I requested this title back before my blogging break. I have ended up with a number of titles that are overwhelming to catch up on now I am back from my blogging break. I am regretfully not going to be reading and reviewing this title, but now I am back from my blogging break, I am looking forward to reading and reviewing some of your future titles. Thank you so much for the opportunity and apologies.

Reagan Flay has spent her whole life trying to be perfect and the best at everything, always making sure things go her way and presenting this image of someone who has everything under control especially as she is always under the scrutiny of her mother who is a politician. The thing though is Reagan underneath isn't a nice person and has done awful things to stay on top of things. In a way, her character reminded me of Regina George with her "burn book" and the need to dig dirt on others so she can always have the upper hand. The thing though is that what goes up, must come down and Reagan is about to have her perfect image exploded when she walks into a school and finds her texts, emails, and private conversations she has had about people plastered all over the school. In a split moment, Reagan has gone from popular to outcast as her true colors are revealed. However, is this the wake-up call that Reagan needed as she has a dark secret too - she takes pills for her panic attacks? This was a good read, as I feel like there is a Reagan in every school, workplace and after reading this I wondered what would happen if every bad word you ever said about people was exposed - would you have a blank slate or a long rap sheet of offenses? After reading this, it made me think too how powerful words are, and would you be comfortable with what you said going public? Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen brings that old saying to light "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all".

A book from the POV of a bully, Life Unaware has a good message, and does its best to speak it out. The book begins with Regan, the protagonist, apologizing for all that she had done and that pretty much tells us what the story is about - her learning about the consequences of her actions.

The popular girl in school as well as the daughter of a sitting Congresswoman, Regan has always been concerned with how she appears; thanks to her mother's bullying she has an anxiety disorder that gives her panic attacks. Learning from her politician mom, she is not above using manipulative tactics to get what she wants. She participates in bullying her peers because it makes her feel better about herself, and also as something she does to belong in her circle of friends. However, when her texts are leaked to the school, and everyone sees her for the two-faced person she is, she is ostracized by all of them, including her best friend and other ally. The only one risking the censure to talk to her? Her best friend's older brother and the guy who makes it a hobby to harass her. With his help, however, she begins to make a move towards atoning for her misdeeds as well as set an example for others to follow.

The best thing about the book is that it has an anti-bullying stance, and even with a bully as its protagonist, it doesn't try to justify her actions or excuse it. Yes, she has mental health problems, but she also acknowledges that doesn't do anything for the pain she has caused others, nor does her apology fix the things she broke in them. It touches on her anxiety disorder as the result of her mother's dictating every aspect of her life and not seeing the harm she causes her daughter, and tries to resolve that part of the equation by having her mother realize that. As for the bullying part, it is a mild approach to atone, but its heart in the right place.

The romance, however, was my 'yikes' for the book. It was messy from the start, considering he is hounding her to see her 'downfall' and then appears like a knight in shining armor to console her when she is down. It is resolved in the ending way better than it was developed throughout the book, to be honest. I also felt his attraction to her was complicated, but then he learns about her anxiety disorder and suddenly decides he is sorry for judging her - which is kinda the opposite of the message the book was trying to send, that her mental illness was not the sole cause of her bullying. Also, it then derailed from the bullying thing to the romance angst and drama in the last third of the book. So, yeah there was that and then the whole mess with the outing thing, and let's just say I saw some twists like the broadcast video coming.

Basically, the intent and the idea for the novel were sound, but the execution of the concept could have been better.