ARC, 383 pagesRelease Date: May 5, 2015Published by: BloomsburyOnce Upon a Crime Family, #1Source: ATWATFor fans of: Thrillers, Re-tellings, YA
Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.
Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.
And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.
All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Another most anticipated book where I'm the back sheep so far. I was supposed to down right love this one, but as it turns out, it just wasn't for me.
"I'd only just convinced myself to hope- and like me, hope was a fragile thing that would break far too easily."
pg. 13 (ARC)
For instance, it just seemed that nothing was really happening. The entire book was spent with the same cycle going over and over again. Penny was ok, then someone died, then she got sick. Sometimes the events were a little out of that order, but for the most part, that's exactly what kept happening. And because of that I didn't feel like there was a huge climax in the story. It I kept knowing what would happen because the same thing kept happening over and over. I just wasn't impressed. More like annoyed.
"You've got to pick your battles, Pen, but then fight to the death for those that matter."
pg 64 (ARC)
Maybe it's just the fact that I've read too many thrillers. Whatever the case was, the repetitiveness wasn't the only thing I was upset about in this story. I was also able to guess the villain and if you didn't know, that's my pet peeve of thrillers. If I can guess the killer/villain and I also didn't feel like it was entertaining the entire way, I'm more than likely going to vote down on it.
"Money is not more important than morals."
pg 66 (ARC)
From the synopsis I was expecting this to be more gruesome. Towards the beginning (before I knew the plot was going to be a continuous cycle) I thought of this like one of my favorite shows, Forensic Files. But as the book went on, it just wasn't there. I just wanted more. Although I wasn't that impressed with this one, I'm hoping the rest of the series will be more creepy and have more than just what was done here.
"...I've texted and called him a dozen times. I feel like a jilted girlfriend."
pg. 73 (ARC)
As for the characters, I mainly kept reading this due to Penny. She grew enormously throughout this entire novel. Although she was still treated as a child, she grew up when she needed to. She just let everyone else to be taken care of and she forgot about herself. I would've been heartbroken had anything happened to her. She was what kept me hooked to this story.
"...life is not one of your storybooks."
pg 140 (ARC)
Surprisingly this novel didn't go as planned for me. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this one or maybe I've just read too many thrillers, but I didn't like this one as much as everyone else seems to have.
Overrall, I give this
(Real rating was 2.5 but I rounded up!)