Review: Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: The Dead List 

Author:  Jennifer L. Arementrout
Publisher: Jennifer L. Arementrout

Publishing Date: April 25th, 2017

Pages: 316
Genre: YA Thriller

Series:  Stand Alone
Source: Kindle

 

It's Ella's senior year of high school and she and her best friend Linds plan to make it the best year ever. At Brock Cochran's end of summer pool party, the girls vow to have as much fun as possible before they head off to different colleges next fall. But when Ella is mysteriously attacked on her way home from the party, everything changes. Ella's carefree senior year plans disintegrate as she finds herself at the center of an attempted murder investigation.

Ella tries to move on, but her attacker isn't done yet. He shows himself in the form of horrifying signs and symbols: a clown mask strewn on her bed, a dead bird in her backpack, a shadow moving past her window in the night. And as the weeks pass, it turns out that Ella isn't the only one being tormented.

With the help of an old flame, Jensen Carver, and her friends and family, Ella tries to attain some sense of normalcy, but she can't seem to shake the feeling that there's a dark pattern hidden in the killer's every move. Suddenly, even those in her innermost circle seem suspicious. In her seemingly safe West Virginia town, Ella starts to wonder who she can trust.

I found this book on Amazon when I was sifting through some kindle books. I knew I loved the Lux Series by this author so I wanted to give this a try. Totally different type of book but I love thrillers too. So I picked it up on kindle then forgot about it. Recently realized it's on my kindle and I have not read it. It fit a challenge of mine so I dug in. I finished this in one sitting, stayed up late to finish it. I have not done that in years. This book was so freaking amazing. I loved the characters and the writing and the romance and even the thrilling parts. It was so so good. 

Ella, Jensen, Gavin, and Penn grew up together. Best friends. At some point in junior high, things went bad and the friends were no more. Except for Ella and Gavin who ended up dating and breaking up but still remained friends. Jensen left town for a bit and then came back but wasn't friends with the group anymore. That was until Ella is attacked, Jensen finds her and this starts a series of events, friendships, romances, danger, and so much more. Someone is killing in the town, the same someone that attacked Ella. Jensen takes it upon himself to help Ella figure the mess out and keep Ella safe, at least try and keep Ella safe. The town and Ella are in trouble. 

I am pretty sure I will read and love anything by this author. Oh how I love the way she writes chractes, stories, and romance. I can't help but fall in love with her books. I am not sure how she does it but she rocks. I can't pin point what it is about her writing that makes me love her stories most. The characrters are developed so well, I feel I know them personally and have spent my entire life with them. The romance which is always a sizzle, steamy, swoony, and so so sweet. The banter. Oh how I love the banter she has with her characters. The writing. So easy and so seamless. It's all just good. I think she could write a book about the sales clerk that sold her mismatched socks and I would read it. 

So I will start withe characters, since characters are my favorite in any story. Ella is smart and has a good head on her shoulders most of the time. She went through something tragic in middle school and now again as a senior in high school. She sometimes gets lost in her own head and doesn't always think logically about what is going on around her or the people around her. I think she jumps to conclusions quite often but I got her. I understood her and I really loved her. 

Jensen. Now that is a boy that is worth having around. He is so charming. So sweet. So thoughful. So brave. So quick. He is all the good things a girl needs in her life. Most of the time I was laughing and smiling every time he had a scene. Which was half the book. He really made Ella a better person and vice versa. 

The romance was so sweet. They were childhood friends, distant ex friends, reconnecting becuase of Ella's attack, and then it just became more. They were good together, fit right together, truly each other's other half. Loved it. 

The story was good. The writing makes the story good. I mean it felt like a normal thriller, horrror, stalker, murder spree kind of book. But the mystery wasn't what the book was for me. It was more Ella and Jensen's story, however... I didn't figure it out til the end. So the mystery was good. The book had some creepy scenese. So it was all good. 

I just loved it. Can't say enough to express my love for this book. It was a late nighter for me... I just couldn't put it down. 

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.
She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.