(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sophomore year at Dutchess College has just begun, and Nicole is still haunted by memories of her first love, Zach. As the changing leaves fall on the stately Hudson Valley campus, she takes solace in running—pushing herself to go harder, faster, to be the best. With the wind blowing through her hair, she can almost convince herself that she is beautiful, that she will find love again.
So when Nico runs, quite literally, into the maddeningly elusive Justin, she’s convinced she’s found the guy to make her forget her ex—despite the warnings of her friends and her straight-edged running partner, Luke.But when Nico is attacked in the woods after a wild night of partying, everything changes. Suddenly, Nico begins receiving anonymous threats, and she no longer knows where to turn for help—or whether even her close friends can be trusted.
All she wants is to be one of the beautiful girls—the ones who never have to chase perfection. But in order to uncover the truth, she’ll have to face a past she had hoped to leave behind forever. She thought she could outrun the darkness, but darkness has a way of catching up.

So, I don't really know what to make of this story. The blurb sounded interesting, the cover is gorgeous and the NA/YA market is looking for new breakout authors and I thought this may have been a chance to do just that...

And I just don't know. Nicole was a character that, despite her multitude of issues, I found interesting. I just couldn't find myself connecting to her...or Nico or Luke or, to a lesser degree, Henry. And I think that was my major hurdle with this story. If there is one thing that I really need in a good book, it is strong characters that I can identify with, characters that take me along for the ride. None of them did.

However, characters aside, the writing itself was excellent, and saved this from being rated lower. The opening hooked me in and made me want to find more about Nicole, hoping that she would find what she was looking for. The reality of the situations for these characters was pretty much what I would expect for this age group - bulimia, relationships, self-image etc. All well handled and that was a positive, for sure.

Overall, a story that could have been far more (for me) but one that I think that should be read. Make up your own mind...


Paul
ARH