Review by Booklist Review
Sixteen-year-old Chloe is picking up the pieces of her parents' shattered marriage, all while adjusting to a brand house and school in Joyful, Texas. When she runs into mysterious high-school senior Cash at the gas station and he seems to recognize her, it sets off a chain of events that will change both of their lives (and their families) forever. Chloe and Cash have an instant connection, but she questions his motives when he suggests that she may be his foster family's kidnapped daughter. While still navigating a new romance, they launch a covert investigation into Chloe's adoption together. Hunter (Almost Midnight, 2016) adds a layer of thriller to the romance-heavy plot as a third narrator Chloe's kidnapper gets a few chapters to himself in the latter half of the book. Readers should be wary of confusing shifts in narration and an extremely heavy dose of the male gaze, but will otherwise be satisfied with the novel's romance and thriller elements.--Caitlin Kling Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this YA novel perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, Chloe Holden, 17, has always known that she was adopted, but she always felt a secure sense of belonging in her family until she moves to Joyful, Texas. Her new town's name feels bitterly ironic to Chloe as she adjusts to new realities: her father's girlfriend is only a few years older than she is, her mother is shaky from her battle with cancer, and Chloe is starting her senior year at a new high school. Then she meets broodingly handsome Cash Colton, who recognizes her from the age-enhanced photos his foster parents have posted of their daughter, who disappeared 14 years earlier. Cash, with a tangled history of his own, pushes Chloe to question the circumstances of her adoption, triggering a series of events that put the teens in a killer's crosshairs. Chloe's first-person narration alternates with Cash's third-person passages, providing readers with the perspectives of two appealing characters struggling with difficult circumstances. Author Hunter (This Heart of Mine) delves into numerous issues, including bad friends, bullying, and dating angst; if the teen characters' perspectives occasionally stray into sounding a little too adult, the fast pace keeps the story from collapsing under its own weight. Ages 13--up. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary Agency. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Chloe's life is falling apart.Her dad has a girlfriend, her mom is suffering from depression and the aftermath of cancer, and she's had to move with her mom to the town of Joyful, Texas, where she has only one friend, Lindsey, whose mother is lesbian. When she meets Cash, things seem to be looking up. But Cash comes with a host of complications, not the least of which is the fact he's convinced that Chloe is the same girl his foster parents had kidnapped from them as an almost-3-year-old. But how could that be? Chloe's parents love her and have never hidden the fact she was adopted. As the two of them dive deeper into the mysteries of the past and the dangers of the present, they also dive deeper in love. But can their fledgling romance survive the onslaught of brutal reality? Hunter (This Heart of Mine, 2018, etc.) deftly delivers a complicated back-and-forth point of view between Chloe and Cash, building suspense along with a steamy sense of attraction between the two teens. Occasionally the plot and dialogue feel canned and forced, sprinkled with clichs and tired exclamations such as, "I swallow the lump in my throat and jerk back, removing my B cup boobs from some guy's chest." The book assumes a white default.An entertaining tale that breaks no new ground. (Romance. 15-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
