book was relatively short and I read it pretty quickly, so there was no need to stay up reading and invite nightmares of my own making.  But I think the book suffered because of the length.  The pacing was rather quick, pushing the reader toward red herring after another, and though my theory from left field came to fruition, I still don't like the why and how of it.

That's partially because the characters themselves, as well as their motivations, never made all that much sense.  For one, the main character is the girl in the horror film who runs upstairs instead of getting out of the house and calling for help when she realizes the murderer is in the house with her.  I detest that character.  She never once makes an intelligent, informed decision.  There was also insta-love which led to behavior that, considering the circumstances, was inappropriate at best and nearly deplorable at other times.  It left me feeling a bit skeeved out.

The plot itself was pretty meh.  Lots of stuff happens, but therein lies the problem.  Too much is packed into such a short novel and none of it was explored to my liking.  Things happened, there was a period of freaking out, and then the event was forgotten for the most part.  There's even a Mr. Fitz-type situation, and while I've accepted it on PLL, it was too much for me in this story.  Especially when the situation came out of nowhere, wasn't reported, and the main character delved no further into it when the next freak-out occurred.

Pretty much, if this book hadn't been so short, I would have DNF'd it.  I was already pretty certain who the "admirer" was early on, and I didn't have all that much interest in seeing if I was right.  But I saw it through to the end, anyway.  And here I am, still disappointed.  It almost makes me curious to see if the author's adult series is any better.  Almost...

Rating:   1/2

About the author:

Hannah is the author of the UNDERWORLD DETECTION AGENCY CHRONICLES from Kensington books and the upcoming young adult thrillers TRULY, MADLY, DEADLY and SEE JANE RUN available from Sourcebooks, Inc. When she's not battling the demons of the Underworld or tackling a murderer at Hawthorne High, Jayne kicks her feet up in her San Francisco bay area home and attempts to share couch space with two enormous cats.

Find Hannah:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube

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Labels: contemporary, disappointments, hannah jayne, murder mystery, psychological thriller, reviews, sourcebooks, truly madly deadly

Teaser Tuesday #61: Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne & You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are the books we're teasing this week:

Title: Truly, Madly, Deadly
Author: Hannah Jayne
Series: n/a
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

     "That's what I meant," Cooper corrected, "our seats aren't crap enough. Maybe I can sit with you?"
     Sawyer laughed, loving the zing of heat that went through her each time Cooper looked at her. It only took one step onto the bleachers, though, for that delicious warmth to be replaced by a gut-wrenching guilt. She slid into her spot next to Chloe, Cooper sandwiching Sawyer.
     Chloe blinked at Sawyer. "I only asked for Red Vines."

-- Loc 842, 34% of galley

I still remember when I first saw this on someone's WoW. It sounded so creepy, but as you can see, it's also kinda funny. I think I'll like this Chloe character. Hope she doesn't end up being the, um, "admirer". o_O

Title: You Are Mine
Author: Janeal Falor
Series: Mine, book #1
Publisher: self-published/indie
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
Source: from author for review
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.

Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

     The sharp reply silences me. If I persist, he may break his promise and a fist or hex will fly my way. Except, this is Zade. Not my father or another warlock. He's only ever encouraged me. I have to believe that he's different and if he's not, I want to know it now.

-- Loc 3260, 70% of galley

I am really enjoying this book.  I've had it for over a month, courtesy of the author, but I finally made time for it.  And now I wish I'd read it sooner, except then I wouldn't have the pleasure of reading it right now.  :P

Mendy is between books, having just finished both her current read and current listen, and hasn't picked her next books yet, so I'm sharing two teasers again this week.  =)

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so we can visit!

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Labels: contemporary, hannah jayne, indies, janeal falor, magic, murder mystery, sourcebooks, teaser tuesday, truly madly deadly, you are mine