Out of Control by Sarah Alderson Publisher: Simon Pulse on May 12, 2105
Genres: Romance, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Source: Blog Tour
Purchase: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
Rating:
A girl looking to escape her past in New York City ends up on the run from a dangerous conspiracy in this sizzling, high-stakes novel.
When seventeen-year-old Liva came to New York City, all she wanted was to escape the painful memories of her past and finally find a fresh start. Her hopes for a new future were dashed the moment she became the sole witness to a brutal murder. When she’s taken into police custody—supposedly for her own protection—she realizes something isn’t right, but it’s too late. Soon, bullets start flying, and Liva realizes that she is not just a witness, but the target—and she needs to escape before it’s too late.
With the help of a sexy car thief that she met at the station, Liva manages to get away from the massacre unharmed, but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit the two killers who will stop at nothing to find them. Liva and Jay are living on the edge, but when you’re on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.
At A Glance
Some stupid decision making but everything else was great.
The Good
Out of Control was awesomely thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat with each page. I loved the stomach clenching chases and in the nick of time escapes.
Liva has not had the average upbringing. She’s been surrounded by bodyguards all her life and knows a few skills the average teenager should not know. So it’s not too surprising when scary men come after her and kill the people around her. What is surprising is this seemingly delinquent guy, Jay, saves her life and sticks with her the whole time despite the chaos.
I loved Jay. What a sweetie. Not many guys would risk their lives for a strange girl who brings nothing but trouble. He felt genuine in every way. Liva was pretty badass in a soft way. She seems like the standard scream and flail around kind of gal, but she took some situations by the balls and displayed awesome survival techniques. I wish I was more like Liva in that way.
There was a lot of action, mystery, and surprises. The ending shocked me. What an 180, but it totally worked!
The Bad
Ugh, I hate stupid characters. Liva and Jay had their smart moments, but a lot of their decisions were idiotic. Sure, they are young at 17 and 19 years old, but I still expected more from them. Like not going to the places that you just 5 seconds ago said the bad guys would obviously go to first.
The Snuggly
I liked the side romance. Liva could have been less focused on Jays hard abs and more on not dying, but the hell with it. They were adorable together. Them falling for each other so fast made complete sense. They are in a life and death situation, of course you are going to bond…and almost have sex. 😀 Yes, we get some sexiness but not too much for YA, though close.
Final Thoughts
So happy I found a new author to stalk! The story was on point and the excitement was non-stop. Highly recommended.
Quotes
“So we have twenty-four hours to keep out of trouble,’ he says to me.
I slide a glance in his direction. Judging from the way he’s now grimacing at the sidewalk and the fact that I met him in a police station where he was being booked for stealing a car, I’m guessing that staying out of trouble is not his forte.”
“I need a favour.’
I raise my eyebrows at him in disbelief. What makes him think I’m about to do him a favour? He’s a stranger. And he’s wearing handcuffs.”
About Sarah Alderson
Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where Sarah now spends her days writing by the pool and trying to machete open coconuts without severing a limb.
She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.
A third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012.
The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013 and this was followed by the critically acclaimed Out of Control in May 2014.
She also writes New Adult romance for Pan Macmillan (UK) / Simon & Schuster (US) under the pen name Mila Gray.
You can find Sarah on facebook and at www.sarahalderson.com or follow her blog at www.canwelivhere.com
Giveaway
This is a tour wide giveaway.
Mai T.
I’m impressed with the amazing cover.
Jennifer Bielman
I like the cover too.
Red Iza
YA and stupid decisions ? Yup, not for me ! Thanks for sharing 😉
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, yeah, that part sucked.
Lekeisha
I desperately want this book!! Ever since I came across it and saw that it is a YA Thriller, I’ve been pining for it.So glad that you love it!
Jennifer Bielman
It really was thrilling!
ailyn
maybe the author wants to show that they are more impulsive than stupid?
Jennifer Bielman
Could be.
Suzi Q, The Book Dame
OMG! Right! Stupid characters can be among the most frustrating. I am glad that this book was great enough to get you to overlook it for the most part.
I don’t recall seeing this before. Thank you for the review and the giveaway.
Jennifer Bielman
If you are looking for a YA thriller, try it out!
kindlemom1
I did like this read but yeah, they did make some stupid choices didn’t they? Still, I loved them and I really want to check out the rest of this author’s work.
Jennifer Bielman
I agree 100% If not for some of the decision making, this would have almost been perfect.
Giselle
This sounds like a fun read – entertaining and exciting. I read a lot of broody contemporary books (Lolz I know but I love it! ) so these kinds of reads are a great change of pace for me. Jay sounds adorable, too! I loved her male characters in Hunting Lila, too! You should def read that one!
Jennifer Bielman
This totally felt like a nice change up to my normal reading too.
Lily
Fun and exciting contemporaries have been calling me lately, so this looks like one i’m interested in reading for sure. Lovely review!
Jennifer Bielman
🙂 it’s nice tp change it up sometimes.
Jaclyn Canada
This sounds like a great read. With the action and mystery aspect, it definitely seems fun and fast-paced. Idiotic decisions aside, it sounds like the characters are pretty awesome. Great review!
Jennifer Bielman
I liked the characters overall, I just wish they made better decision.
Mary Preston
This sounds exciting.
Jennifer Bielman
🙂
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
Oh I do love that cover. And sounds like a wonderful story! 😀
Jennifer Bielman
The cover called to me for sure.
Olivia Roach
I actually really want to try this book! I love the sound of the two individual characters and they intrigue me. I have heard that they are culturally mixed as well, and seeing as I am someone who loves culture I know that will make me happy. The tension runs high in this one as well ^.^
Jennifer Bielman
Yup, they are culturally mixed. The girl is a bit of a mutt, lol, she has some interesting heritage.
Benish
Yaaaay you liked this one too! 🙂 I actually loved it although the stereotypes were super annoying sometimes. The romance and action was amazing though. Great review!
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, I can see what you are saying about the stereotypes.