Review Detail

It all started when Maddie Diaz took a shortcut through the park, something that should have had her home safe in no time. Instead she witnessed a murder of a homeless man by two gang members and she's the only witness. Talking to the police and helping put them murderers behind bars paints a huge target on her back but when the Reyes gang comes for revenge, Maddie is saved by the mysterious Lobo, the leader of a rival gang who's determined to end the Reyes. Maddie finds herself falling for him, which just may put her in more danger.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. There was a lot of action, interesting characters, and it was pretty fast-paced.

I liked Maddie as a character. I liked that she refused to let the gang members go free after the murder even though talking to the police put her in danger. I really liked that she wasn't a pushover. She could be very go-with-the-flow when it came to her friends, especially her best friend Iz, but when she needed to, she would stand up for herself. Her interactions with her mother were great. Maddie got a lot of freedom to stay out late or party as long as she was responsible but if she screwed up, she had to face the consequences and I liked that. I also enjoyed the cute flirty moments between Maddie and corner store clerk Ortiz. So cute. And the banter between Maddie and co-worker Manny, they could be funny together.

I liked the chemistry between Maddie and Lobo but I do wish the romance had been a little slower paced. It was a little too instant for me, especially considering the extreme danger Maddie was putting herself in by getting involved with a gang leader without a second thought. The mystery of Lobo's identity was also predictable for me.

There was some violence, as to be expected with the murder and gang story lines, but it wasn't overly graphic. The suspense was there but not to the point where I was holding my breath waiting to see what would happen, more like I was pretty sure what was going to happen and I was waiting to see if I was right. There was also one major thing that kept throwing me off. Early on Maddie mentioned losing her phone at the park during the murder and not getting it back and yet she kept mentioning texting her friends after losing the phone. So did she end up getting hers back somehow? Did she use someone else's? How was it happening? That kept popping into my head every time she used a cell phone so it took me out of the reading zone.