Book Review: The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia

The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad―an undercover cop. She transfers to public school in the Downs, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.

Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him…and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

My Review:

After seventeen-year-old Frankie Devereux's boyfriend Noah is beaten to death outside a club, Frankie's life spirals out of control. Earning a DUI after getting wasted at Noah's lacrosse coach's memorial for Noah, Frankie's socialite mother and stepfather and her undercover cop father decide it is for the best if Frankie goes to live with her father in the Downs.

The Downs are a completely different world than the upscale neighborhood Frankie grew up in but she plans to stay under the radar - go to school then her community service and come home. She doesn't want to let anyone in, not even her best friends Lex and Abel. All she wants is to fill in the gaps in her memory and remember who killed Noah.

On Frankie's first day at her new public high school, she spies sexy, confident Marco. Their chemistry is instantaneous and soon Frankie is wrapped up in Marco's world and making a new friend in Cruz, a tough street racer who Frankie bonds with. But not everything in Marco's life is pleasant - and Marco's dangerous hidden life may destroy the little bit of stability Frankie is gaining in her life and put her in the crosshairs of a psychotic killer.

Will Frankie and Marco's love be enough to overcome it all? Do a cop's daughter and a bad boy really have any chance at a future?

I really liked The Lovely Reckless, it's sexy and addicting. It's a really fast-paced, light, easy read and I devoured the whole book in about 24 hours.

Marco is a swoon-worthy book boyfriend that readers will love and Frankie's journey from a broken girl to a girl getting a handle on who she is and what she wants is truly beautiful. The storyline is thrilling and packed with enough obstacles and drama for Marco and Frankie that a reader will want to keep reading and the secondary characters compliment the main characters well.

A few minor things irked me about The Lovely Reckless, just a couple grammatical issues that an editor should have caught and a question about a character - who is Ava? She pops up toward the end as Cruz's sister but the only one of Cruz's sisters named toward the beginning of the book is Teresa. Also, I'm a little unconvinced that after so short a time it was really "love" between Marco and Frankie. To me, it felt more like lust until the ending.

Overall, I did really like the book; it reminded me of a cross between Katie McGarry's Crash Into You and Simone Elkeles's Perfect Chemistry.

My Rating:

4 of 5 Stars