Publisher:
Simon and
Schuster
Release
Date: 1st
August 2013
Edition:
UK paperback,
review copy
He
is out there, holding his breath as I hold mine. Ears pricked, eyes scouring
the darkness. I can sense him there waiting, just a few feet away...
When
aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy
family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston’s elite,
she’s hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys
are firmly off the agenda.
What
she doesn’t count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school
kids who are hiding some dark secrets; falling (possibly) in love with the
local bad boy; and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...
I unexpectedly fell in love
with Hunting Lila and Losing Lila last year so I was so
excited to hear about another contemporary thriller from Sarah Alderson. The Sound didn’t disappoint at all.
The premise of an English
teenager going to spend the summer as a nanny on Nantucket is a dream job: hot
American boys, away from home and gorgeous sunny beaches. The added risk of a
serial killer and the threat of danger makes The Sound irresistible. I loved how it went from light and funny to
dark and tense in a matter of pages.
As well as capturing a vibrant
and vivid sense of place, Sarah Alderson really knows how to write a budding
relationship and sexual tension so sparkling I was left with stars in my eyes. Good
God, Jesse Miller. I thought Alex from the Lila
series was hot, but in comparison, nuh uh. Just, yum. He’s also mysterious,
sexy and secretly a sweetheart and I fell in love; completely and utterly in
love. I liked the way that their relationship developed; it wasn’t leaped into
and it evolved naturally over the novel.
It took an unexpected and
serious turn when Jesse revealed a dark secret about one of the people that Ren
came in contact with on the island. I was thoroughly surprised and it wasn’t an
avenue that I was anticipating at all. The darker turn was refreshing and it
actually ended up being really quite a poignant turn considering a lot of what’s
been happening around Twitter and the media surrounding women being attacked,
in a variety of ways, and hopefully it’ll stretch the idea out even further and
to people who wouldn’t usually take notice of it.
It’s obvious that I loved The Sound but there was a minor thing
that niggled me. I thought that the pop culture and YA references were
brilliant, but Adlerson got quite a few of the names wrong. I didn’t think that
was very good and it really should have been picked up during edits and I think
that if you’re going to name drop characters, their names should be spelt
right; everyone knows Twilight’s
Bella’s last name is spelt ‘Swan’ and not ‘Swann’ and that Damon is the
dangerous vampire brother in The Vampire
Diaries, not Damien.
Sarah Alderson is a master at
writing sexy, compelling thrillers and I’m already looking forward to her next
book.
Thanks to S&S for the
review copy.
Sophie
Sounds like a good book. I can see why those things nagged you. Also I don't think you meant to write this ".... Bella's last name is spelt 'Swan and not 'Swan' " Just thought you might want know. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Http://www.daydreamerN.blogspot.com
Ooh sounds intriguing! I have yet to read anything by this author but I really want to!
ReplyDeleteOooh- love the look of this book! I loved her Hunting Lila series, and I really want to meet this Jesse :D
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