Review: Burned

Burned by Elisa Dane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Perception is everything to sixteen-year-old Olivia Brown. With her freakishly hot boyfriend, volunteer work at the local animal shelter, successful beauty channel on YouTube, and well-earned spot on X Factor Cheer's elite level five Diamond Girl team, Livvie's the girl every other girl wants to be. At least, that's the illusion she's aiming for. 

But Livvie's seemingly perfect life is anything but. Lying about the bruises her boyfriend gives her, and cowering beneath his raging temper becomes a regular way of life until she unwittingly witnesses her drunken neighbor beating his step-son, the town bad boy, Reid Tate.

For Reid, vulnerability is the enemy. Opening up, and letting people in gives them the power to disappoint. Growing up with a co-dependent mother and an abusive alcoholic father, Reid has endured all the disappointment he can stomach. 

But when his pretty, do-good neighbor witnesses his step-dad beat him to within an inch of his life, and not only call the cops, but keeps quiet at school about what she saw, Reid wonders if maybe, just maybe, he's found someone he can finally trust.

Previously published under the title Unbreakable

My Thoughts:

This book is a heartbreaking story about a young girl who witnesses the abuse of someone else and finally starts to see the parallels with her own relationship. Although this book is a work of fiction, it is right on the mark about abusers and how dangerous they can be. Every young girl (or even grown women) should read this book. I did not read book 1 but I was able to jump in and read this book without feeling like I was missing something. I loved the characters (well, most of them) and the plot pulls the reader in and won't let go until the end. I will definitely be looking for more in this series.

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