Wrecked: A Novel (Charming Knights Book 1) Kindle Edition

This is my first time reading Shana Vanterpool and I have to say this book has now made Ms. Vanterpool a one click author for me. This dark and poetic story is not what I was expecting. I was taken into this world and devoured this story. Absolutely a must read!!

How do I properly describe a book that destroyed me in all the right ways? A dark YA? Dark romance? Enemies to lovers? Suspenseful YA thriller? Wrecked is all of that and more. I read this book in hours, and couldn't put it down (sorry Mom, who was trying to have a conversation with me). This story is so unique that i couldn't think of any other book like it. And I read 80 books a year.

This story is about greed, wealth, secrets and lies and it revolves around Hallie and Cage. Two teenagers unsatisfied with their lives and being played as pawns by their fathers, realize they have more in common than they may have originally thought. They are bent, beaten and blackmailed into the fathers ' master plan. They resent their role, but it isn't that black and white. And when they start to fall in love, secrets come out, making them feel more confined than ever before.

Cage is not easy to love. He feels that his heart is black. After all, his father said he was named Cage so he always remembered who had the key. You will find that Cage will do anything for Hallie, and it's his actions that make me feel like this story is a bit dark. And then you discover that their fathers are not just devious and greedy. They are evil incarnate. But again, nothing is what it seems. The secrets keep coming until the very end, and there's not what I consider a traditional HEA. But this ending works.

Vanterpool is clearly an adult, but her prose is stunningly authentic to the teenage experience. Yes, these aren't your average teens, but they still have the same emotions as every other teen. The teens experience love and lust, heartache and happiness...sometimes not being able to tell the difference between them. What do you do when you feel trapped? When you want to break out, but don't see a way? Maybe you cling to an unconventional love that bloomed from obsession.

" He was too gorgeous to ignore, off-limits, and so untainted by Charmant he smelled of freedom and gardening supplies. "

"I felt nothing period but a deep dark rage. It kept me going, that burning candle. Have me a reason to know myself before I lost it all to the falsity of my future."

" I guessed it made sense for someone who didn't care at all to be the master of everyone's empathy. "

" That kiss wasn't happiness, it was sealing holes so bigger ones wouldn't implode. But it had been what I craved. A measured recklessness, like falling toward the earth and engaging my parachute right before I plummeted. It was living and disobeying in the middle of rules and lies. "

"My fingers wrapped around his shoulders and I rode on my toes, holding on to him as Romeo and Juliet tasted their end."

" Because in some weird place in my heart, the burning in his eyes looked a lot like madness, and love was never far from madness. "

"Riches and legacies sometimes masked poverty and scars."

" I am overflowing with rage and love. I wasn't even sure they were different. To live is to rage, and to rage is to love. "

"Resenting this life doesn't make you any less part of it."

These are just some of the quotes I loved. It all transported me back to high school, where I wasn't rich, but lonely and fearful of the future. My feelings were just as mixed as these teens. And as the secrets poured out of the pages, I cried for all of these characters. I'm not sure I'm going to forget this book for a long time. It's stamped on my bleeding heart.

I absolutely loved how messed up this book was. It was insane with all the controlling, threatening those the characters’ loved, how money-hungry some were. Then you had the kids who were so flawed …

Wreck was not redeemable at all, except for his love for Hallie, which was REALLY intense and real-world scary. However, when you realize what Hallie meant for him, when you see his POV, you can’t help being okay with it, as Hallie eventually was. He is the most insane and dynamic character I have ever read. He was immature, a stalker, obsessed with one thing in life, and prone to screaming in people’s faces and ruining lives. And yet, he was fiercely protective and loved to the depths of his black soul. Oh, and Wreck’s real name … totally wrong. So wrong. I gasped out loud when I got to that part of the story.

Hallie seemed pretty normal, though she did have the whole “I demand it, so let it be done” attitude. She was the most mature character in the book, yet she loosened up a bit for the first time in her life with Wreck. She was loyal, she had dreams, and she protected those she cared about. And I felt so bad for her in the beginning of the story. Not that I didn’t later, but her quick backstory in the beginning was so heartbreaking for a teenage girl.

This book is not a sweet, HEA YA. The only thing YA about it is the fact that the kids are in high school. It’s dark, it’s depressing, it’s filled with troubled people and the extremes they will go to, to escape the lives they were born in. There are so many dark secrets revealed. There is underaged drinking and drugs. There is violence and abusive relationships in all forms. It’s a wicked book.

When the genre YA is attached to a book. I usually steer clear. When I chose this book to read I think I might have skipped over the YA part of the synopsis. But once I start to read a book. I tend to have to finish what I started. So I decided to finish the book and see if it would surprise me.
As stated before when starting this book I was a little skeptical and wanted to go on to the next book. But as I went in I couldn't stop. It had the dark elements that I love so much. It had so many emotions in this book that I was unsure of what to feel from page to page. The relationship between Wreck and Hallie was one you weren't sure if you hated to love it or loved to hate it. But it was intense and one you couldn't help to root for. I am so glad I took a chance on this book. This is truly a top read of 2018.- By Vanessa