The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 2, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
478 Pages
When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all...
Review:
Enchanting. Magnificent. Suspenseful. Shocking. Intriguing. Amazing. Wonderful. These words describe the first 60% of the book. The next 40% percent? Eep… That was a toughy.
This book was extremely emotional. And the twist in this book? Killed me dead. They had my mouth open in shock. My heart raced throughout most of the novel.
I loved most of the characters. The ones that I grew to care for were brilliant and relatable. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was a toddler so that fear of losing her and always taking care of her was something that I was really able to understand. Everything that Rosie felt, I was able to relate to. She was so strong. I really admired her. I loved the characters: Jack, Ben and Rosie. The others gave me grief, but Jack's loving relationship with his children, Rosie and his guests was really beautiful. The other male characters invoked this question: WHY ARE BOYS SO DUMB? The men in this story were idiots. Honest to God, idiots.
I got really involved in the writing. It was great. I couldn't put the book down, especially not after reaching Part Two. This book was so addictive. It drove me insane at points, but I couldn't stop reading.
The plot was so original and captivating. I was hooked after the prologue. It was unbelievable.
BUT… The last 40%… I can't say I enjoyed it. It got ridiculous. There were too many twists. The author seemed to try to make it really original and succeeded, but she got shock happy and felt the need to include every possible surprise scenario in the book. It got old and predictable. I really enjoyed all the angst and drama, besides the main drama in the last 40%.
And the character, Holly? I loathed her. I literally hated her. She was selfish, cruel and demented. She was so immature and not just for her age, but in general. She was definitely not an adult and she was in a lot of adult situations. Basically, she dug herself in this huge hole that made me want to punch her… (That's horrible, I know, but I couldn't help it!)
This would've been a great book with a few tweaks in the last 40%. That's really my only complaint. I love this book, but the last 40% really messed it up for me. The story would've been much better without most of that. The plot became hard to keep up with, which totally threw me off. I'm disappointed in that part. This book had great, great, great potential.
I received and e-copy of this novel from the publisher through Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.
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