Review: Nerve by Carrie Ryan

Title: Nerve

Author: Jeanne Ryan

Reviewed by: Cassie

What we say: fast-paced and fantastic!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilerating--Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they're playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

Debut author Jeanne Ryan delivers an un-putdownable suspense thriller.

Nerve is a lightning-fast read and very exhilarating. It sucked me right in and had me experiencing the thrills firsthand. I know a few other readers said they were disappointed because the stakes weren't quite as deadly, but I wasn't expecting that right off the get-go. Either way, some of the hardcore Watchers (fans, who could turn into stalkers and creeps) added an edge to Nerve for me. This may or may not have been because of the very ambiguous prologue.

The only reason I had qualms about this is because of the characters. While we do get a decent look inside Vee, the main character, I didn't feel we got much insight into the other characters. They were sometimes stereotypical and predictable.

Hot guy falls for flawed girl? Check.

Flawed girl is in the shadow of her shining, glowing best friend? Check. [However, her desire and actions to get out of that shadow were well-written and explained)

Flawed girl is too afraid to take things into her own hands? Check.

At first, I really, really sympathized Vee. Eventually, I came to be more 'meh' towards her. Her inability to take control and be strong didn't sit well with me. Her other flaws I handled well. This? This bugged me.

Overall, I think it's an extremely enjoyable and thrilling read. I'm curious to see if there's a sequel, because I'll definitely read it if there is.

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo Cassie