16 Ways to Break a Heart
When Natalie and Dan met it was electric. An instant connection. He admired her success and talent as an artist, and she liked his good-guy appeal and attentiveness. It was so good-- until it wasn't anymore.Now, Natalie is sending Ben 16 letters to tell him her version of love-gone-wrong. He doesn't exactly see things the same way, but Natalie is determined to have the last word.
In case you didn't know, I'm a HUGE Lauren Strasnick fan. I love that her characters are never perfect. I love that her chapters are short and meaningful. I love that everything that happens in her book means something to the plot. She's so good at staying focused and not wasting words.
16 Ways to Break a Heart was a dark romance book. Natalie writes Dan notes recapping their relationship and how it went from good to house-burning-down. Dan and Natalie were cute at first, but there was SOMETHING about Natalie right from the beginning that had me feeling WAYS. I was definitely wishing I could jump in the book and warn him away from her.
Don't get it twisted: this book is about a toxic relationship. Even the good parts were tinged with something off. I think the cover and synopsis kind of make this look/sound a little cutesy, and it is NOT that. It is 2 people who kind of bring out the worst in each other. And Natalie is a bit of a stalker.
I personally liked that all the characters were flawed. Initially I was rooting for Dan. He's not an angel, but at least he was upfront about the fact that he was a liar, a coward, and a maybe-cheat. I can accept flaws better when someone cops to them. But once he started resenting Natalie for her successes, I knew me and Dan wouldn't be besties any time soon. Also, he needs some work on how to treat women.
I found it interesting that this book took a realistic look at a young relationship. There isn't a right person and a wrong person, which I think is what happens in many relationships that go bad. We end up hurting each other and get to a point where we can't seem to stop.
I think reading this book in combination with Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios would be a good recommendation for any teen getting into the dating pool. Both show some harsh realities.
OVERALL: I loved this dark romance. It's a quick read that shows how relationships can go from good to bad really fast. Throw in jealousy, possessiveness, resentment, immaturity, and need for retaliation and it's a relationship ripe for implosion.
Date Published: 7/25/2017
How I got this book: Thanks to HarperTeen and ALA for providing me this copy to read and honestly review
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Add it to your To-Read List!!
My Rating: 5/5
Character: Natalie FierroBook: The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin
- I definitely see some similarities between Addison and Natalie-- in personalities and in the way they are in relationships.
Oh this is a really interesting perspective that I haven't read yet. I'm not sure if it's my type of book or not, but I'm glad that you really enjoyed it. I like that there isn't an innocent party and they have both done things wrong. Great review!
ReplyDeleteOh wow. House burning down and toxic relationship. I am intrigued. I have Bad Romance on my list, so I will add this one as well. Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteThis book was a little too dark for me, and I was sad at the end, but I loved The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone. I thought that book was amazing.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books from this author and totally got a light vibe from the cover. I do dig darker books though so I have to keep this in mind. Great review!
ReplyDeleteHmm, intriguing. Just from the premise of her writing a bunch of letters to explain why their relationship went wrong, it already sounds like it was a toxic relationship. That's cool though to see a book that's not about the cutesy romance but rather about how sometimes relationships don't work and/or are unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll try this again. I've read one of her books and liked it, but I think with this one I got thrown by the cute cover and what was inside was jarringly dark!
ReplyDeleteJen Ryland
This sounds like such a great book, honestly, I might just add it to my GR. I saw a few reviews on GR that really worried me about it and people said they didn't like it, although I had such high hopes because I love the cover but I really wanna keep it near. It sounds a teensy bit like a YA version of the Breakup. Or Ruby Sparks with less craziness.
ReplyDelete