Wicked Charm by Amber Hart @AmberHartBooks @EntangledTeen @YABookShelf #bookreview #YA #romance #mystery

Title: Wicked Charm

Author: Amber Hart

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Publication Date: January 30, 2018

Page Count: 300

My rating:  4 stars

About the book:

Nothing good comes from living in the Devil’s swamp.

Willow Bell doesn’t think moving to the Okefenokee is half bad, but nothing prepares her for what awaits in the shadows of the bog—or for the boy next door, who might just be the trouble people speak of.

Beneath his wicked, depthless eyes and the allure that draws girls to him, Beau Cadwell is mystery to his core. Where Beau goes, chaos follows. His lips are full of twisted grins and lies, the girls say. He’s evil in disguise, warns Gran.

It isn’t until girls wind up dead in the swamp that Willow wonders if maybe Beau is more intense than she can handle. His riddles tell her that he’s someone to be wary of, but his touch tells her that she can trust him. Problem is, which is true? It’s hard to tell with a boy like him…?

Wicked Charm by Amber Hart is supposed to be a young adult romantic thriller which would lead a reader to believe it would be heavy on the thrills and light on the romance. However, this one really seemed to focus mostly on the romance and add a bit of thriller on the side.

The story starts with the main character Willow Bell moving to the Okefenokee Swamp with her grandmother when she spies the neighbor boy and of course becomes infatuated with the cute boy. So in warning yes, this was a bit of insta-love even if Willow holds back from his charm for the first five minutes.

In the second chapter we switch the point of view to Beau Cadwell, Willow’s new neighbor and the other half of the insta-love in the book. Beau has been the love ’em and leave them type until Willow walks into his life and intrigues him. But just as Beau and Willow are meeting and beginning their relationship a dead girl turns up in the swamp, the very same girl that Beau just broke up with to pursue Willow.

Now as I mentioned this story focused more on Willow and Beau’s relationship than it did the murder mystery involved but for me this didn’t bother me as much as it might some readers. I actually rather enjoyed the unique setting of the swamp land and mixing in a bit of thrills here and there I was able to overlook the instalove and enjoy the story as it was.

As the story switches back and forth between Beau and Willow we are able to know just what is going on with both of them in their relationship and in the investigating. Each throw out their own suspects and want to find out who the killer is so there was just enough of the mystery to keep my interest even though it wasn’t the hardest to solve or given a lot of attention to. In the end I still enjoyed this story and would read more from the author in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

Amber Hart resides on theFlorida coastline with family and a plethora of animals she affectionatelyrefers to as her urban farm. When unable to find a book, she can be foundwriting, daydreaming, or with her toes in the sand. She’s the author ofthe Before & After series and the Untamed series. Rep’d byStacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group.