Dangerous Lies

Title: Dangerous Lies

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller

Number of Pages: 384

Publication Date: November 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary: Stella Gordon's life is a lie. 

She does not belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska. As the key witness in a murder trial, Stella is under witness protection, living a life she doesn't want.

No on can know who she really is. Not even Chet Falconer, her hot, enigmatic neighbour. But against her better judgement, Stella finds herself falling under Chet's spell.

Becca Fitzpatrick is one of my favourite young adult authors. She writes fast paced books that you have to read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. The characters and situations they find themselves in, suck you in from page one and don't spit you out until you are well after the last page.

One of the things that I loved the most about this book was the idea of who you are and what your identity is. Fitzpatrick created a believable and heart wrenching situation in which Stella is forced to come to terms with the fact that who she really is, is someone she can't be. The emotional strain of having to lie and be someone else when all you want to be is yourself.

I loved Stella as a character, especially because she is not your typical main character. Many authors write characters that are strong and unbreakable, great heroes and heroines. Fitzpatrick writes characters who could be anyone...you, your neighbour, the guy who walks his dog down your street every day. Rather than creating a character who is strong and guaranteed to come out on top because of all the special skills they pertain, Stella is an everyday average person, who when put in a difficult situation has to hope that she comes out the other side with the help of others and perhaps a little dumb luck. 

My only disappointment in this entire book was that I wanted more about the murder Stella witnessed. I wanted more of the thriller side of Dangerous Lies. (Spoiler ahead) I wanted to hear more about Reed and if the cartel caught up with him? Was Reed really involved or was Trigger just being Trigger?

Like with the rest of Becca Fitzpatrick's books Dangerous Lies is very focused on the romance of the characters. The thing that I love the most about the romances that Fitzpatrick creates is that the characters always have a strong connection. Their isn't just some smouldering romance with no real substance - Stella and Chet are good friends, they talk and listen to each other and support one another. So many authors write romances that are based almost entirely off attraction and have no mutual ground that make them cheesy and unbelievable. Stella and Chet contain flaws and are far from perfect characters but this just makes them believable and real.