Title: The Revenge Pact
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Series: Kings of Football #1
Release Date: December 3rd 2020
Length: 352 pages
Genre: YA Romance
**** My Review ****
From time to time all of us discover books that we just click with. They make us feel all happy inside because they just speak to us, shouting “you love me because I’m amazing.” This, for me, was one of those books, and let me tell you, there’s nothing better than a book you just clicked with.
I read this in one sitting, I was blown away by the sweet–and slightly angsty–story. I sighed. I laughed. I swooned, I admired the amazing characters and fell completely and utterly in love with River Tate.
It is something that can not be controlled or can it? … that feeling that strikes without announcement and question. Exactly the one who pushes all the boundaries and you are born as a new person, like someone you knew you had the capacity and potential to be, but you did not have the opportunity. You still don’t have… It is such a feeling, one that is not spiced with sweet statements but is a cosmic fusion of souls and minds, and the body just follows the path. That is the story of our two characters, the hot River Tate, one of the three stars of the Braxton University football team who feel that they let their teammates, coach, and university down because they played so badly this past year. And the unusual Anastasia, a girl who is trying to find her place in this big world. River Tate cannot stand to be near Anastasia. And Anastasia’s opinion of him isn’t really flattering as well. Try as she might, she cannot understand why he is being so mean to her for no good reason.
Love or hate -two sides of the same coin, right? The line is so thin that you cannot see the difference between the two sided. You only need to pay more attention. What will happen when the attention falls on the right side and the whole truth is revealed?
I thought I was getting into a pretty light and fun book when I first started reading The Revenge Pact. It seemed like that at the beginning. This book was so much more than a light read. A story that is so full of emotions, which simply spring from the pages. Tenderness and passion, love and hate … so many layers hidden under the seemingly light love story.
I am especially fascinated by the way the author masterfully inserts topics that are so serious and difficult to read and write, such as dyslexia, ADHD, the benefits and consequences of non-traditional parenting … each thread so skillfully integrated into the overall story.
And as you read, unintentionally, you think about all this and realize that the author has an incredible gift to combine the casual with the serious and to nail you to the pages from beginning to end.
The characters were well written. I genuinely liked Ana and River. Maybe it’s because I could relate to them a bit. They are full of life and there is never a dull or boring moment. Their exchanges are really sweet. And their uncensored comments and snarky banter is top notch.
Even the characters I didn’t like were so well written because that’s how they were supposed to make the reader feel. Ilsa a real master in creating vulnerable, yet strong and memorable characters.
The Rainbow girl, who led a nomadic lifestyle, yet wanting love and a real home. The Snake has just learned how to continue living after a terrible loss, faced with the fear of losing his one remaining parent. A person who doesn’t allow his learning difficulties to determine his life path.
Together, they are fire. Sizzling chemistry and sweet and swoon-worthy moments that set new standards in the romance genre. It could be said that the story is “slow-burn”, making readers eager to get to the new level of River and Ana’s relationship, but the timing is simply impeccable. Nothing feels rushed or drawn out between River and Anastasia; it simply feels right.
The whole story made me want to invest myself in it from beginning to end, and that’s not something that happens regularly.
Overall, The Revenge Pact by Ilsa Madden-Mills was fantastic! Everything to the characters, the little lies, the love, and the drama was absolutely perfect. A multilayered book that deals with different realistic issues. I loved the family aspect, the friendship aspect and the romance was completely adorable and swoon-worthy.