Ally's Reads

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Warning!! Small spoilers in this review.

As a big fan of Cecelia Ahern's other work, I was incredibly excited to read her first YA novel. The basic premise had me hooked and I kind of got a Malorie Blackman vibe throughout my read. I must admit I was expecting more romance from Flawed, because its what I know from Ahern, but I am certain more will develop later on between Celestine and Carrick (I'd be upset if it didn't).

Celestine North lives in a society where those who are morally flawed are punished by The Guild. Hearing this element of the story, all I could think about was how beneficial this could actually be in the real world and I'm sure many others will too. That was until this book plays out the events. Ahern addresses the idea that it isn't entirely possible for those who judge the flawed to be flawless. Celestine is by definition, perfect. Until, unsurprisingly she is not. The one who judges the flawed happens to be her perfect boyfriends' father which was the perfect scenario. Ahern created, in my opinion, a wonderful conflict.

I don't think I can fault any of the characters in the novel. I felt like I connected with the people I was meant to easily and smoothly and hated the ones I should, right from the off. I had such strong feelings for each character in the book and they all felt so real to me. I will say that occasionally I felt myself disconnecting with Celestine but considering what she was going through it seemed understandable that while she loses herself, we lose our connection with her. For me, Judge Crevan was the perfect villain. He is the kind of man that society sees as good but behind flawless closed doors he is more flawed than anyone he has convicted. He was both clever and manipulative, but weak and very very angry, a winning combination in my books.

Parts of this book I found slightly predictable but only because I was trying to guess what would happen next because I really couldn't read this quickly enough. I don't think it took away from my experience at all and the biggest twist of all had me exclaiming loudly on the bus! This book had me grinning from ear to ear, my heart racing, my eyes watering and had me squealing in excitement. I can wholeheartedly say that I will pick up any future Young Adult books from Cecelia Ahern in future, hopefully including the sequel to Flawed!