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Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas: Release Day Review & Giveaway!

Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas
Out now!
Buy this book: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Book Depository 

Three teens venture into the abandoned lake house 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…

Purchase Now!
Amazon: amzn.to/1wrph3u
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1AYM77B
 
Early Praise

Dangerous Boys is a taut, compelling thriller balanced on the razor's edge of suspense. I could not put it down, and could not stop grinning wickedly as I raced through the pages." -- Leah Raeder, USA Today bestselling author of Unteachable

"Abigail Hass is a master at her craft! This is a special book and a special author. This is the kind of storytelling and writing that stick with you no matter how much time passes." -- The Book Geek Blog

"As with Dangerous Girls, the closing left me with a huge, admittedly rather twisted smile on my face. I don't know how Haas manages to turn me into such a gleefully evil creature." -- Dahlia Adler, blogger.

"Dangerous Boys was an intense, psychological read which was full of suspense and drama,...Abigail Haas has a way of writing books which reel you in and keep you there, hooked and addicted until the very last page." -- Goodreads.com

About Abigail Haas

Abigail Haas has written two adult novels and four young adult contemporary novels under the name Abby McDonald. Dangerous Girls is her first young adult thriller. She grew up in Sussex, England, and studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Oxford University. She lives in Los Angeles.




My Review
(originally posted here)

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.



I have read and loved both of Abigail's books, Dangerous Girls & Dangerous Boys. To celebrate the release of Dangerous Boys, I am giving 1 winner the chance to win paperback copies of both Dangerous Boys and Dangerous Girls. It's open internationally, as long as Book Depository ships to you!






12 comments:

  1. Woohoo I am so picking this one up today!

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  2. I've heard a lot about this book. I've never read a thriller, but this sounds fascinating. I'll have to pick it up sometime and give it a read. I like that Chloe has home issues she has to deal with. That's nice to see in Young Adult. I'm curious to see where this book goes. :) Lovely review.

    --Amber

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  3. ERMAGERD I LOVE THIS BOOK. Well you about know all my thoughts...hehe. XD But I just have to admit, for the first time ever I didn't fall for the bad boy. HONESTLY. I'm always voting for the badie...Warner, Morpheus...give me dark and sinister, yus. But the second Oliver walked in, all the clues just pointed to him being like a sociopath or something. Something. And I was: nope. BUT THAT ENDING. *flails*

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    1. I kinda fell for them both. Until Oliver got a bit too crazy and then I was like... hmmm, maybe not. HER ENDINGS ARE THE BEST THINGS EVER!!!! My jaw just drops. She better hurry up and write another one! :)

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  4. I want to read this book so badly! I have heard all the brilliant things about it and the suspense must be crazy when you know one of them gets saved but not which, and as you get to know them you have a favourite and are just willing that one to be the one to survive. Ah, I want this want this want this! *entered giveaway as much as she could.*

    http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/08/legacy-glow-book-review-giveaway.html

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    1. The suspense is definitely CRAZY! But I adored this book, and her other one. I will read any YA thrillers that she releases because they are just AMAZING!!! :)

      Good luck for the giveaway :) :) :)

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  5. This makes me so excited I just purchased Dangerous Girls. I literally cannot wait to read it now! I just finished a murder mystery so I'm trying to read a different genre in between but your review is making it much more difficult. I just can't believe I hadn't heard about these two books before. They seem like something completely up my alley. Great review girl, you definitely have me eager to start!

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    1. Ooooooh!!! I really hope you LOVE it! They are just amazing, they keep you up all night so you can finish. They mess with your head. And the endings leave you with your mouth open in shock.

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  6. Thank you so much for the giveaway! By the way, love your blog banner! :)

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