I would like to thank The Wild Rose Press and the Netgalley website for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the cover of this book which shows the pretty Alexis with her head hidden by her hood.

We can see Alexis, known as Lex, who breaks up with the high school quarterback and finds herself isolated and friendless. Her father, who has a prodigious career as a soldier, doesn't notice the bruises on his daughter's arms. She's consumed with terror. She has to move on, so she will hide her abuse from everyone. She knows that it is far from succeeding but she must release the violence that is eating away at her to live in peace again. But is she going to live long for that?

A book read in one go, I was so captivated by the story, so moving, captivating, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns with the character of Alexis so endearing. While reading this book I wanted to be next to her character to reassure her, to be close to her to show her that I am there no matter what, to be her friend.

Thriver is about a high school girl who lost her mother and her father is a military man who works as much as he can to stop the pain he feels after losing his wife. He doesn't know how to help his daughter with the loss either.

After a friend sees bruises on her body she confronts her, Lex tries to walk away from her abuser but finds its a lot harder than she first thought.

Will Lex be able to break the ties binding her to her abuser? Will she be able to tell her father what is going on in her heart and mind?

Thriver is a great story about abuse by a boyfriend and the strength it takes for Lex to walk away.
A Must Read!

An intense story line that covers some hard topics. The author did a great job with this book. It was a book that takes the darkness off of a difficult subject and shows the importance of strength in oneself. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Seriously awesome book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Take my word on it and pick this book up and prepare to have a really hard time putting it down. Happy reading!

Amazing read! The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

This well-written novel shows the effect of abuse in relationships, physical an mental, and how difficult it can be to get out of such a relationship. The help of friends and in this case of adults is crucial.
The suspenseful story makes it a good read for victims who will relate in a special way and see that they're not alone or mentally ill as well as for their friends and peers.

Thanks to Wild Rose Press for the arc of this book.
It’s nice to see more and more books been written about so called “taboo” subjects, I felt for Alexis from the get go, and anyone who have suffered abuse can relate to how she felt and why she didn’t say anything.
It was good to see she had a couple of friends and teachers who noticed and helped her face her demons and come out fighting. This made me cry, and smile, very well written.

It’s a difficult one to review, it was good and hard reading about a teenage abusive relationship. I thought the characters and situations were well written and obviously well researched. I just found it slow going and the writing style a little overdrawn and overly wordy which slowed it down for me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THRIVER by Julia Joseph in exchange for my honest review.***

When Lexie breaks up with her abusive boyfriend Cal, he isn’t willing to let her go.

My initial impression with THRIVER was distraction from the story due to overwritten prose. An abundance of awkward sounding adjectives seemed as if Julia Joseph had Roget’s Thesaurus in one hand while she wrote with the other.

My second impression is that the school treated dating violence as they would have decades ago, not under current protocols. The trope of the popular, jock fooling everyone including adults still happens today, but two teachers saw evidence of the abuse, believed Lexie and failed to notify her father. The teacher who reported to the counselor simply accepted that he did believe Lexie and wasn’t going to do anything. She didn’t pursue the matter further within the school or with Lexie’s father. The coach gave Lexie a week to tell her father. When safety is at stake, immediate action is needed.

Lexie’s friends were great, better than any of the adults.

Bottom line: THRIVER doesn’t stand out among dating violence books.