Title: Chasing Truth
(Eleanor Ames #1)
Author: Julie Cross
Publication Date: September 27th, 2016
Category/Genre: Young Adult Thriller/Mystery
Publisher: Entangled Teen
At
Holden Prep, the rich and powerful rule the school—and they’ll do just about
anything to keep their dirty little secrets hidden.
When
former con artist Eleanor Ames’s homecoming date commits suicide, she’s
positive there’s something more going on. The more questions she asks, though,
the more she crosses paths with Miles Beckett. He’s sexy, mysterious,
arrogant…and he’s asking all the same questions.
Eleanor
might not trust him—she doesn’t even like him—but they can’t keep their hands
off of each other. Fighting the infuriating attraction is almost as hard as
ignoring the fact that Miles isn’t telling her the truth…and that there’s a
good chance he thinks she’s the killer.
Julie
Cross is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult
fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy
which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin’s Press).
She’s
also the author of the Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You,
Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, and many more to come!
Julie
lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She’s a former
gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director
with the YMCA.
She’s
a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young
adult and new adult genres.
Outside
of her reading and writing cred, Julie Cross is a committed–but not
talented–long distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest
bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a
ponytail and gym shoe addict.
I would
- Befriend: Ellie
- Go out on a date & kiss: Miles.
- Take to a desert island and leave behind: Brent, Dominic and Chantal because rich people are the worst.
- Travel to Vegas and let Elvis Presley marry us: Miles
If I turned on the TV, I'd find Ellie, Miles and their friends on:
4.5 “Veronica Mars + Hot
Teen Spy” Stars
Thank you, Entangled Teen!
How could it not? We
have a con artist MC, a sexy, mysterious and arrogant LI and Veronica Mars
written all over it. It had to be amazing, and it was.
Our MC, Ellie is phenomenal
and I blame my love for this book on her. Ellie, who reminds me of another
character I fell head over heels for -- Ella from Paper Princess – is pretty
much perfection in the form of a main character. Dude, she’s a freaking former
con artist going to a school full of Gossip Girl-type characters and using her
abilities to investigate the suicide of her only friend in a Veronica
Mars-style. All the cool shows reference (even though they’re not mentioned in
the book) makes this story extra special for those of us who are old enough to
have followed these shows.
Ellie’s struggle with
her new life as a reformed criminal made me instantly like her. The way she
still used the skills she was supposed to have left behind to go after the
truth behind her friend’s death just increased my love for her. Ellie was
smart. The kind of smart that made me feel dumb at times (but not too often
because that would’ve been jarring) and she had a great sense of humor (all
sarcasm and wit). She was also flawed in a way that makes it impossible for you
not to want to hug her and get to know her better. I loved Ellie. Really,
really love her. I wanted to be friends with Ellie. I still do.
And then there was
Miles. The mysterious neighbor and new student who was on to Ellie. He always
ended up catching her when she was doing something suspicious, and being the
follow-the-law-at-all-costs soldier he was, he probably couldn’t have imagined
falling for a girl like Ellie. But they’re animosity turn into friendship and
soon something else because opposites do attract. I can’t say I was surprised
at Miles’ little secret (was it even supposed to be a secret?). It was pretty
clear from all the clues that he was not the “normal” new guy he wanted Ellie
to believe him to be. But knowing the truth didn’t make the story less pleasant
to follow for me. On the contrary, I was anxious to see how that plot would
develop, and I loved it.
I can’t get too deep
into the plot because of spoilers, but I can say I loved the whole
investigation aspect. Things made sense in the end and they didn’t come as the
kind of surprise that makes you think: “Did the author think this through or
was it a last minute decision?” I could see all the ways the story led to that
answer, which is always a plus in books like this.
The romance aspect was
pretty phenomenal. I loved the whole should-we-or-shouldn’t-we vibe between
Ellie and Miles. Loved how she tried to convince herself she didn’t deserve it,
and how he tried to stay away from her but couldn’t. Just loved. Loved. Loved.
I’m super curious to see
how the author will develop this series because with all the mentions of CIA,
FBI, NSA, Secret Service and special schools, I’m more than ready for what
Ellie and Miles will find next. It’s guaranteed to be trouble. A lot of it.
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*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.
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