Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: January 3rd, 2017
360 Pages
Synopsis: Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.
She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.
Black to cover the blood.
And she can fight.
Tell no one.
She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.
But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves–the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win–something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…
The only rule is: There are no rules.
Lost Girls is being hyped as a cross between Black Swan and Fight Club, and while such comparisons often irk me, in this case it’s entirely on the mark. Even more, the story is actually better than what the intriguing premise suggests. I started reading this around 7:00 last night and couldn’t put it down until I had reached the end in the wee hours of the morning! The story begins with a dirty, bloody, and battered Rachel pulling herself out of a roadside ditch and basically throwing herself in front of passing motorists to get them to stop. It’s the type of opening that immediately grabs you, and from there the pace never slows down. Rachel is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve read this year. She has a powerhouse of a personality and I became completely invested in finding out what happened to her. The romance between her and Dylan is not your typical one which made me like it even more. I also loved her interactions with her close knit family, especially her younger brother and her Navy Seal father. Which brings me to my only slight criticism. Rachel’s mom is a nurse, and her father a war hero who’s seen plenty of combat, yet once the mystery of what Rachel’s been doing the past year is fully revealed, I found it a little hard to accept that her loving parents didn’t know or at least suspect what was happening. But this is a very small complaint in what is otherwise an outstanding novel. The imagery is incredibly detailed from that first scene to the very last. More than once I felt as though I was in the story experiencing everything the characters were. There’s a lot of themes at play here: amnesia, PTSD, slavery, drug abuse, etc. but it’s all combined into the mesmerizing storyline in a completely believable way. Technically Lost Girls is a YA book, but honestly, it could easily pass as one for adults and it’s one I highly recommend!
BrizzleLass said:
Oh loving the sound of this!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
So, SO Good!😊
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Carrie said:
Sounds like a good one… not that I need anymore books at the moment, I either need to speed up reading or cut back on picking more up.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
You know I competely emphasize Carrie! That said, I think you would really like this! And despite the length it’s a quick read.😊
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Carrie said:
I’m trying to behave myself and get a bit caught up again after a slow month now. I’m a bit worried about the new year coming because I know last year when Jan hit there were tons that looked good.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m trying to be good as well, and I have slowed down on my book requests. I have to ask though: Did you get an email recently from Entangled Teen asking if you wanted an eARC to read and review? They offered a few choices and there was one I did request, but I haven’t heard back from them.😕
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Carrie said:
Yes, I requested a few from the last Entangled teen email and still haven’t heard back from them with that one. I used to get widgets sent right away but the last few times I’ve gone the email route it’s taken a while but clicking request on Netgalley didn’t seem any faster either. 😦 Hopefully we’ll hear from them soon.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Phew. I was afraid it was just me!🤷🏻♀️
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Carrie said:
Still nothing on my end, let me know if you ever get yours. It used to be as soon as they hit Netgalley but I know I saw the ones from the mail added and still haven’t heard.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’ll let you know if I get anything Carrie.🤷🏻♀️
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The Telltale Mind said:
I like the premise. I might, if I ever have a moment, have to search this out.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Even if you don’t normally read YA Geoff, I think you might like this. And it would make an awesome movie!💁🏻
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Jay said:
I sort of hated “the only rule: there are no rules” thing, ugh, crap cliche, but your review makes it sound worthwhile.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jay! I’m definitely recommending this for adults, even if they don’t usually read YA.😊
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vinnieh said:
Black Swan meets Fight Club, count me interested.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I was hoping you’d catch this review Vinnie. I know YA books aren’t really your thing, but this really does read like an adult thriller for the most part. Except for the scenes set in Rachel’s high school I kept forgetting she was a teenager. Actually, now that I think about it, she kind of reminds me of Sidney Bristow.😊
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vinnieh said:
You had me at the mention of Sydney Bristow.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I thought I might!😏
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vinnieh said:
You know how to catch the attention with your comments Kim. A blogging femme fatale in the best possible way.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! A blogging femme fatale? Can I have my own action figure? 🤗
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vinnieh said:
I’m sure you could. An Old School femme fatale of glamour.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🤗
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vinnieh said:
Yep, I can definitely see it.
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Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks said:
Wow, that book sounds REALLY intriguing! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s definitely going on my list of favorite new YA books Marie!💁🏻
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JJAzar said:
Sounds like a good one! The gif freaked me out though. I cowered in the corner for a solid thirty seconds before reading on.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Oh no! I’m sorry I traumatized you JJ!😕
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JJAzar said:
No worries, I’ve recovered just fine. A bit jumpy, but fine nonetheless.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Phew!🤗
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Transhaan said:
Oh my god, did someone say Fight Club???? I’ve seen this book around, but I was quite skeptical about it (and people really have to convince me of its pros for me to plunge into a YA novel). I do hate comparisons to others books as a hook to sell your book (like the tendency of a lot of psychological thrillers to say they’re the next Gone Girl? Oh god. 😛 This was an awesome review though! I’m definitely intrigued.
– Lashaan
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Oh Yeah! I’m not a big fan of comparisons either, but this was spot on! You’ve got to give this a try Lashaan! Puhhleasse?!
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Zoë said:
Okay, you have me convinced. I wished for this on NetGalley. Will see how it goes.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay! Fingers crossed!🤗
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Zoë said:
PS: Awesome review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Zoe! I think you might like this one!💁🏻
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Diana said:
I love the sound of this. Everything from the blurb to the beginning of the story sounds great. What genre is it though? Is it a thriller or does it have supernatural elements(the fight thing threw me off)….I am intrigued with Rachel’s story and the amnesiac angle too.,Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Diana! Lost Girls is a contemporary mystery/thriller. No supernatural elements whatsoever.💁🏻
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beetleypete said:
Looks like another good one, Kim. You have had quite a few of those lately.
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’ve been lucky in books lately Pete.😊
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amaryllisturman said:
I am curious about this one!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I really recommend giving it a try Amaryllis!💁🏻
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theorangutanlibrarian said:
Wow- sounds so so good!!! I like the fact that it actually reflects the things it’s compared to- cos you’re right, they’re not usually very representative!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I really can’t recommend this enough!😊
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theorangutanlibrarian said:
Awesome!!
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ihaveabadsenseofhumor said:
This sounds so good. I might have to add it to my reading list!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
You won’t be sorry!💁🏻😊
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