This young adult body-swap thriller was so fast paced and suspenseful! I was hooked from the very beginning & stayed engrossed in the story throughout the whole book! I loved that the mystery wasn’t easily predictable and that I had no idea the turns it would take. I cared about the characters! This does have a little bit of romance, but not so much that it takes over the story and distracts from the mystery. I was in a terrible reading slump when I started this book. No book I picked up could keep my attention. But when I started this, the fast pace & intrigue pulled me right out of that slump! 

I also appreciated how this story didn’t ignore the realities of being a Black person in thriller-genre situations and how there are very few safe options for us in instances like these. In thrillers by white authors we know that when the cops come, the day is saved. Or that people will actually believe those characters when they tell a person of authority the truth. That is not the case for us. And I really appreciate that this book touched on that and how we have to take things into our own hands to make sure that we keep ourselves and each other safe.

I did want to mention something that I didn’t like really quick. There was a point in this book where a character says “I don’t have the spoons for this.” I’m not sure if the author is aware, but the term “spoons” in this context is specifically used for the disabled community when pain or illness keeps us from being able to do the activities that we want or need to do. This term isn’t synonymous with the word “tired” or having “low energy”. It’s specifically for the chronic pain &  chronically ill community. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book because I feel like the author really probably doesn’t know. But I just want to address it so that the term doesn’t get misused.

I received a free early e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Balzer + Bray and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: child abuse, parental death, foster care