Friday, June 19, 2015

REVIEW - Wild Reckless - Ginger Scott






TITLE : Wild Reckless 

AUTHOR : Ginger Scott

 

Synopsis:


Kensington Worth had a vision for her senior year. It involved her best friends, her posh private school in downtown Chicago and time alone with her piano until her audition was perfected, a guaranteed ticket into the best music programs in the world. Instead, a nightmare took over. It didn’t happen all at once, but her life unraveled quickly—a tiny thread that evil somehow kept pulling until everything precious was taken from her. She was suddenly living miles away from her old life, trapped in an existence she didn’t choose—one determined to destroy her from the inside, leaving only hate and anger behind. It didn’t help that her neighbor, the one whose eyes held danger, was enjoying every second of her fall. Owen Harper was trouble, his heart wild and his past the kind that’s spoken about in whispers. And somehow, his path was always intertwined with Kensington’s, every interaction crushing her, ruining her hope for any future better than
 her now. Sometimes, though, what everyone warns is trouble, is exactly what the heart needs. Owen Harper was consumed with darkness, and it held onto his soul for years. When Kensington looked at him, she saw a boy who’d gotten good at taking others down when they threatened his carefully balanced life. But the more she looked, the more she saw other things too—good things…things to admire. Things…to love. Things that made her want to be reckless. And those things…they were the scariest of all.


My Thoughts:



Wild Reckless is a story about Kensington, a 17 year old pianist who is uprooted from her home in Chicago to move into a home in the suburbs for her father’s new job.
Kensington, also referred to as Kensi, hates the move and wishes she could go back to the city.
Her father is strict and discouraging, while her mother works all the time and always takes her father’s side.
Enter bad boy, Owen Harper. He is Kensi’s next door neighbor and also the town bad boy. He is known for testing limits and not being afraid of anything, including death. Throughout the book the author has the readers wondering, will these two kill each other or save each other?

I thought that Wild Reckless was an amazing book. It popped up on my facebook feed as a suggested book and I bought it on a whim. I was very happy I did. I really enjoyed Kensi’s story.
Kensi had what most people would consider a pretty perfect life. She lives like she has money, went to an elite school, had two parents who were still together and loves her, a pretty normal life from an outsiders view.
We quickly find out that this isn’t the case. After the move, Kensi meets Owen, who immediately intrigues yet irritates her. Due to this, they begin a cat and mouse type of game with each other.
I would have to say this was my favorite part of the book. Watching them both annoy each other. While this story is only told from Kensi’s point of view, I enjoyed imagining how Owen was reacting to every situation as well.

 **Spoiler alert for the next couple of paragraphs:**


During their game of cat and mouse, Owen takes things a little too far in my opinion, but I think it was good for the story. He tells Kensi about her father cheating with a younger woman.
This devastates Kensi, but even worse, she later finds out that the women her dad is cheating with is her old best friend from her former school! Talk about devastating.
Now this is where, one of only a couple of my problems with this book is. I feel like the author could’ve explored this situation more and her feelings on it. The author does explain how Kensi wants nothing to do with her father or her ex-best friend, but she also writes off her other best friend as well, which I think she should’ve at least given her other best friend a chance since there is a possibility that she knew nothing about the situation. I just think this particular situation could’ve been told in a better way.

Moving on, this is where Kensi and Owen kind of become friends. He ends up taking her with him to a party since she jumps in his truck as he is leaving to escape her father. After this, their cat and mouse game becomes more polite. Eventually they become close and start a relationship, which would have to be my second favorite part of the book. Watching them tip toe around being a couple and acting all nervous about the situation was cute. I think it showed what many teenagers feel when first falling in love. The author also described it in a way that I could actually feel myself.

Just to note a couple of other things I would like to have seen: At one point, Kensi’s new friend Ryan tells her something about Owen. I would’ve liked this situation further explored and I think it could have been used to further learn about Owen.
Also, I would have liked to see more scenes with both Owens grandfather and younger brother. I think this would have given us a better insight into Owen as well. I would not be opposed if the author was to either write a book from Owens pov or maybe a standalone from Andrews pov after Kensi and Owen graduated.




I have included a couple of my favorite quotes from the book below:
*censored for Amazon

“I’m just saying maybe we’re all a little *Messed* up, and the only difference is the world knows Owen’s story, because it happened out in the open. The rest of us… we all just keep our *stuff* private.” -Ryan defending Owen to his group of friends.

Just then, I realize, he’s not really wild at all. He’s heartbroken. And maybe I don’t hate him as much as I thought I did. –Kensi analyzing her feelings about Owen after he tells her about his dad.

“I hope I can bring myself to look out my window once before I shut my eyes, but I’m not so sure I care for the view anymore.” –Kensi talking to Owen.


STAR RATINGS:

Plot = 4/5
Characters = 4/5
Heat = 5/5
Writing Style = 4/5
Overall Rating = 4/5 





https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24500775-wild-reckless?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr



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