A tragic coming of age story!

Riley is rich, beautiful and lucky, right? Not really. There’s always something going on underneath and Riley knows that more than anyone. While just trying to make it through school and keep up appearances before she can escape, she catches the attention of two boys: Cole and Niko. Cole seems to be the perfect boyfriend, but his best friend Niko can’t stand her. Will Cole choose his best friend or his girlfriend?

While this book dove into some heavy subjects, I felt that it was told beautifully and handled with care. I felt for Riley and I definitely knew a girl like her in school. There was a lot of back and forth going on in this book which had me a bit confused. Overall, this was definitely emotional and written really well!

I can’t end this without talking about the cover! 😍😍 10/10

But that cliffhanger?! Rude 🤣 can’t wait to see what happens next!

Fading girl by Marian Andrew is book 1 in the breaking boundaries series which also means it ends on a cliffhanger. The book is written in three characters point of view: Riley, Cole and Niko.

The story is very character driven and delves into what the characters are experiencing from high school (in this book) to their early 20s, later in the series.

The book sometimes goes into some heavy dark subjects, especially as the book goes on, but it is done in a realistic way for a coming of age story.

Usually coming of age stories are about the nerdy kid, or the kid growing up in the projects. This story is about struggles in a prep school. How even the rich elite have struggles, they just might be able to mask it a bit better.

Riley has a rough home life, despite being born into privelage and having a lavish home, it is filled with domestic violence. She longs to find love, but does so in all the wrong people. Cole for example is one of those people. His inability to say how he feels just adds to Riley's problems. Niko is Cole's best friend. After learning Riley likes Cole instead of him, he is pissed and out for revenge.

I found the book to be well written. It accurately portrays a coming of age story of those who attend Crestwood Academy. Thank you Marian Andrew for working with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Great coming of age, YA romance. If you loved Cruel Intentions, you’ll love this book!

Thanks you MA Crown Ink Publishing for granting me an ARC! Can’t wait for book 2!