This was my first book from L.J. Shen. Although I heard about her other books, The Kiss Thief, Vicious, Ruckus, etc., Pretty Reckless has gotten the most attention to tear me away from other books vying for my time. I should say, I don’t typically read high school romance. High school in Orange County, CA wasn’t a great experience for me, so I am never anxious to go back there. Pretty Reckless takes place in San Diego, so I made some assumptions based on the location just south of my formative years.
BUT…I found Pretty Reckless to be a terrific read. Here are a few reasons:
- LJ Shen is a master of character development. My first reaction to Daria Followhill was, “Oh, I know this gal. I went to school with her – not a fan.” Although my first assumptions were sour, Shen was so thorough in explaining Daria’s inner thoughts and motivations for her actions, I started to empathize and feel compassion for her early on.
- Creating characters in a series and then continuing to write in that series keeps readers engaged. Shen does this well. Pretty Reckless introduces the children or “Tot -holes” for the Sinners of Saint characters. They are compelling and deeply flawed. I can’t wait to read the Sinners of Saint series.
- The characters evolve over time. Much like Breaking Bad, where you like Walter White and dislike Jesse Pinkman in the beginning, only to completely change your opinion at the end, Shen’s characters start out one way in the beginning and change by the end. There are six story lines between 6 main characters. This includes the romance between Penn and Daria and an additional nine supporting characters. With all this interaction, the story is deep, layered and holds your attention.
In our culture today we are rarely confronted with stories or news that doesn’t validate our bias. That’s a shame because without new, different ideas, we can’t develop as human beings. We can’t work through the difficult events in our lives. No new information means we stay in our own, stunted little loop. Pretty Reckless gave me a completely different view on our human nature and how we cope when confronted with our sins in a public way; how loyalty is shown to those we care about, and the value of putting time and space between people to provide healing and solidify strong love. Pretty Reckless is a fascinating, compelling read – 5 stars.
I recommend it – You can fins it on Amazon.com and Kindle Unlimited today. Tap HERE if you are interested in getting a copy for yourself!
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