NICUnurse’s Review of Rachel Van Dyken’s “Steal”

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Blog Tour, Book Reviews, NICUNurse, Rachel Van Dyken, Release, Social Butterfly PR, Wickedcoolflight, Wickedcoolflight Reviews

Steal is the next installment of the Seaside Pictures saga (going to skip calling it a series because when it’s about famous people, it’s chock full of drama!). And drama abounds because this is Angelica and Will’s story. While technically this is a standalone book, I always like to know as much about all the characters I can, especially in a series. So if you’re like me in that aspect, I would whole heartedly recommend the entire Seaside saga prior to reading this book. And they are all worth it, especially if you like young adult books. In the Seaside and Seaside Pictures books you get to watch these dramatic, complex and quirky characters grow up and learn to navigate as young/new adults.

We first met Angelica (very briefly) in “Tear” but she’s a major character in “Shatter” and that’s where we first learned to really hate her. Despite all the witchiness, by the end of that story we start to see that there’s a lot more to Angelica Greene. She’s a LOT more complex than she wants people to believe. So, I’ve totally been waiting a LONG time for her back story. And it was worth the wait! Steal takes us back to the great love these two shared as adolescents. We all know that even the greatest love at that age is going to grow and change. Sometimes it does so in positive ways and then sometimes it doesn’t. Theirs didn’t. There was a massive amount of trouble with her drug addiction. And then some other things that were just as huge thrown in. So, in the end, there was a huge hurt (and a HUGE misunderstanding) that these two just couldn’t get over and it kind of ruins them, emotionally, in the process. And this is where Steal picks up.

Through the filming of the movie that is Angelica’s last chance to restore her career, we see a huge amount of emotional and psychological growth in her. She literally is growing up before our eyes. And while it’s quite painful for her, it’s so very necessary. And then there’s Will. We think he’s already grown up (and chronologically he has), but there’s a lot we don’t really understand about Will until near the end. Sometimes things don’t always happen the way we think we remember them happening. And did I mention that the whole gang is in this one?! Awesome to catch up with everyone, as well.

In true Rachel form, she totally plays with your emotions while giving you plenty of sarcastic humor to make you not hate her for it. She’s yet to publish a book I wouldn’t recommend and that still holds true with this book. I’m going to give it 5 propellers because, while the other books in this saga are great, the twists and emotions in this one are more along the lines of epic!

To see all the books Rachel has currently published, and to find the correct reading order to each of her books in any series, check out her website at rachelvandykenauthor.com