Goodreads Blurb
How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?
When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.
Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty.
When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.
Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty.
The one thing that jumped out at me almost immediately was the writing. It was beautiful, lyrical, just stunning writing. But the thing about the writing is that while it had that poetic feel to it, it didn’t have much dialogue in the first half of the story and that honestly bored me. Without dialogue, the story just loses its interest and tension. I ended up reading 10 or so pages per day instead of the 150+ I usually read. When the action did start to pick up, I found it harder and harder to close the book. The ending? Totally unexpected. I can’t believe that it was that person who wanted Nicole’s face ruined! Gasp!
This is my first contemporary thriller (yes, I know!) and I’ll definitely picking up more soon. It was filled with anticipation as you tried to figure out on your own and realized you were completely wrong. The funny thing about Burning Blue is that (SLIGHT SPOILER) Paul Griffin actually insinuated that it was this person and then had Jay dismiss the notion. And of course, I fell for that old trick because there was just so much proof that it wasn’t that person. Sigh. We gullible readers.
I loved reading from Jay’s POV. He was an awesome character who wasn’t very naïve and didn’t fall for as much, being the super smart hacker he is. This book just racked up another point with Jay! As for Nicole, I loved her personality and how she handled getting burned. I mean, she kept it together when I would’ve hidden away and refused to come out ever again. But I felt her as too perfect, you know? She was popular, super pretty, and super nice. She handled everything well, was the go-to girl for everything, barely anyone hated her, etc. And I’m not saying that every pretty girl has to be mean, but she was just too good to be true, you know? Anyhow, she was an enjoyable character who stood strong throughout the entire story, so I can’t complain too much!
The romance was my favorite part! It definitely wasn’t insta-love and Jay and Nicole got to really know each other before they fell and it was so darn sweet! I could actually believe that they cared for each other and it wasn’t forced like I thought it may be, so you can imagine my relief! I sort of wish I was in that situation. Without the acid. And pain. And hacker stuff. Ok, so maybe not.
Overall, I was definitely impressed by Burning Blue and you can bet I’ll be checking out more of Paul Griffin’s stuff! This is definitely one to pick up when you get the chance! It’ll keep you on our toes and shock you with the ending! ACK! I still can’t really believe it!
Pages: 288
"What day is it? What night?I'm burning, burning, burning, blue."
I love the cover for this one it really does a great job of showing you what the book is about kind of lol. I love a good mystery and this one really seems like a good one and obviously not easy to guess who did it.
ReplyDeleteKristin @ Young Adult Book Haven
This is the first that I have heard of this book, and I am glad that I have. The cover is amazing, and I like that it matches up with what the story is about. And, NO insta-love! Woohoo! I think this is a book that I am gonna enjoy! I am kind of glad that I am just now hearing about it, because I don't have to wait too long until release day! Thanks for the great review. As usual.
ReplyDeleteOohh this sounds like an awesome read. I wasn't too interested in reading this when I first saw it, but now I'm definitely eager to read it. Thanks for the review Nikki! ^__^
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked it! I've been wanting to read this one for a long time! :D Great review Nikki! Keep booking on.
ReplyDelete<3 Inky@ Book Haven Extraordinaire
I hadn't thought about the fact that there isn't much dialogue, but you're absolutely right. I loved the premise of this so much and I liked the fact that the execution was not what I expected. And yeah, the guilty person was not who I suspected at all!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking your review!
I am on page 39. It is a little slow going so far, but I am keeping the faith in Nikki Review. We shall see how it goes. One good thing: I already have 2 suspects in mind!
ReplyDelete