Description

Rule #1: Don't talk to strangers.Rule #2: Never leave the house.Rule #3: Keep quiet and stay out of sight.When Price moved in next door, Kylee couldn't wait to meet him. Finally, someone she could talk to without breaking her stepfather's rule of not leaving the house.But when she meets Price, he convinces her everything around her is a lie. He gives her the courage to follow her heart . . . even if it means losing her life.

Community Reviews(3)

SaiphRoyal Road

★★★★★ 5.0

Very much quintessential YA as another reviewer has said. It's cute, it's cozy, it's an easy read with a compelling mystery and just enough darkness.
I did click to the first twist pretty early but it made reading all the more interesting because the author has obviously planned this well and paid attention to detail so they managed to have everything make sense without anything being explicitly revealed.
There are a lot of little details that bring the characters and story to life and make them feel real. Even though everything is from Kylee's perspective it still feels like Price has his own story too and indeed I found out after the author has written a version of this story from his perspective.
The only criticism I have is the images at the end of each chapter. I like the idea but didn't feel like the style quite fit. I think they'd work better more in the style that the cover is in. May just be my personal preference though.

terrapinRoyal Road

★★★★★ 5.0

…and I mean the good kind of YA, to be clear. The kind of book that you pick when you’ve just started to habitually go to the teen section of the library to browse instead of the kids’ section, because it looks serious and grown-up but accessible, and it’s not trying too hard to be exciting. And you stay up until 1am with a flashlight to finish it and find yourself glad, because it means that you can hold onto the magic of the story you just read as you drift off to sleep instead of contaminating it with chores or another book or homework. And then a couple years later you read it again and find new facets of the story that you didn’t get when you were younger, as if the book grew up with you.
It does deal (very thoughtfully) with mature themes—specifically domestic violence and self-harm. So far the first chapter is about as bad as it gets throughout the story; if this is something you’ve a low tolerance for then the first chapter should be a good litmus test.
Often in reviews I like to add a little synopsis to supplement the one given by the author so prospective readers can know more about what they’re getting into. In this case I feel that the author’s synopsis is great and that adding anything to it would probably be detrimental. Moving on...
Style: 4.5/5
The first few chapters have a slow reveal that is executed very well, I thought. The prose is pretty straightforward; there isn’t much description, but if anything this adds to the bleak tone of the story. And by RR standards, the writing complexity is probably a bit above average. Half a star subtracted for the artwork at the end of most chapters—I usually don’t like images in books and besides these are very inconsistent in style. Sure I can skip over them, but this way I have an excuse to ding the style and make it clear I’m not blindly giving 5 stars to everything.
Story: 5/5
It’s what the cool kids these days call “slow-burn.” But in the sense that each day of the characters’ lives is significant enough t

zwanRoyal Road

★★★★★ 5.0

Excellent writing. This story has a way of gripping you and not letting go. The characters are well fleshed out, and you are shown things, not just told about them. If I had to compare it with anything else as to how it feels, I would say it has strong Prince of Thorns vibes, even though it has a completely different (and less gory) setting and genre.
Recommended.

Down to Rest

Community Rating

Description

Information

Tags

Royal Road Stats

Chapters(50 total)

Reviews

Community Reviews(3)