Review: Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Hardcover, 352 pages

To Be Released: August 30, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Other places to find the book:
Amazon.com
Bookdepository.com
Add it to Goodreads.com

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

My Thoughts:

(I have included spoilers below but have warned you just before it starts so be prepared!)

Every year Zach hosts a party right before the school winter break, and this year strange things happen which set the stage for what is to come. First the party goers find out about a student suicide, then Em hooks up with Zach (her best friend, Gabby's, boyfriend) and finally Chase bumps into someone new girl on the way home.

Although initially shocking, Em going after Zach when Gabby is away works for this story. Gabby's actions don't make you feel that she is truly in love, this is just a high school relationship after all, and Em truly believes that her and Zach where meant to be. This is where my enjoyment of the storyline ends though.

I've come to the conclusion that making people act in a way that conflicts with their previous behaviour is a hard thing to do right. I love the idea of fate but am not sure how easy that is to write about. I adore character driven stories so having someone act out of character isn't easy to swallow for me. In this case, I had an issue with Chase. Although I did like him, he had his faults. He tries so hard to show he fits in and sadly prowls for girls who get a bit tipsy at parties. Now I know Ty is a fury but he pines for her after just meeting her and doesn't mind her seeing the 'real' him so quickly! There were also two instances where I was seeing the story go in one direction but it never took off. (****SPOLIER ALERT***) This happened when Chase drinks something given to him by Ty and when she paints both Chase and herself with red paint. Did the drink have some power that made Chase bonded to her? Not in the case, but I would have totally bought that! Although the pictures taken during the red paint instance were used against him, I thought they would have been used for a different reason, with the red paint looking like blood. I can she now that it was used to foreshadow, but for me it fell flat of it's potential.(***end spoiler***)

There were three furies and really three people making teenager mistakes. I kept waiting for the one that really deserved a smack in the face (Zach) to get his turn, I just wish it had come up sooner then the clifffhanger ending. I enjoyed the story, it had me eager to get to the end, but sorry guys it had too many gaps in the storyline for me to say it was a great book.