Cover Image: Blackout

Blackout

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Member Reviews

This book was okay. Not great, not awful, just middle of the line okay. I was interested enough to keep reading, but at no point was I "omg, I have to know what happens!" The characters were kind of bland, cardboard cutouts, each one hiding something as Allie fought to get her memory back. All in all I wasn't impressed. This book was definitely for the younger side of YA, minus the drinking. 3 stars.

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Blackout focuses on a girl who loses her memories in an accident, and returns to her life realising that there's a contrasting difference in the girl she is now and the girl she was before.

I really, really enjoyed this book. The writing was good, in some mystery stories they take quite a bit of build-up in order to get-going, but I was very happy to find this one was fast-paced and intriguing from the get-go.

The characters were interesting, particularly the main character who now has to live her life without her memories and with the knowledge of the girl she was before.

Rated: 4 stars

Thank you to netgallery for letting me review this brilliant mystery!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the eARC of this book.

I don’t know what I expected going into this book… but that’s mostly because I didn’t read the synopsis. But, I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t read many mysteries/thrillers and I really enjoyed this. It was predictable in some moments and shocking in others, and the characters were written so well! And a big part of the suspense came from how Allie had to navigate her life after getting complete amnesia.

I read this book in about 12 hours, give or take. I couldn’t put it down and it was probably 02:30/03:00 when I finished it. I was so drawn in and I wanted to get to the ending to find out what really happened.

One singular reason, that trumps them all, that you should read this book? That would be Mason. He was by far my favorite character and even though I questioned his intentions a few times (mystery book, what else could I do?) he was really the highlight for me. He was caring and sweet, and the complete opposite of what I thought he would be, but I absolutely adored him.

The only thing that made me rate this book 4/5 stars is the ending. I loved the conclusion to the storyline… but the ending was kind of disappointing. But, I think the ending left it open for more if K Monroe ever decided to write a sequel. I’m holding out hope that she does because I want more Mason.

I really liked this book, and I enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend it, especially for those who want a good mystery, especially a mystery with the Amnesia trope.

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This was a decent book! I like the main character, but some of the plot and plot twists felt predectible and cliche. It kept me entertained, and I would reccomend it to anyone new to young adult thriller or mystery.

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This book will have you hooked from the first page. I can definitely see this becoming a favorite among YA fans. I really enjoyed the storyline and would recommend this one.

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I enjoyed the mc despite her past. Love to see the growth. I wish that it went into more depth about the Parker situation and the Damien situation. Both left me a little confused. Was the Parker thing only one time like he said? Was she only with Damien bc he was obsessed? Hmmm.

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I was really impressed with this debut. I read it in 3 days which I've not done in a long time. Kept me guessing and glued to the pages! I really liked the lead character (after her amnesia of course). I highly suggest this book. A great read!

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Blackout by K. Monroe.

Alina cannot remember her life, she was in a car accident during her senior year of high school and now has no memory of anything that happened except for flashes of memory and what has been told to her. As she reenters her high school and reunites with her boyfriend and her best friend something isn't sitting quite right with Alina. A boy from her past seems to be catching her attention more than any of her friends expect and Alina isn't popping right back to her old self. Is there something more sinister than memory loss at work?

This was a fun book that I quickly devoured and helped me out of a potential reading slump. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book and thought that the gradual reveal of the storyline worked well, especially with the amnesia part of the story.

My only issues with the story was the fact that it takes place in the same province where I grew up but in a fictional town that shares it's name with a real town. It was on the edge of being too familiar without being actually real but that would be specifically for someone who grew up in BC. I also didn't particularly enjoy the ending, I understand that Alina has to figure out who she is melding her old self with this new self together but without even an epilogue of showing that it could be okay (as was done in As Good As Dead) it felt very anticlimactic in the end. Other than that it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon lost in this mystery.

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Alina, or Allie as her best friends call her, was in an accident and wakes to not remember anyone or anything. As she tries to navigate her every day surroundings, she starts to realize she didn’t like her former self or life. All these secrets and fakeness makes her question what is real. And with snippets that keep playing on and on with her accident, can she leave together what really happened to her.

This book was a very atmospheric mystery that delves into the world of a character that can change her outcome. The book talks about how we can overcome something traumatic and make it our own, instead of falling back into bad behavior. I was happy to see Allie grow and realize how precious life is.

Thank you to Wattpad books for the advanced copy!!

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This was a fun, fast read and it was exactly what I wanted it to be. Sometimes you're just in the mood for a good mean girls mystery and this itched the spot.

I found myself really enjoying the amnesia plot - a girl who is learning about who she was before her accident and coming to find that she doesn't like who she was. I also liked the extra layer it added to some of the subplots - did she actually do something that terrible? And did she want to know if she had? It was cool to have the victim in this story also be one of the suspects.

I was satisfied with the ending and the big reveal didn't seem too far fetched or downright stupid (which has honestly been happening with mysteries I've tried recently). A solid debut and I would read more mean girl mysteries from this author.

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A gripping thriller that was interesting and had me flipping the pages to see what would happen next. Reading about Allie and her personality before and after the accident was interesting to compare how she has changed. A novel that I enjoyed.

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Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review!!

This was an interesting thriller, with the twist of the main character has lost her memory of an accident that may not have been so accidental.

Can Allie trust her past or is there something more sinister brewing?

I would recommend this book to any YA thriller lovers, you will enjoy reading about these complex teenagers.

