I Know Lucy by Melissa Pearl

Title: I Know Lucy

Author: Melissa Pearl

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Online Ratings: 4.1 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS! 

Summary from Goodreads:

Lucy Tate is on the run. After witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, she's spent five years in hiding -- taking on different personas and faking her way through life. The authorities can't be trusted, so she remains in the shadows, always one beat ahead of the man who is forever hunting her. That is, until she meets Zach Schultz, a senior at Monte Vista High and the one guy she can’t bear to leave. Suddenly her natural instincts to lie, steal, and run are overshadowed by something else...the desire to stay. It’s her one shot at a normal life.

Curious by nature, Zach is immediately drawn to the new girl at school. How can a person look both confident and vulnerable all in the same moment? Determined to learn more about her, he tries to get close, but is thrown into a world of lies and confusion. The only thing that becomes apparent is that discovering the truth may get him killed.

My Opinion:

'I Know Lucy' by Melissa Pearl is an adventurous and mysterious read. This novel, by far, is one of the best books I have read this year.

Melissa Pearl has written in a new, unique way which definitely helped captivate readers attention. Pearl decided to try a new style of writing which was to dedicate each chapter to the two main protagonists. With alternating perspectives we got an insight on the female protagonists' past life and also we got to follow the present story in the male protagonists' point of view. This idea was really interesting and definitely worked out well. The male protagonist's, Zach's, chapters were written in first perspective while Lucy's, the female protagonist's, chapters were written in third person. I commend Pearl for testing this new technique and I can definitely say that I am a fan of novels written like 'I Know Lucy'. Melissa Pearl has definitely risen my expectations of Author's writing styles and I can not wait to read more novels like this one. 

The characters in this novel were very relatable too and I felt as if I could feel all of the characters emotions, especially Lucy's. Lucy, the female lead, was definitely my favourite character. Her mysterious past and all the adversities she had to face were two things that I adored about her. Lucy was independent, helpful and headstrong. At first, Zach, the male lead, seemed immature to me. But that theory proved to be incorrect as I read more. Zach's character was protective and caring- he supported Lucy through her tough decisions and always had her back. Zach and Lucy's relationship was adorable. It was not fast paced and we really got to understand their feelings for each other. Character development was conveyed incredibly in this novel. We saw each character face adversities and also overcome those challenges with great strength. Some methods to overcome obstacles were taken 'to extreme' but I still enjoyed reading those certain scenes. Those scenes made me realise how humans can become so desperate in their lives that they have to 'do the unthinkable'. Overall, Melissa Pearl has written a beautiful novel with a lot of character development. The characters, plot and setting were amazing and I loved how this novel was set in different time periods. I recommend this novel to any romance and/or mystery readers- this novel is a 'must read'. Thank you Melissa Pearl for allowing me to review your fantastic novel. 

- Erisha <4