We place our trust in the ones we love,
and sometimes those circumstances have the most hurtful outcomes.
Confessions About Colton is another E-Arc NetGalley kindly sent me, written by Olivia Harvard. This time it’s a young adult contemporary thriller that is going to hit the shelves on the 5th of March, 2020 and let me tell you: I am beyond excited for this new release. I can’t wait to put my hands on the finished copy because this novel is absolutely stunning (even if now I’m in doubt… Can you define a thriller stunning? I hope so, because this definitely is).
So. Back to business.
This book is about Elliot, whose best friend disappeared one day, out of the blue. Everyone in the little town they are living think that Colton is dead, that he will never come back, that someone kidnapped him or that they’re going to find him dead because he just happened to choose the wrong group of people to hang out with. If it wasn’t for the fact that Colton come back. Alive. Suddenly. And he’s different from what Elliot remembers, more wary and scared, but also determined to not spill the tea over whatever happened to him, where he spent the past month, with whom.
Elliot life is meant to come back to normal, now that Colton is back, but one day he’s walking his dog on the river of the town’s lake and something floating in the water catches his attention. When he gets near, he discovers Colton, dead. From this moment on, Elliot’s life takes a twisted turn and a letter he finds in his jacket at his best friend’s funeral is what sets off a dangerous game that he decides to play in order to get answers. Because Colton would never disappear quietly. Colton would never leave him. Nor Lydia, his girlfriend, and yet…
I am not a fan of thrillers and horrors to be honest, but this book caught my attention almost immediately. I can’t say if it was the title, the cover or what (both of the covers, because they're gorgeous), but I just felt my hands itch with the need of having it and dive into its pages as fast as I could. I don’t usually understand the frightening elements, I’m not good at playing detective and these kind of books have grown out of my comfort zone as time passed by, but Confessions about Colton bewitched me. I was completely hooked, blown away from the very first chapter. I admit I was a bit distrustful when I first opened the E-Arc and found out it was another book from Wattpad, since I haven't been reading very good things ever since I joined the community, but the very first lines had my full attention and by the end of it I felt like I was reading a book by Giorgio Faletti, my favorite author when it comes to thrillers.
I’ll start by saying, underlining, that I loved this book. I loved reading it, I loved making up theories over the killer’s identity and I loved Elliot. Like, a lot. He’s one of the best characters I’ve met this year so far – and they’re not many. It was great and if I have to be completely honest with you, my dear reader, there was just one thing that didn’t really work for me and that made me give this book 4 out of 5 stars instead of the full mark, but we’ll get there in a minute. First, I need to praise, so get yourself ready and comfortable because this is about to become a very long chat.
Family is one of society's strongest creations. Secrets are one of humankind's infamous destroyers. Together, they counteract each other, and the only product is conflict. But there are resolutions, and it's never too late for them.
Olivia Harvard has a gorgeous writing style. I don’t honestly know if this is her first story or if this was the “lucky” one in her list that got published (my bad for not researching: I am a bit lazy and it doesn't matter because after this everything signed Olivia Harvard will be my precious), but whatever comes next for this lady, I hope is just a bunch of happy and satisfying things, a lot of success and praise, because she knows how to tell stories. She knows how to set up a mystery that not only keeps the reader hooked from the very beginning to the end, but also makes them feel everything, every single emotion coming from every single character. She already appears to have found her jam, she is totally aware of how her writing should be and how her story needs to be built and told. I loved the maturity that was shown in the paragraphs, I loved how deep and thoughtful her words were and how she managed to tell us about a young boy who’s grieving but whose life didn’t stop like Colton’s one, so there’s the worry for the future, the sadness and the rage for what happened to his best friend. There are families that need to find a new balance, there’s a bunch of things unsaid that are waiting to come out and Elliot comes to understand that Colton might have been his best friend, his chosen brother, but now that he’s gone and he feels like his world had just come crashing down on him leaving him all alone, there actually still are a lot of people who love him and want the best for him. People who can help him and have his back.
I loved the melancholic atmosphere that is strong since the very beginning, the kind of angst-y vibes that make you think you’re going to suffer through each and every word, and this is pretty much what happens here. That’s what makes a book a good one, for me. I loved the way this atmosphere changes around the characters, how Olivia is able to make it shift gradually, creating a climax and without giving away too much so that the reader can grow to understand the situation together with the characters. I loved how expertly she manages to build up suspense and hold on to it for dear life without making the reader feel suffocated or about to drown in too much pressure and tension.
I loved Elliot, the way he grieves, the way his relationships change with him and around him, the way he behaves and thinks – above all because in the most tense moments of the stories, he managed to make me smile – and his utter and unconditional dedication to Colton and his family, his memory. I loved how respectful this character ended up being despite all the acts that he commits, that might not necessarily be politically correct. I liked his integrity, his determination. I loved how caring he was with Lydia (at some point I hoped for a little bit of romance between the two, sorry) and how willing he was to push past his limits to give justice to a crime and rest to his best friend.
It was a hard path the one Elliot chose to follow. It was dreadful, it was full of messed up things and situations, it was dangerous, but it was also the right thing to do for his friend and for himself so he did it at his own risk (
The murder mystery was top-notch, it was gripping, it was creepy and it was… mysterious. Olivia gave us enough elements to doubt about every single character in her novel, to the point in which you might just wonder if the killer is Elliot himself. My bets where on two characters, but the actual killer was neither. I just want to say that this character ended up being the one I was joking about when I spoke about this novel with my friends. I didn’t expect something like that to happen, the point in which everything gets revealed, the ending itself… Everything came as a surprise. I didn’t know whether to laugh or to shout “WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK I BEG YOUR PARDON” in the middle of the bus. I kept my mouth shut, in case you’re wondering, because I couldn’t risk to be confined in an asylum for the rest of my days. Not yet.
I thought it was consistent, it was proceeding at the right pace and it was engaging enough for any reader, even the one that is doubtful regarding these stories, to be totally sucked in and kept there day and night. Believe me when I say that your mind won't go to sleep nor rest until you hit the last page.
The only downside of this whole book is the part in which Elliot goes to a near town to meet with somebody. That first actual meeting it felt a bit off and a bit redundant, with dialogues that didn’t feel natural and with a scheme of events that felt like the author needed to buy time for her characters, but didn’t know how to. That was the only thing that made me cringe a little, because the rest was perfect.
And I think that’s all folks. Once again, I loved this book so much it became one of my favorites ever. I can’t wait for it to hit the shelves and get my own copy to pass around to those poor souls who might have missed it. If you’re in doubt, if you don’t know what else to read, if you’re in a slump or in a bookish hungover, then go and pick up this book. It’s worth your time and the inevitable effort your mind will make to figure out who killed Colton and why. You’ll love it. You’ll be creeped out enough to get the author and ask for more of her stories and characters. Maybe even her shopping list, if you have the guts. If you’ve already read it, please let me know. I’d like to fangirl over this beauty with you.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and thanks if you choose to add this baby to your shelves.
Sam.
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