The Lovely Reckless

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Author(s)

Kami Garcia

Publisher

Imprint

Genre(s)

Age Range

13+

Release Date

October 04, 2016

ISBN

9781250079190

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Seventeen year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad―an undercover cop. She transfers to public school in the Downs, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football. Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him…and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart? Your own heart will race with each page turn of this heart-stopping star-crossed love story.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Intense and Crazy Addictive

January 25, 2017 (Updated: January 29, 2017)

Overall rating

4.0

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Kami Garcia has done it again! This book is every bit as addictive as all her other ones, and yet something completely new.

You’re probably going to look at this cover, then read the synopsis and automatically think: romance, all romance. That’s what I was honestly expecting, but I found the romance didn’t compare to Frankie’s struggle in rebuilding her life.

It started off a couple months after the death of Frankie’s boyfriend and childhood friend, Noah. Noah's death not only was tragic because he was a promising athlete, but also because he was brutally murdered- and in front of Frankie. She’s traumatized, grieving, angry, and clearly isn’t letting anyone be there for her.. which leads her to make some questionable decisions..which means:

1. She’s expelled from her elite private school.
2. She’s moving in with the dad she barely knows.
3. She’s transferring to Monroe, the public school with a bad rep.

There she meets Marco, aka a bad-boy player, and an infamous street racer.

“Dark eyes lock on mine. I stop breathing for a second. Guys at Woodley don’t look like this- rough, inked, and muscular. His hair sticks up in the front like he started spiking it and lost interest halfway through the process.”

Marco was instantly intrigued with Frankie when he first saw her at his school and it moved quickly from there. This is probably the only aspect of the story which I felt something lacking. Marco was a very interesting character, but not a lot of depth was provided. I still enjoyed his character overall, but I felt like his side of the story or at least some of his opinions would’ve been nice to read.

Besides that, I liked:

Lexie, Frankie’s best friend. I loved her boldness, ability to see humor in even the worst things, and her unfaltering loyalty towards Frankie. Frankie was not the greatest friend [understandably due to her personal struggles], but Lexie always came when she was needed and was honest with her.

CRUUUUZ. I want a spin-off of her story, to be honest. She is so unapologetically confident and honest. I loved her charm and how she never let anyone think she was anything less than the best.

Kami’s writing style!!! Even with the some issues I should’ve had with this book… I. Could. Not. Stop. Reading. Everything just flowed so perfectly that I read it all in one sitting!

Final thoughts?

The Lovely Reckless is crazy addictive. I can’t think of anyone wouldn’t completely devour this book in a day or two. It’s intense, fast-paced, with lovable characters, and something a bit different! Highly recommend to all!

Rose Tomasto, Staff Reviewer Top 100 Reviewer 59 reviews

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User reviews

2 reviews

Overall rating

4.2

Plot

4.0(2)

Characters

4.0(2)

Writing Style

4.5(2)

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Fast-paced and thrilling!

October 04, 2021

Overall rating

5.0

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I really liked reading The Lovely Reckless. It was fast-paced, thrilling and the characters were really interesting.
I liked the plot that was really captivating and well written. And the street racing was definitely fun to read.
Frankie and Marco really seemed to click. And I liked Sofia too.
A great read that I was unable to put down!

Fay Tannerr Top 50 Reviewer 243 reviews

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A Good Read

February 15, 2017

Overall rating

3.3

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Frankie's life has turned upside down since seeing her boyfriend killed. She can't remember who did it and she can't seem to move on as the same girl. She's suffering PTSD and all her mother seems to care about is herself. Until Frankie gets a DUI.

She moves in with her dad, she goes to a new school. Her whole life changes even more. She then meets Marco, he falls for her super fast but it takes her a wee bit longer. But she gets caught up in street racing, and then with Marco. It all gets worse.

Her dad tells her to stay away from him as he's a bad kid. She doesn't listen, her father uses her to nab him and take him in to the police. Her father is an undercover cop and then he gives her the deal of breaking it off with him and he'll let Marco go. So she does...

It's not good for him, he goes insane after that, drinking and lashing out at a friend all for losing a girl? Ugh. They fall in love way too fast if you ask me. Their relationship is cute and the ending was wrapped up so perfectly.

This book just feels like a surface book to me. It's a fast paced read, never boring. It just feels like it could have been deeper. This book could have been so much better in my opinion. It's not bad by any means, I still enjoyed it, I just... with all the hype, I just expected more.

This is one of those cases where the hype was bad for the book, at least in my opinion.