[REVIEW] Resthaven

title: Resthaven
author: Erik Therme
genre: young adult, contemporary, suspense
publish: April 12, 2016 by Kindle Press
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
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2016 Kindle Scout Winner  

The last thing Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt--especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes 'bump in the night' is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.

I really wanted to love this book.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. And I really, really wanted to love this because I loved his first novel, Mortom. It was suspenseful and the mystery was really well put together and the revelation was just amazing.

"A stranger is just a friend you haven't yet met. -loc29

Resthaven is a contemporary suspense novel. It revolves around Kaylee and this group of girls who gets locked up on an abandoned retirement home. They were supposed to play scavenger hunt but an argument rose between Kaylee and another girl thus ending up into the situation they are in. Aside from the fact that they got locked up, they found themselves stuck inside the building with a man who doesn't want them there and a kid who doesn't say a thing. If there's something I'd say I love about, it's the suspense. In a lot of moments in this book, I'd say that it was suspenseful. I'm always at the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next, where will the man living in the building come out, where the heck is the kid Kaylee found, and how the heck are they even going to go out of there?

The biggest turn off of this book for me though is the characters. As much as I understand and see where they're coming from, they feel more like whiny kids for me and there was bitch talking bullying. Also, it's so convenient that all of them had major problems with life and family in general. Although they did redeem themselves in the end which is definitely a good thing but they already impacted by enjoyment of the book. So if you're okay with books having teenagers finding contentment and learning to care and understand each other, you should definitely go read this book. The characters went through a great deal of experience and development.

People say and do things they don't mean all the time. You can't spend your life getting bent out of shape over every little thing." -loc578

The mystery which is the man inside the building and the kid who doesn't talk really had me going. I was so curious and that definitely made me want to see through the end of the book. The revelation turned out more of an 'okay' thing for me. The man's story was sad and had his good points but I still have that: no can't do mister, kind of moment. I mean, as much as I want to be on his side, I'd rather we find a solution to this problem instead of making himself greatly involved in it. But where would our story be if he didn't make this decision?

The climax was a mixture of convenience and thrill for me. Convenience because I felt like it could have ended already like a few pages ago but certain things has to happen for more dramatic purposes which I should say somehow works. Yet at the same time infuriated me because of its outcome. Thrilling because there's a race against time and Kaylee and those who are still in the building has to find a way out else they all die.

*on a side note, I really wish that there was some kind of map or blueprint of the building in the book just for the fun of it and so I can clearly imagine where they are in the book.

OVERALL, Resthaven is a suspenseful novel that has potential. It involves a nicely written setting that gives off a really eerie atmosphere and a mystery that really pushed me to read further. While the revelation felt a little bland for me and there were a few conveniences, the ending was still a really good one.

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