The Lovely Reckless
Written by Kami Garcia
Narrated by Cynthia Hopkins
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
From New York Times best-selling author Kami Garcia, a contemporary romance full of loss, love, and redemption.
She used to care about being the good girl.
Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend's death, Frankie Devereux lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. But she crosses the line with a reckless choice that forces her to move in with her dad—an overprotective cop—and transfer to a new school. When Frankie meets Marco, a tough street racer who is risking everything for his family, things get complicated.
He wasn't always the bad boy.
Everyone says Marco Leone is trouble. But at Frankie's new school, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football, Marco is also the fastest (and hottest) guy around. As their attraction grows, Frankie can't seem to stay away from him—until she discovers Marco's dangerous secret.
Your own heart will race in every chapter of this heart-stopping star-crossed love story.
An Imprint Book
Kami Garcia
Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and international bestselling author and comic book writer, and an award-winning young adult novelist. Her best-known works include Beautiful Creatures, Unbreakable, and Teen Titans: Raven. Kami was a teacher and reading specialist for seventeen years before co-writing her first novel. Kami lives in Maryland with her family and their dogs, Spike and Oz.
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Reviews for The Lovely Reckless
38 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frankie Devereux is having a hard year. She was present when her boyfriend Noah was beaten to death outside a popular club but suffers from PTSD and can't remember the face of the person who beat him. She has changed from a good student, excellent pianist, and future Stanford student to a girl who doesn't care about anything and is reckless.After being charged with a DUI, she is moved from her mother's home in the rich part of town where she lived with her socialite mother and despised step-father to her father's home in a poorer part of town. Her father is an undercover cop whose job is to track down car thieves and a carjacking ring. He is a black and white thinker who hasn't had much contact with his daughter.Frankie finds herself at a new school where she meets Marco Leone who has a bad reputation. They fall in love despite many challenges.I liked this story a lot. I loved the emotional intensity and the depiction of Frankie's grief and her determination to live her life her own way. I loved Marco and thought he made a great romantic partner for Frankie.I found many parts of this book similar to Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits series. This would be a great book to pass along to students who loved those.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankie Devereux wants to start over. Dealing with PTSD from watching her boyfriend’s murder, she makes more and more irresponsible choices until she is forced to move in with her undercover-cop father for her senior year. For Frankie, nothing matters. Until she meets Marco, a street racer and all-around bad boy. He’s irresistible and ignites a new passion in Frankie. But when she discovers Marco’s secrets, it threatens to tear them apart. The Lovely Reckless is a short, straightforward read that meets the stereotypes of YA romance. The novel deals with teen issues but touches on heavier topics like drinking, drug use, crime, and sex. Recommended for grades 10 and up.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5“Our heart is like an unfinished puzzle-that is why we search for the perfect one to complete it.”This has been on my shelf forever, and I have been putting it off since it was so hyped in the book world. When I finally started it, I was so upset that I did not grab for it earlier. I have really been disappointed in the YA books I have read lately, so I was excited that this was pulling me in. I was intrigued from the first paragraph and was excited to see where this story would go. This has a little bit of suspense as you wonder what happened to Noah as Frankie deals with his loss and what she could not do to save him. She has flashbacks of his murder and is dealing with PTSD. She is making reckless decisions which leads her to Marco.I loved the relationship between Marco and Frankie. I also liked the friendships and other relationship within the story. I was not expecting this to involve street racing. I guess I missed that part when hearing others reviews. I think it brought a Fast and Furious feel but with teens. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.I also really enjoyed the writing. There were so many quotes and passages that I wanted to underline or use during my review. I am excited to see some other work by the author.Overall, I really enjoyed this!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lovely Reckless was an addicting and exciting read. Kami Garcia has delivered a real page turner! On the ARC so many authors blurbed and praised this book, and I can definitely see why. I expect it will be a major fall release.
I loved the mystery, the family and friend dynamics, and the characters. Frankie, who just witnessed the murder of her boyfriend, is having a tough time adjusting after the tragedy. She can't even remember his murderer. On the day of his funeral, she's caught drunk driving. From then forth she's sent to live with her dad, who's a cop, on the rough side of town. It's a very different life than her previous school and community in the Heights.
That's when the real excitement starts. Frankie gets mixed up with street racing, criminals, and new tough best friends (I loved Cruz. She was awesome.) Garcia also points out how a lot of these "rough" kids have tough backgrounds... and that their situations are hard, and sometimes impossible, to get out of.
My only complaint: the insta-love. I really liked both characters separately. However, as a couple, Frankie and Marco exchanged the "I love you"s too fast in my opinion. We were told as readers how much they loved each other, but I couldn't quite see it yet. The classic case of show not tell!
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. Yes, the drama was fun and addicting; but, Garcia also put in a lot of depth and made some good points. Also the "rougher" setting (the Downs) was fun and different. I am so glad I picked The Lovely Reckless up!