Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: young adult contemporary thriller (with a touch of romance, duh)
Format/Source: DRC, Edelweiss
Status: Book 2 of the Find Me/Wick Tate series
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour, which was organized & hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. The full tour schedule can be found HERE. Please go give my fellow tour hosts some love!
Summary:
In the sequel
to Find Me, Wick Tate, sarcastic teen hacker, is back and once again
dealing with criminals and corrupt cops…and a brooding new love
interest. Will Wick persevere when some secrets refuse to stay hidden?
Wick had thought her troubles were over.
But she should’ve known better.
Not only is she embroiled in a new murder case, which starts with a body with “Remember Me” carved into it and doesn’t stop there, but she also discovers new evidence surrounding her mother’s suicide…which leads her right back to her imprisoned deadbeat dad. And she has to deal with her flirty new hacker friend, Milo, sniffing around—which her boyfriend, Griff, isn’t too happy about.
The pressure might be too much as secrets—including Wick’s own—climb to the surface.
Wick had thought her troubles were over.
But she should’ve known better.
Not only is she embroiled in a new murder case, which starts with a body with “Remember Me” carved into it and doesn’t stop there, but she also discovers new evidence surrounding her mother’s suicide…which leads her right back to her imprisoned deadbeat dad. And she has to deal with her flirty new hacker friend, Milo, sniffing around—which her boyfriend, Griff, isn’t too happy about.
The pressure might be too much as secrets—including Wick’s own—climb to the surface.
Review:
It's amazing to watch ya lit trends come and go over the years, and right now, thrillers are definitely in! Romily's Find Me series is doing a good job of keeping hints of the romance readers have come to expect out of ya novels, but keeping the focus of her story on the creepy, icky, and downright disturbing mysteries that continue to haunt Wick Tate.
First of all, the facet of this series that continues to impress me SO much is Romily's technical writing of Wick's hacking. Romily has stated several times that she is not a computer whiz and has to do a lot of research to make this part believable, and it's working for her. I am actually reminded of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series in which she makes spy maneuvers and heist plans seems like real things. Romily did that in Find Me and continued it in Remember Me. Not only does Romily's attention bring out a key plot point, but it also showcases how crucial hacking is to Wick's as a person. Hacking is Wick. It's just who she is, and by including the scenes when Wick zones out of the real world and goes into hacker mode, the reader can witness Wick's true self. It's a great way to get inside Wick's head, which is, at best, a bit chaotic the rest of the time.
I also like Romily's exploration of Griff and Wick's romance. Find Me was the two of them getting together; Remember Me displays the staying together, the working part of a relationship. There were times when the romance frustrated and upset me because I just wanted Wick and Griff to TALK ABOUT THE THINGS, but I'm weirdly also okay with that because sometimes you do stupid things to protect the people you love, and the most common stupid thing you do to protect someone is lie to them. Or, if you're not outright lying, you hide ugly truths. It's a rare treat to see a ya relationship after the characters are officially together, and I really appreciate the honesty with which Romily explores Wick and Griff's. They deal with some heavy things, things no person, especially a teenager, should have to deal with it, and I think Romily does a good job showing the effects on Wick and Griff as individuals as well as a couple.
Speaking of the heavy things, the primary mystery of Remember Me is just as creepy and horrifying as in Find Me. There are moments of hair-raising chills, and there are outright scares. Readers are sure to be on their toes from start to finish. I was almost completely taken by surprise when the mystery was solved, which I appreciate, but I think one of my complaints is that I occasionally felt lost in the story. There was a LOT going on in Remember Me, and I felt at times that each individual plot point was fighting against the rest instead of working together to build the overall story.
The good news is that Remember Me includes a new character who introduces a bit of much-needed levity and humor which prevents the story from being bogged down by the darkness of the mystery and the world surrounding Wick. Milo is a serious piece of work, and I think he won't be for everybody, but by golly, he is for me! I always like the sassy, slightly naughty boys. His brand of snark is lighter than Wick's, but he's also not as...shiny as Griff. Milo is good for this series, and I hope that if Romily writes another novella before Trust Me comes out next year, she'll consider it being in Milo's pov. I am very excited to learn more about this king of computers!
Overall, I think Remember Me did a great job at what is occasionally so difficult for middle books to do: explore the effects of the first book and continue building the primary series plot arc to set up the finale while maintaining its identity as its own story. The consequences of Find Me are front and center, including a subplot about the dangers of bullying, and the series' plot is becoming both more apparent and more murky as different details emerge about Wick's family and some previously unknown dangers as well. I think readers are going to enjoy Remember Me both as its own book and as a stepping stone to Trust Me.
Book Buy Links:
Read an excerpt of Remember Me on Epic Reads!
Wick's story starts with a diary of a dead girl in Find Me
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: young adult contemporary thriller
Summary: “Find Me.”
These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.
Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.
Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?
Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.
But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.
Because it just got personal.
These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.
Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.
Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?
Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.
But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.
Because it just got personal.
Book buy links:
Check out Griff's side of the story in Lie for Me
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: young adult contemporary thriller, novella
Summary: Griff wasn't always the knight in shining armor Wick Tate thinks he
is. He had a whole life before he met her, and even though it's grittier
than Wick could have imagined, it also made him into the guy she loves.
This prequel novella grants readers access to Griff's story from his point-of-view—and it includes some scenes from Find Me, which Jay Asher called "a thriller that keeps picking up speed" and Sophie Jordan hailed as "fast-paced and full of twists," and is told from Griff's alternate perspective!
This prequel novella grants readers access to Griff's story from his point-of-view—and it includes some scenes from Find Me, which Jay Asher called "a thriller that keeps picking up speed" and Sophie Jordan hailed as "fast-paced and full of twists," and is told from Griff's alternate perspective!
Book buy links:
Follow the Tour:
About the Author:
I graduated from Georgia State University with a Literature degree.
Since then, I’ve worked as a riding instructor, cell phone salesgirl,
personal assistant, groom, exercise rider, accounting assistant, and,
during a very dark time, customer service rep.
So don’t let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.
So don’t let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.
Author Links:
Giveaway:
Win (1) of (2) signed paperbacks of Find Me + Remember Me by Romily Bernard (US Only)
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Loved Fine Me! Can't wait to check out these new books.
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