Sadly this book just didn't connect with me the way I had hoped so I ended up DNFing about half way through. I can see why others would like it, but for me it just didn't click I'm afraid.

This book is more of a romance story of two teen Lesbians exploring their feelings. The mystery angle wasn't very hard to solve. It was very obvious at least to me. That part wasn't well written.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Alissa's last girlfriend was found dead after she ran away due to bullying caused by her rejection and refusal to come out. She let her popular friends bully her and allowed the whole school to play along. Now, her current girlfriend, who she came out for, is also missing, but the police refuse to think the cases are related. Alissa tries to piece together the events leading to Lana's disappearance and murder in the hopes of recovering some clues towards Hannah. All she has are mysterious note being left for her.

She recruits and old friend, nick, to help her solve the clues and find Hannah.

Allissa's mom is not ok with her being gay and constantly pushes nick on to her. It doesn't help that nick is in love with her and throughout the books makes certain situations uncomfortable.

Even through I had the book figured out early on, there was still enough plot twists that kept me re thinking inward right.

A surprise ending and overall a very great book!

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I'm pretty good at guessing what is going on in mystery books. I got one part early on but was still surprised at the end to learn I had missed another crucial part. Well done!

Stevie‘s review of 18 Months by Samantha Boyette
Contemporary Young Adult Lesbian Mystery published by Bold Strokes Books 12 Dec 16

One of my main criteria for assessing mysteries is the identity of the villain. Are they convincing and do their motivations make sense? Are they someone whoreaders and the protagonists can spot, without the former getting annoyed at the latter’s missing of obvious clues? In stories featuring amateur or accidental investigators, is there a good reason why the police haven’t already looked at this person? After that, of course, I need a good cast of characters, along with a setting and plot that I can feel comfortable with for the duration of the book. Not too comfortable, obviously – this is a crime story – but I need to understand what makes the protagonist want to live in that location (if indeed they aren’t just desperate to get out) and how the plot carries them along the twists and turns of their investigation. A likable protagonist is generally a plus too, but in young adult stories, one with understandable flaws is sometimes more believable.

Alissa Reeves used to be one of the popular girls – or rather part of the crowd that most of her classmates aspired to join but few were let into – but now she’s an outcast, after declaring her affections for Hannah Desarno. She’d expected that, having almost lost her place in the clique 18 months ago when the others caught her kissing Lana Meyers. Back then she was a coward and accused Lana of coming onto her, getting the other girl into a whole heap of trouble, but now she’s prepared to stand up for her relationship with Hannah. Unfortunately, Alissa hasn’t told Hannah the whole story, and Lana can’t contradict what she’s been saying; 18 months ago, Lana disappeared: her dismembered body showing up some months later. Now Hannah’s started getting curious, and Alissa is forced to tell her the truth of how she betrayed Lana and their relationship.

The girls quarrel, and the next day Hannah fails to show up at school. Alissa worries that both her girlfriends have fallen victim to the same predatory killer – even after Hannah’s parents claim to have heard from her – and then someone starts leaving messages for Alissa, claiming to be holding Hannah prisoner. The police believe Hannah’s parents over Alissa – except for one young officer who isn’t convinced either way – and so Alissa is left to seek out the truth by herself, occasionally helped by a companion from her preteen years, whom she abandoned for the popular crowd, but who now wants to revive their previous friendship.

I enjoyed all the twists this story took and was convinced by most of the characters’ motivations for helping or hindering Alissa’s investigations. While I had my suspicions about the killer, I was only partly right, but their motivations mostly made sense when it came to the big reveal. An author whose work I’ll be looking out for in future.

Grade: B