Dawn Ius

Seventeen-year-old Jules Parish turned to stealing cars to try to get her sister out of foster care, but after she is caught, a wealthy eccentic offers a promising--but perilous--solution.

Overdrive

Sven Test

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I had to have it! By the time I started reading, I had forgotten what it was about, but didn't dare read the synopsis again as I wanted to be surprised. Let me tell you, as soon as I started reading I was hooked! I literally read this in one sitting. I couldn't stop!

Jules has stolen lots of cars and has never been caught. People call her Ghost for a reason. It isn't until on night that she gets caught and placed in the home of Roger Montgomery. Roger is a very wealthy man and he's giving Emma, Jules sister, the life she dreamed of having. Jules only plans on staying for a few months until Roger wants her, along with 3 other foster teens who he hand-picked himself, to steal seven hard-to-find cars. Their team consists of Mat, computer hacker; Chelsea, the lock picker; Nick and Jules, the boosters.

Guys, I wasn't sure what to expect of this novel. Having read a YA book a few months ago that was supposed to be exciting and thrilling yet it failed, I was afraid this one would tank as well. I'm here to declare that it did not fail! It lived up to my expectations and more! My heart was racing throughout the entire novel and I just wanted to keep reading. I wanted so much more of all these heists!

I could tell the author knew about cars. All the car-talk in the story had to have come from someone who knows and understands cars, and I was right. This book makes me want to learn about cars and learn all the car lingo! As I mentioned above, the heists were amazing. I wanted to be part of the team and steal cars with them. Sure, it wasn't always easy, but that's what made it even better! There were lots of high-tension scenes in this story that I lived for. They had me reading with such fervor! I know they are breaking the law, but they actually want to break away from his crime-filled life, which made it easy to support them and be on their side.

With such a thrilling read focused on stealing cars, I didn't expect the characters to have depth, but they did. We got to learn a lot about each one of them and why they were in foster care. I felt for each one of them and wanted to hug them. Additionally, they brought lightness to the story with some of their banter.

I need to talk about the romance! I loved that it wasn't fast and it kind of took its time to develop. Jules was immediately attracted to Nick, but nothing would happen at first. It was a glorious slow-burn of a romance that I was shipping and wanted more of. Nick is total swoon-worthy. He has this type of bad boy look with all his tattoos and piercings, but he turns to mush when he talks about cars. It was so cute! Nick would make me swoon and aww at the same time. He started off being very closed off and a jerk towards Jules; however, he has his reasons. Moreover, he dropped that persona really quickly and that's when the Nick I adored showed up! I loved all the teasing Jules and Nick had going on, plus the steamy kisses!

The romance actually takes a backseat in this novel and lets the action take the driver seat. I was impressed by how the author was able to mesh these two together and maintaining the interest in both topics. The romance was a great addition that I loved, but I was glad that it wasn't the main focus, seeing as the heists were enough to make this book very enjoyable.

Overdrive is an exhilarating, action-packed, fast-paced novel that will keep the readers glued to the pages from beginning to end!

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

4.5 stars!


  


Let me start off by saying that this story is very similar to the movie Gone in Sixty Seconds, one of my favorite movies EVER! When Gone in Sixty Seconds first came out, I watched it constantly. Like daily. I've seen it at least 20 times from beginning to end, probably more like 50 since it used to just be playing in the background while I did other things. I don't know why I loved it so much, but I just did. So aside from my love of Dawn Ius and her awesome writing, I also knew I HAD to read this book when it was compared to one of my faves.



I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end. It starts off immediately with a bang and never waivers. This is an action-packed story filled with intense moments and an edge-of-your-seat feeling from beginning to end. I absolutely loved this group of characters. And though they're technically the "bad guys" breaking the law and all, I couldn't help but route for them. Sometimes people make horribly bad decisions for the best of reasons, and that's how this story felt to me. The characters' walls were all broken down bit by bit as the story progressed and we got to know each one a little bit better. I've found that usually intense stories like this are all about the action and don't go into much depth with the characters. This one, however, was the opposite. We got action PLUS and in-depth look into these characters' pasts and why they were where they were, making the decisions they were making.

There was a bit of a romance, but it was more on the back burner. I'm a huge romance fan, so I ALWAYS love having romance in my books. I have to say though, the way Dawn did this one was really perfect. The romance didn't take away from the action at all, and I truly appreciated that.

The family bond elements were strong in this book too. Despite Jules and her little sister being relocated from house to house more times than they can count, they were truly bonded. They both had the others' interests at heart every step of the way. They would do anything for each other, and I love seeing siblings with a strong relationship like that.

Despite it being a bit too-good-to-be-true at times, and maybe a bit predictable, this story was truly entertaining. I loved it! Dawn Ius has this way of writing characters that are impossible not to become completely invested in. Another hit from Dawn!



(Thanks to Simon Pulse for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I had to have it! By the time I started reading, I had forgotten what it was about, but didn't dare read the synopsis again as I wanted to be surprised. Let me tell you, as soon as I started reading I was hooked! I literally read this in one sitting. I couldn't stop!

Jules has stolen lots of cars and has never been caught. People call her Ghost for a reason. It isn't until on night that she gets caught and placed in the home of Roger Montgomery. Roger is a very wealthy man and he's giving Emma, Jules sister, the life she dreamed of having. Jules only plans on staying for a few months until Roger wants her, along with 3 other foster teens who he hand-picked himself, to steal seven hard-to-find cars. Their team consists of Mat, computer hacker; Chelsea, the lock picker; Nick and Jules, the boosters.

Guys, I wasn't sure what to expect of this novel. Having read a YA book a few months ago that was supposed to be exciting and thrilling yet it failed, I was afraid this one would tank as well. I'm here to declare that it did not fail! It lived up to my expectations and more! My heart was racing throughout the entire novel and I just wanted to keep reading. I wanted so much more of all these heists!

I could tell the author knew about cars. All the car-talk in the story had to have come from someone who knows and understands cars, and I was right. This book makes me want to learn about cars and learn all the car lingo! As I mentioned above, the heists were amazing. I wanted to be part of the team and steal cars with them. Sure, it wasn't always easy, but that's what made it even better! There were lots of high-tension scenes in this story that I lived for. They had me reading with such fervor! I know they are breaking the law, but they actually want to break away from his crime-filled life, which made it easy to support them and be on their side.

With such a thrilling read focused on stealing cars, I didn't expect the characters to have depth, but they did. We got to learn a lot about each one of them and why they were in foster care. I felt for each one of them and wanted to hug them. Additionally, they brought lightness to the story with some of their banter.

I need to talk about the romance! I loved that it wasn't fast and it kind of took its time to develop. Jules was immediately attracted to Nick, but nothing would happen at first. It was a glorious slow-burn of a romance that I was shipping and wanted more of. Nick is total swoon-worthy. He has this type of bad boy look with all his tattoos and piercings, but he turns to mush when he talks about cars. It was so cute! Nick would make me swoon and aww at the same time. He started off being very closed off and a jerk towards Jules; however, he has his reasons. Moreover, he dropped that persona really quickly and that's when the Nick I adored showed up! I loved all the teasing Jules and Nick had going on, plus the steamy kisses!

The romance actually takes a backseat in this novel and lets the action take the driver seat. I was impressed by how the author was able to mesh these two together and maintaining the interest in both topics. The romance was a great addition that I loved, but I was glad that it wasn't the main focus, seeing as the heists were enough to make this book very enjoyable.


  Overdrive
 is an exhilarating, action-packed, fast-paced novel that will keep the readers glued to the pages from beginning to end!

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.