A Better Bad Idea by Laurie Devore
Release Date: March 16th, 2021
Publisher: Imprint
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 352
Cover Designer: Natalie C Sousa
Synopsis
Laurie Devore’s new YA novel is a searing look at a forgotten girl who has no good choices left, but one better bad idea . . .
Evelyn Peters is desperate. Desperate for a way out of McNair Falls, the dying southern town that’s held her captive since the day she was born. Desperate to protect her little sister from her mother’s terrifying and abusive boyfriend. And desperate to connect with anyone, even fallen golden boy Ashton Harper, longtime boyfriend of the girl Evelyn can never stop thinking about ― beautiful, volatile, tragically dead Reid Brewer.
Until a single night sends Evelyn and Ashton on a collision course that starts something neither of them can stop. With one struck match, their whole world goes up in flames. The only thing left to do is run―but leaving McNair Falls isn’t as easy as just putting distance between here and there and some secrets refuse to stay left behind.
A reckoning is coming . . . and not everyone is getting out alive.
Review
Thank you so much to Turn the Page Tours and author Laurie Devore for sending me a copy of this jaw-dropping book in exchange for an honest review. To check out the rest of the Tour Schedule please click here!
A Better Bad Idea surprised me in a so many ways. Devore’s writing being paired with these raw characters was just an amazing combination. The writing style is truly unique and the way the book’s timeline flows will have you anxious the entire time you are reading the book. BUT anxious in a good way!
Evelyn and Reid’s characters truly read like a teenager and their thoughts were sometimes erratic, but in all honestly my thought process was a lot like this growing up as well. I really related to their need to escape the life that they have been given. While I was reading I found myself comparing Reid and Evelyn to each other quite a lot even though they grew up and ended up in different circumstances. I find that this helped to bring A Better Bad Idea full circle and tie everything together in the end.
The plot of this book is so so good. I am not going to say a lot about it because I think going into the story with just the blurb is enough. But it has been a very long time since a contemporary book hit me this hard. I completely felt for these characters and the story Devore has written for them. Evelyn and Reid are going to be on my mind for a very long time.
The story’s setting being in South Carolina really hit a soft spot in my heart. I grew up in SC and I still live here today. Devore’s descriptions of the weather and scenery in SC is so spot on; it truly felt like I was in the story with Evie. It was very hard for me to come back from reading this book at times because reading about my home always makes me not want to put a book down. It is so clear that Devore put her heart into describing the setting for her story.
Overall, this book was truly a masterpiece and surprised me with every page.
Giveaway for (1) Physical Copy of A Better Bad Idea (US Only)
Meet the Author
Laurie Devore was born and raised in small town South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University. After four years in the balmy Midwest, she returned to her home in the south, where she now lives and works in Charleston. In her spare time, she reluctantly runs marathons, watches too much TV, and works a “y’all” into every conversation. She is the author of Winner Take All and How to Break a Boy.
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