The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors Series: The Lonesome Young #1
Published by Razorbill on April 8, 2014
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 336
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Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo & Juliet meets Justified.
WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?
The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.
IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .
And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.
Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.
. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.
The 411:
“I can’t make that decision for you, Victoria. I can’t tell you what to do, and I wouldn’t even try. But I can tell you that the only thing in the world that makes sense to me right now is you and me.”
What We Loved:
The idea for this story is pretty good, but we feel like it got caught up in all the drama. We wonder if this was originally pitched as one book and stretched out into a series. There is so much back and forth, so much drama, so much “let’s figure out a way to be together.” It’s too much! This would actually make a great TV show because it is so drawn out.
We liked Mickey and Ethan. And the cover is pretty sweet.
Um...Not So Much:
So, we have the comparison to Romeo and Juliet, and we guess we can see it–she’s rich and a good girl and he’s from the total wrong side of the tracks. Small town politics plays a huge roll here and it seems that everyone is on one side or the other. But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends, and we wouldn’t categorize every story with a forbidden love aspect as Romeo and Juliet-esque, even if their families are fighting. But maybe that’s just us.
Also, most of the characters in this story are a total joke. Victoria’s parents are worse than ridiculous, and the way they deal with her sister is horrendous. And we’re not even mentioning the Baron.
The Boys:
“I don’t know how to be myself around you,” I muttered. The lame-ass confession made me wince even as I said it. “You don’t make sense. I barely know you, but I want to know everything about you. You’re smart and gorgeous, and you make my skin too tight.”
“The face of an angel, the soul of a poet, and the fists of a fighter. I don’t know how to understand you, Mickey.”
“You knew I wasn’t a virgin, Princess. I can’t rewrite history just because I finally found you.”
He was gorgeous: tall, dark, and definitely dangerous. The gleam in his bright blue eyes told me he wasn’t used to anybody defying him, and his sculpted cheekbones and long, lean body told me that most girls wouldn’t even want to try.
The Girls:
Victoria is sassy, and I liked that about her. She’s okay through most of the book, but then at the end she does something–or rather, reacts a certain way that makes us hate her. She’s so ughhh, we seriously wanted Mickey to just be done with her.
For real.
There were some other girls, like Victoria’s sister and a few friends at school, but we don’t think they’re really worth mentioning. We want to talk about Anna Mae, but we can’t without spoiling everything. But wow! She’s a piece of work.
What We Think Will Happen Next:
We have no idea what will happen next. We’re just hoping that at the very least Mickey and Victoria are crazy about each other and are finished with the hot and cold.
Bottom Line:
Verdict:
| Rating Report | |
|---|---|
| Cover |  |
| Characters |  |
| Plot | |
| Writing | |
| Swoon | |
| Overall: | 2.5 |
DUDE! I’ve been hearing pretty much the same verdict from most of the early readers. *sad face* This WAS one of my most anticipated books of 2014 but it’s been sinking down the list, as of late. I adore R+J action. A lot of the re-tellings (Like the one called WHEN YOU WERE MINE *ohmigod LOVE*) are just gorgeous. But, me being me, I adore any Shakespeare retelling. Or Greek, for that matter.
Lovely review!
Jackie
Thanks Jackie! I actually liked WHEN YOU WERE MINE, but not really as a retelling. When I took myself out of the Romeo/Juliet aspect of it, the story was good. But comparing it just didn’t do it for me! I definitely want to read more retellings, though!! xo