Review:
Content warning for this book: stalking, abuse, suicide, drug use, and murder.
Logan hasn't been doing well since the love of his life, Sophie, overdosed on drugs and died. Sure, people used to say she was leading him on, and his mother was horrified by the file of photos and information about Sophie she'd found on his computer, but they didn't know what it was like when he and Sophie were alone. They'd clearly been soulmates, and now he has no one...until he runs into Delilah. She looks so much like Sophie, and he's sure that Delilah is a gift the universe has sent to him. He just has to be careful and patient until she realizes that they're meant to be together.
Things have been tough for Delilah since her dad died in an accident at work. Her mom started dating a police officer named Brandon who seemed perfect at first, but it's since become clear that he's an abusive monster. When Delilah meets Logan, she's instantly drawn in by his good looks, charm, kindness, and interest in so many of the same things she's interested in. But when circumstances free Delilah and her mom from Brandon, Delilah realizes that Logan is yet another trap, one she might never be able to get away from. He knows things about her that could ruin her future...but he doesn't quite know everything about her.
Oh man, this was so good. Yes, a bit predictable, but in a way that somehow still managed to be gripping and fun. (I am probably a horrible person for enjoying this book as much as I did, but hey, it's fiction.)
In another book, Logan might have been the devoted and caring YA romance hero, falling in love with Delilah the instant he saw her and doing his best to support her. The male lead's behavior would come across as a bit creepy and stalkerish in real life, but readers know both the male and female lead's thoughts and that they're mutually into each other, which can make the creepiness factor less noticeable.
In this book, although we're given chapters from both Logan and Delilah's POVS, Logan is absolutely presented as a stalker, and the instant Delilah learns how focused he's been on her, her interest turns to horror. Even then, Logan's charm is insidious - against her will, Delilah occasionally relaxes around him, even as she recognizes aspects of his behavior that remind her of how Brandon wormed his way into her and her mother's life. Readers might even find themselves thinking "okay, so he's a bit obsessed, but he's not really that bad," just in time for Logan's thoughts to take a darker turn.
I could see several ways Delilah might escape the trap Logan had sprung around her, and I pretty much devoured this book waiting to see what she'd do. Most of the revelations were fairly easy to guess well beforehand, but for some reason that didn't blunt my enjoyment in the slightest.
This technically had a lot of gray areas to it - Logan was mentally ill and needed help (which didn't excuse his stalking), and Delilah did and had done several things that were horrible (with motives that made sense). I occasionally felt a bit bad about rooting for Delilah, especially near the end...but I kept on doing it.
All in all, this was really good, and I need to see about reading more of this author's books. Oooh, looks like I own another one of the author's YA thrillers, The New Girl, and it takes place at the same school (but with different characters?). Should be fun.
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