I am back with another book review, Light of Day by Allison van Diepen.
Well, I'm not sure this one was as good as the first book in the series...
This book is a companion novel to On the Edge and follows a new couple, Gabby and X. One night, after sneaking into a club, Gabby and her friend Maria narrowly escape their drugged drinks after a stranger warns them. Gabby soon finds out that the man who tried to drug them was going to kidnap them and force them into prostitution. Things pretty much go back to normal until Gabby's ex-friend Bree doesn't come home from a party one night.
Like I mentioned earlier, this novel is part of a series of companion novels, so it is set in Miami like book one and involves the Destinos gang, human trafficking rings, etc. like the first one. There are a couple of character cameos in this one which was fun to see after reading book one. I do think you have to read this series in order, though, because there are spoilers for Maddie and Lobo's story in this book.
This book had all the elements that I enjoyed in the first book so I'm not too sure why it didn't click as much as the first one did. I can't quite pinpoint it, but there was something that made me not love this book as much as I could have.
It may be because the romance, a major part of this book, didn't jive with me. I felt like it was a little bit forced. Obviously, the stranger who saves them at the bar is superattractive and there's bound to be a connection but I just felt like I didn't want a romance. I'm not necessarily blaming the book for that, I think it's just where I am right now with the books I've been reading. I thought X was hot and cold, understandable but still annoying, and Gabby seemed to be doing just fine on her own.
I wished there was a bit more of the family dynamic in this one, I think there was a greater opportunity to delve into both character's family/backstory a bit more and I would have enjoyed that.
The pacing in this book was good, it was a quick read. I think some parts dragged a bit, and I felt like van Diepen couldn't decide whether to stick with the high school drama or the gang drama. There's a mix, but the transitions between the two felt jarring like one second Gabby was out with her friends and the next she dropped everything to run to X and help him. I felt like that aspect could have been re-worked a bit.
There were a couple times when I couldn't believe how reckless Gabby was. For the most part, I didn't mind her character but every once in a while she would do something rash and I was left wondering if she even thought it through. I knew right away at the major conflict towards the end that something didn't feel right but she was too set on helping out to stop and make a plan.
Overall, I wanted to enjoy this book so much more than I did. I still have hopes for the series and am planning on picking up book three soon.