That ending was so unbelievable. This started good and had potential. Then it became less about the mystery and more about the ROMANCE. And not in a awww sweet way. Pass.

This was so very different from everything else I'd read from Carrie Ryan in the past, but I really enjoyed it. It had hints of that show Revenge, but more of what it seemed like it was going to be (and what excited me about the original premise) than the soapiness the show eventually moved into. Frances/Libby was so angry and raw and cold and at times downright mean and it made sense with what she had been through and it just made me want to cheer her on; she was a great anti-heroine. And even behind all that coldness and anger I could still see this vulnerable girl who just wanted some justice (or maybe retribution) for her family and her friend and all the other people who died. I liked that this was a taut, moody thriller, which is fairly rare in the YA genre.

My only complaints were that the romance (such as it was) was lackluster and just kinda felt like...why? Like I could understand why Frances/Libby felt the need to lead Grey on and pretend to like him and all that and why she would have conflicted feelings given their little romance when they were on the ship, but it just seemed unlikely that she would be so overcome by her feelings for him after everything that had happened. <spoiler>The only time I would've possibly bought her actually turning around in her opinion/feelings for Grey was when she finally got more of the story from him about why he and his dad went along with the hijackers' plot. Up till that point, I wish she could've stayed the cold, almost heartless, revenge-driven anti-heroine I'd come to know and love at the beginning of the book. But instead she got kinda mushy and it just didn't really make total sense given how she was first characterized. Maybe if the book had been a bit longer and we'd gotten more of a build-up to show her slowly falling for Grey, I could've bought it, but it all just happened too quickly and it was kinda blah for me.</spoiler> Also the ending felt a little rushed. The book moved along at a fairly quick pace and I was really enjoying it and then suddenly it felt like all this crazy climatic stuff was happening and then it was just all mostly over and I was like...wait what? I think that definitely could've used some more pages to flesh out that big finale so it didn't feel so rushed. <spoiler>And while I did like that she managed to get Senator Wells put away for her "death" as well as other possible crimes, all in all the answer to the overall mystery kinda felt a little lackluster to me. It just seemed like something else might have been missing there to add a little more pop.</spoiler>

All in all, this was a great thriller with an anti-heroine I really enjoyed. I wish there were more books like this in the YA genre. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review (and sorry it took so long for me to read and review it).