Book Review: Hooked, Carrie Thomas

Title: Hooked
Author: Carrie Thomas
Published: 12/11/2015, Blue Tulip Publishing
Pages: 229
Source: Netgalley
Format: Ebook
Rating: 2/5
Millie Diamond is your typical high school senior. She has great parents, a younger brother, and two best friends who round out her better than average life. Her future is planned out, thanks to her police officer father, who strictly enforces the rules with a firm, but loving hand. Millie is a kind-hearted soul and proper daughter who respects her dad's authority... until she meets a mysterious new student who stirs emotions in her she's never felt before.

A drug deal gone bad in South Boston, leave Cash Davis' mother no choice but to move him to Tennessee. His life hasn't been easy, but Cash is tough, and plans on making his future better than his past. Those plans include keeping his head down and finishing high school... but nothing ever comes easy for Cash. His connection with Millie surprises him, and as hard as he tries, he can't stay away from her.

Millie's dad arresting him before their first date is definitely not ideal for Cash, and it causes friction between Millie and her parents. Can Millie convince her parents that Cash is the guy for her? Will she still want to after secrets from his past are revealed?

Hooked is an average teenage love story that, although not very unique, did have me hooked despite its flaws (and I found a lot of those). It was honestly unputdownable. I felt Hooked was a quick and fun read with just enough angst.

The main characters Millie and Cash were likeable enough, but I wouldn't say they were memorable. (I must ask, though... is Cash a common name in America? It's a very unusual one!) Millie is a very sweet girl who is a bit of a goody-two-shoes. She doesn't like to get in trouble because of her dad. However, I was a bit annoyed with her to start with - she's one of those girls who look in the mirror and describes themselves as being plain when in fact everyone thinks she's gorgeous. I also found that she repeats herself a lot and explains the same thing multiple times! The reason behind her brother's nickname for her, for instance.

Cash is an odd one, for me. A lot of the time I really liked him, but then again, a lot of the time he was a major asshole. He is always on edge and becomes very protective of Millie very quickly. To the extent where he tries to beat up any guy who so much as talks to Millie the wrong way. I also felt he was quite controlling in a way too.

Hooked is told from Millie's point of view and, to be honest, I found the writing quite immature, even disjointed at times. I also found the story very predictable. I just knew what would happen as soon as Cash opened up to Millie. I also didn't find the twist as dramatic as it should have been. I should have been on the edge of my seat and I definitely wasn't.

I would also say that the pace of the plot was a bit messy. There was a huge variance in how much time would pass. For instance, a few months could last a few paragraphs or half the book. There was no in between. However, all the plot points did tie up nicely and it was a nice ending to Cash and Millie's story. There were no unanswered questions, really.

Hooked, as I have said, was an average contemporary YA romance that, in all honesty, would have been one hundred times better with a little bit of polishing. I did enjoy reading Hooked, though, and despite its flaws, I couldn't put it down. It's just not the best books I've read and I really don't know if I would recommend Hooked. If it really seems like a book you'd enjoy then, sure, give it a whirl.

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