Bittersweet Wreckage Review

Bittersweet Wreckage by Erin Richards

Her dad wasn't supposed to die.

He wasn't supposed to have a second family, and her mom wasn't supposed to slip into a prescription drug haze.

And she definitely wasn't supposed to kiss her new "half-brother."

Ivy Lynwood has spent her life under the oppressive thumb of her abusive father. When the impossible happens, and he's found dead in a boat fire, Ivy thinks her life may finally be turning around. 

But her newfound freedom is short-lived; just as she and her mother start to move on, they learn that Ivy's father had a second family--whose mother also died in the boat fire.

Child Services asks Ivy's mother to take in the orphaned teenagers, and her life spirals even further out of control. Her mother disappears into a drugged la-la land, leaving Ivy to clean up the pieces... while clues of her mother's guilt in the fire stack up. 

And for the first time, Ivy falls in love... with the son of her father's dead mistress. Even though Ivy and Jesse are unrelated, he's off limits when he moves in with the Lynwoods. Ivy knows she'll never have the normal family she dreamed of--but can she manage to turn the wreck of her life into any family at all? 

First Thoughts

I was so excited to read this book, after I received it from the author, it sounded like a book I could get lost in. (In a good way) I thought it was going to be a book that I would feel like I was the main character, one I could cry with, one I could smile with, and one I could swoon with. However it didn't really turn out that way. This is my honest review of this book.

Review

So the book doesn't have the most interesting start, its just a bit of a back story, it is useful to know for the rest of the book though. The father, I feel like his character could be a bit more developed, or portrayed better. Other than that I loved the way Ivy and her mother's relationship was portrayed, and how Ivy explained, or commentated her mothers "drugged la-la land."

SPOILET ALERT: Now the other big problem I had was with Jesse, and Ivy's relationship. At some points it did feel really weird, I don't know if it was the way it was written, or what other characters had said, but it made me feel weird for reading it. 

Overall I liked this book, I probably wouldn't read it again but that's just me. Before you read this book you should know there is one "intimate" scene that has some describing parts.

Rating

This book is suitable for mature YA readers ages 13 and up.

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