Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas: Review

Title: Dangerous Boys
Author: Abigail Haas
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
Buy This Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?
Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…(Goodreads summary)

If you didn't know, although I have said it a million times, I loved Dangerous Girls! It was mind-blowing, mind-boggling read and I absolutely loved the whole book. Haas is a seriously talented author and I knew instantly that she would be an author I would be following from then on. So when Dangerous Boys became available on Netgalley, I knew I just had to have it! Even better, I got to do another buddy read with Amanda over at Book Badger.

I am always honest in my reviews, so I will admit that Dangerous Girls is my favourite of the two. But Dangerous Boys gave me everything I had been looking for from this read. It kept me guessing and had me questioning myself so much that it was hard to keep up with my own theories. It had me so engrossed in the story that I read it in one sitting and stayed up way later than I should have. It gives you characters you can obsess over in your head because they're so complex that it's hard to figure them out.

Basically me for the entire book.

Dangerous Girls was all about figuring out who the killer was in the story, where as Dangerous Boys takes a different approach. From the very beginning we know that Chloe makes it out of a burning house alive and that she drags one of the Reznick brothers with her but, for the longest time, we have no idea which brother she chose to save. As the story unfolds we begin to see how Chloe became a part of the Reznick boys lives and how they all came to be in the house that night. Haas isn't one to give too much away though and I was left staying up until the early hours of the morning so that I could finally find out what the hell had happened.

Total bad boy alert! 

This book was dark and the characters were so twisted that it was a little hard to deal with at times. Chloe was a character that was hard to connect to because you don't come across many characters like her. She's struggling with so much, her father walked out on them after having an affair and finding out the other woman was pregnant. Her mother has slipped into a depression so bad that Chloe doesn't know how she can help her. Chloe has always dreamed of getting out of her small town, but she defers a year so she can help her mother. This is when she meets Ethan, a sweet guy who takes her mind off of everything, he seems like the perfect distraction. That's until Oliver shows up, Ethan's brother and probably the best definition of a bad boy... E.V.E.R! That boy, I have to admit for falling for his dark, brooding, overly confident attitude straight away. I didn't blame Chloe for being even a little tempted to go there.

Chloe's home life is definitely difficult and I could sympathise with her struggles with her mother. She was in a terribly deep depression but Chloe seemed to be the only one who could see how big a problem it was. Her father was probably one of the worst I have come across in fiction in a long time, he just didn't care at all. I liked how Chloe had stepped up to look after her mother and I think the resentment that builds because of it was very realistic. Chloe was trying her hardest but I liked how much she struggled to put her life on hold for her mother.

Ethan was a character that I felt so sorry for and pitied quite a bit. That boy is so oblivious that it's not even funny. He is utterly sweet, adorable and is basically the perfect boyfriend ever. But, in my opinion, I didn't really understand why he was with or even wanted to be with Chloe. I just felt I was never really shown the moments where she was nice to him. He talks about how nice she is, but we never actually see it. I kind of wanted the boy to just wake up and move on.

This book had the same addictive quality that Dangerous Girls had, you can't put it down. Haas knows how to build up suspense and she knows how to keep your attention 100%. I never got bored once reading this book, I had to continue, had to know what happened that day at the house. This has the kind of intense characters you struggle to understand but want to so bad that it's hurt. They don't seem to react or act how you expect them to or how you would yourself, but that's what works so well. I couldn't predict where the story was going or what these characters would be capable of doing next.

4.5/5 Butterflies

I love Haas and find her writing style is utterly addictive. She writes the kind of books that I find hard to put down, I lose sleep because I have to stay up until I have finished. She is the queen of suspense and keeps you guessing the entire time, I came up with so many wild theories it was unreal. Her characters are twisted which makes them so fascinating to read about. The hunting scene was one that was particularly powerful to me and was a stand out part of the entire book. I felt like I enjoyed it a lot but it didn't leave me as utterly blown away as Dangerous Girls did. Haas needs more books out, I am going to be stalking her Goodreads page for her next book because I have to have! If you are looking for an intense thriller that's going to keep you guessing then I highly recommend this (And, of course, Dangerous Girls too).

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.