Very Bad Things was one of my most highly-anticipated books of the summer. Upon first reading the description, I was sucked in by the good girl gone bad idea. Add in some unrequited love and I am oh-so-very there. It lived up to my every expectation... and then some.
This book sucked me in from the first chapter when Nora, the incredibly smart and talented girl who appears to have it all, snaps at Briarcrest Academy's Open House. Nora's reached her breaking point. It's time for her to live a life other than the one her parents have been forcing her to live and I was thrilled to be along for the ride, bumps and all.
On the outside, Nora Blakely seems like the perfect girl, perfect student. She's a National Spelling Bee winner, editor of the yearbook, co-captain of the debate team, and an all-around exemplary role model. She's a beauty queen. She plays the piano. She loves words and "collects" them. She's also broken. She's hiding a huge secret and has finally reached her breaking point. She doesn't want to be this perfect girl anymore, so she comes up with a very different sort of to-do list. Nora's ready to be bad.
Enter Leo Tate. He's in the audience with his younger brother, Sebastian, when Nora has her big moment. On the outside, Leo is the stereotypical bad boy. He owns a gym. He's a musician. He's scorching hot. He definitely doesn't do relationships. He's certainly not looking for a relationship with a damaged girl seven years younger than him. He's attracted to Nora, but isn't interested in pursuing more.
Everything begins to change the night that Nora vandalizes Leo's Escalade. Sebastian convinces Leo to take her into their home so she can clean up - and sober up. Convinced it's time to tackle her list of bad things, Nora strips for Leo, teasing him. He's tempted, but even after learning that she is not jailbait as he feared, he still turns her down. He sleeps with women, not spoiled, rich girls. He won't let her leave that night because she's drunk and needs to sleep it off and he winds up comforting her after she has a nightmare. Nothing physical happens, but they begin to bond. She opens up to him about her past and he realizes there's a lot more to her than meets the eye.
The Tate brothers begin to be everything Nora needs. She forges a close friendship with Sebastian. They become so close that, despite his best intentions, Leo begins to feel jealous of his brother. He's not sure that something isn't going on between Sebastian and Nora. He loves his brother, but his attraction to Nora is strong and distracting. Nora and Leo become close in a much different, more volatile way. They want each other, that much is obvious. Their chemistry is seriously intense. It's as though the air is ready to ignite when they're in the same room. Leo tries like hell to fight it. He just wants Nora to find herself. He wants good things for her. He doesn't want her to be the girl with the list of bad things to do. He knows that's not the real Nora.
As you can imagine, this book is filled to the brim with angst. But it's the best possible type of angst. The sexual tension between Nora and Leo is thick. It's hot and just waiting to explode. There are some straight up five-alarm scenes in this book. The "lesson in clarity" scene is so hot that I was convinced my iPad was going to melt! ::fans self::
The characters were so complex and well-written. I couldn't walk away from them. I HAD to know what happened. I wanted to know what all the secrets were and if true feelings would ever come to light. Despite her faults and issues, Nora was completely likable. She had a bit of quirkiness to her. To a casual observer, she might have appeared to have an easy life, but the truth is it was anything but. Though Leo made me want to yell and scream at him, I absolutely loved him. He was the perfect alpha male, "bad boy" lead. I loved that the book was written from both of their perspectives so I was able to get in both of their heads. I loved the dynamic between Leo and Sebastian. Leo may not have been perfect, but he was a really good brother and guy, in general. He was protective of those he cared about and though he might not have always gone about things in the best way, he (most) always had the best of intentions. What can be said about Sebastian? He was a sweet kid. I hope we get a book from his perspective in the future.
There's more to this book than meets the eye though. It touches on some pretty deep issues. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I wanted to throw my iPad across the room. The story flowed well and was unique. I read a lot of NA lit and I haven't read anything quite like this one before. I really love this author's style and I look forward to more fantastic books from her in the future. She's going on my auto-buy author list. :)
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Not as expected
This is not the first time you have done this to me Isla. But now you are on my radar. I have read another of your books with expectations that get blown apart. I was searching for a bully romance. I came across Very Bad Things (Briarwood Academy book 1) thinking that's what I was getting. But no. It wasnt the book I was looking for. Not the story I wanted. It didnt have the drama and anger I needed and craved. It had a different story I didn't realize was meant for me. The main characters do not break each other down. There is triggers and "bad things". But this is like reading the story of a person who had to break free, walk her own path leading to self acceptance. Isla, if you read this just know I have you in my sights. Next time I'm going in without the wrong expectations. I'm not look at your book expecting a quick simple read. I'm prepared for you to grab my heart strings.
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