The author K.Monroe wrote a great book!! I would definitely recommend this book!!!

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This YA thriller had an interesting premise...I do love a good amnesia plot...but I'm just gonna get right to it. The reviews I've read that mention this being "unputdownable" or "fast paced" or "riveting" I simply cannot relate. I actually felt quite bored and felt like the story was fairly predictable on many levels.

This, unfortunately, was not the right fit for me, but I find this to be a running theme with me and YA mystery/thrillers. They are either 5 star amazing (looking at you A Good Girl's Guide to Murder) or they feel very young and predictable.

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Blackout by K. Monroe 2.5⭐️ a YA mystery read that had me invested enough to see how the story all played out, but I wasn’t obsessed with the story. We follow MC Alina after an accident as she tries to remember who she really is, and what caused that tragic event. Alina was never a character I was rooting for as I felt there was no character building (somewhat through the book we learn about how she was prior to the accident). I felt the story dragged on in some portions and was rushed in others. I will say the ending did tie everything together, but was somewhat anticlimactic for me. If you liked We Were Liars this might tickle your fancy, this might also be why I didn’t enjoy this one. We have a somewhat unreliable narrator as Alina does suffer a TBI. The read wasn’t horrible, it was simply okay. I’ve seen reviews that said “unputdownable” and quite honestly I can’t relate.

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Who would you be if you suddenly lost your memory?

Would you be the same person who you were before?

Would you be able to become a whole new person?

Allie Castillo doesn't know who she is. After a devastating car accident, Allie wakes up with amnesia, not able to remember her family, her friends or her life before the accident.

Upon returning to school, Allie finds herself surrounded by her old friends, but something doesn't seem quite right. Who was she before the accident? Was she really as horrible a person as everyone seems to think she was? Was her accident really an accident at all?

Allie reconnects with her childhood best friend Mason and together they try to find out the truth about what happened to Allie and just who she is now that her life is starting anew.

This is a fast-paced YA psychological thriller, and whilst there were plenty of twists and turns in the plot, nothing was totally unexpected.

A good, quick read even if it won't particularly get your heart racing with the tension.


Thanks to Netgalley and WattPad Books for the review copy of this book

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The first book I read from K. Monroe was on Wattpad, and suffice to say, I was hooked. Blackout is one of my favourite books from her and the way the scenes were set made me feel like I was really there. 10/10 would recommend.

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I’ll start with I love a good amnesia storyline! It’s a classic and when done right, it’s memorable and exciting! Wow! This is an incredible tale! Allie has been in an accident and wakes up not knowing who she is or any idea of what happened! This is an insane roller coaster ride and please don’t read reviews, so many give it away and I don’t want that for you! Just read it… go in with nothing! You won’t regret it and the experience will be totally worth it! Who is Allie? What’s going to happen! Will she remember?

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When Allie Castillo wakes up after a terrible car accident, with head injuries and zero recollection of who she is or what happened, one thing haunts the edges of her mind: the crash may not have been an accident.

Her body still bruised, she returns to a life she doesn’t recall, to a house that’s unfamiliar, and to a family that doesn’t feel like her own. School is another minefield—her boyfriend wants his girl back, her best friend wants to carry on their old partying ways, and the mysterious guy at the back of the classroom wants nothing more than to unlock the door to her forgotten memories.
Ohh the storyline was fascinating, deep, intense, thrilling, and shocking! Honestly, as much as I needed to know how it ended-I didn’t want it to! I needed more!!

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First, I want to thank K. Monroe, Watt Pad Books and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

WOW!! WOW!! OH WOW!! K. Monroe's debut novel Blackout had me so entranced into the storyline I just couldn’t put it down! Ohh the storyline was fascinating, deep, intense, thrilling, and shocking! Honestly, as much as I needed to know how it ended-I didn’t want it to! I needed more!! K. Monroe has serious talent as a storyteller. This is a 5 Star must read book!! I just loved it!!

Kudos to the graphic designer who created Blackout’s cover. It was brilliant! It is very eye-catching and makes you want to know more about the book.

K. Monroe would like to dedicate this book to those who have supported her from the beginning of her journey, and those who found her along the way.

Instantly, I totally fell head over heels in love with the concept of the book! I absolutely loved the fresh storyline surrounding Aline’s amnesia!! My heart totally went out to her as I felt her frustration in not knowing who she was! Many times I wanted to smack some characters for not believing that she really had it. Why would anyone fake amnesia?!

K. Monroe addresses some important topics and lessons into her storylines.

Oh how I loved the mystery of Aline finding out who she was and why this happened to her! But oh all the drama that she had to go through to find those answers.

The climax of this storyline was explosive that I didn’t see coming! However, even though I understood the reason it ended the way it did I was a little bummed! There definitely needs to be a sequel! I need more of these characters!

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I am SO ANGRY right now! She doesn’t end up with Mason!! Cmon that’s all we wanted from the first moment with him. Allie needed a happier ending. I know it was open ended but I hated that they went separate ways. An epilogue showing them year son the future run into each-other and still having chemistry would have been a better draw your own conclusion ending

Anyway … I though the writing was great and that there was just the right amount of suspense to keep he intrigued. There were a few chapters that were overly wordy and lost my attention a bit. I think the bones of this story were good enough and all the extra fluff and filles wasn’t necessary.
I have read several suspense thrillers lately and this was one of the best of them all. I will for sure buy a copy for my book room at release.

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