Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Review of Toxic (Ruin #2) by Rachel Van Dyken

Synopsis: Everyone has a secret...
Gabe Hyde is on borrowed time. He's been hiding his identity for over four years-hidden from the world that used to adore him--obsess over him--driven to the edge of insanity by one poor choice.
But that one choice, altered the course of his life forever.
Pretending isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when pretending means hiding your real self from the people that care about you the most. But if anyone ever discovered the truth it wouldn't just be his life at risk--but hers.

Saylor doesn't hate men.
Just Gabe.
Only Gabe.
He's a reckless, happy-go-lucky, silver spoon fed pain in her ass. Everything about him makes her more and more confused. Unfortunately they both donate time at the same Group Home. If she wasn't afraid of flunking, she'd be long gone. She hates that she's attracted to him almost as much as he hates that he's attracted to her--and she can tell, especially since their first encounter ended up making her knees so weak she couldn't form coherent sentences for weeks afterwards. But the closer she gets to him, the more confused she becomes. He isn't who he says he is, and he's hiding something big.

What happen when two worlds collide? Two worlds that never should have met in the first place? Some secrets are too big to be hidden forever--the only question? Will his destroy everyone he loves? Or finally bring about the redemption he's been craving for the past four years?

Everyone has a secret...What's yours?

4.5 Stars!

Review: Wow. Secrets is the word that definitely captures Saylor's and Gabe story. Well, that and heartbreak. Gabe was such a big part of Wes and Kiersten's story, so I was already rooting for him to get his life sorted out and be able to be happy. Even from their story, you could tell that he was carrying around a big burden, and he had a lot of guilt that he seemed to be dealing with. When Wes was in the hospital, Gabe even made the comment that he wished it was him, rather than Wes, because he deserved it. So, I knew that I was in for something heavy with Gabe. 


Heavy is definitely the weight of the burden that Gabe carries. He made some bad choices in his past, and they impacted, not only his life, but someone else's life, as well - and he is still paying the price for that. Saylor, however, is just trying to keep her head down and her life focused on her goal - which is to make it through college and help her mom out. 

Saylor comes across Gabe letting off some steam in a music practice room. She spies on him after she hears the amazing talent that he has, and, in anger, he lashes out at her and kisses her. What begins is a definite hate, hate relationship for a while. Saylor is constantly thrown in Gabe's path, however, and he continues to try to push her away. There were a few things that I had trouble seeing past, with this, however. Gabe was an absolute douche to Saylor, and she would almost seem to have amnesia of some of the things he did or said. I don't know many girls that can completely over look things, yet she seemed to be completely unfazed by things, at times. I don't want to detract from their overall story, however, as they were both instrumental in either healing the other or just...opening the other up to the world, at large. 

I am starting to see a theme, however, of a girl that is scared and closed off to the world, and a super rich, attractive guy that comes along and saves her, after she, of course, also helps him overcome something important in life. I don't want that to be the only theme in these stories, but it is definitely there in both of these books, so far. Gabe's story is worth a read, however!

Jessica

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