Book Title: Love Her Madly
Author: M. Elizabeth Lee
Series: None
Genres: Mystery, Drama, Thriller, Contemporary Fiction
Goodreads

Date Read: 10/26/16
Pub Date: 08/16/16

3.5 STARS

Glo never thought she’d become best friends with a girl like Cyn. Blonde, blue-eyed, and stunningly gorgeous, Cyn is the kind of girl other girls love to hate. Yet Cyn is the only person who embraces Glo when she transfers to their tiny liberal arts college in Florida, looking for a second chance to get things right after falling apart at her first-choice school. With her dark sense of humor and bad-girl ways, Cyn is captivating to a nice girl like Glo, and soon they’re inseparable.

Until they both fall for the same guy.

It’s Cyn who suggests they share Raj. Half the time he’ll be Cyn’s boyfriend, the other half he’ll be Glo’s. And for a while, everything goes smoothly. Until Glo realizes that she doesn’t know Cyn or Raj half as well as she thinks. Until Glo and Cyn’s friendship implodes while they’re studying abroad in Costa Rica. Until Cyn disappears one night, setting off a media firestorm and leaving Glo in the dark for seven long years.

Until Cyn resurfaces.

This book could almost be reviewed in two parts; part one which sets the stage for a time jump into part two, and the second act which I would consider “present time”. The cover grabbed me from the beginning and I knew this would be an intriguing read. Part one was quite literally flawless; I’m hard pressed to find a single complaint. Part two was where I found a few issues, but over all this was a fast paced read that sucked me in. I rated this 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 on Goodreads because I felt it was closer to a 4 than 3 if that tells you anything. If you are in a reading slump and need something that you can speed through at breakneck speed this is a fabulous choice!

The characters were well written and I found myself completely wrapped up in their drama in part one. I was fascinated by their choices and why things happened the way that they did. We really get a feel for the backstory and you could look at it as a long intro leading to the flesh of the story. I know that sounds bizarre, but it wasn’t off-putting at all and truly worked in the best way possible. Once we got to part two, we finally get to hear a bit from Raj, but unfortunately after Cyn returns we don’t get to hear anything from her character’s POV. This was one part that I felt could have improved the story; I think most people would be curious to find out what she was thinking, but I respect the author’s choice not to include that. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending; there was quite a bit left open but it was, again, very well-written and just a personal preference of mine.

I’m really glad that author contacted me about reading this one as it was a fantastic addition to my fall reading material! Lee clearly has immense talent and I am truly looking forward to what she chooses to write next. I could really see her writing romantic suspense in a crime fiction/police procedural setting and knocking it out of the park, but we’ll see what her plans are. Waiting on pins and needles! If you are looking for a read you can breeze through while curled up next to a roaring fire with a cup of hot cocoa, give this a go!

*Many thanks to the author and Atria Books for providing my copy via NetGalley; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.