REVIEW - Hard Knox (The Outsiders Chronicles #1) by Nicole Williams

The Outsider Chronicles, #1

New Adult/Adult Contemporary

Released August 12, 2014

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Knox Jagger. The name inspires resent in every male at Sinclair University, want in every female, and contempt in Charlie Chase.

Charlie can be summed up in three words: independent, independent, and independent. To Charlie, Knox epitomizes everything that’s wrong with college males: prolific one-night stands, drunken senseless fights, and a body that hints at prioritizing gym time over study time.

As an up-and-coming writer for Sinclair University’s newspaper, Charlie’s tasked with getting to the bottom of who’s been dropping little white pills into girls’ drinks at parties. In an ocean of All-American boys sporting polo shirts and innocent smiles, Knox is the obvious suspect. As evidence piles up against the bad boy of Sinclair, Charlie becomes more and more certain it isn’t Knox. But when her drink is dosed at a party and she wakes up on Knox’s couch the next morning, Charlie’s left with more questions than answers when it comes to Knox Jagger.

How can Charlie ever hope to uncover the truth behind a guy so closed off he’s become . . .

Hard Knox.

About the Author

I’m the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the CRASH series (HarperTeen, S&S UK), LOST & FOUND series, UP IN FLAMES (S&S UK), The EDEN TRILOGY, and a handful of others. I write stories about everyday kinds of people who find themselves in extraordinary kinds of situations. I tell love stories with happy endings because I believe in making the world a better place, and that’s one tiny way I can make it so. I’m one of those people who still believe in true love and soul mates, and would rather keep my head in the clouds any day over having my feet firmly on the ground.

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Review:

I thought this was an entertaining read, with Charlie on a mission to get to the bottom of the current drugging of female students during parties, until it happens to her, and her savior turned out to be the last person she expected. 

Charlie started out as a funny-ish character, with the right amount of sass and attitude, but by halfway through the book, her smart-aleck answers and comebacks were starting to get on my nerves. Maybe it was a defense mechanism, and if it was, I wish we could have been told if there was anything that happened to her while she was growing up that caused her to always resort to smartassery. As it is, it just makes her seem a bit childish and juvenile at times. Hell, even the strongest have to sometimes know when to stop and just....be.

There's more to Knox than what we see on the surface, and it's actually quite refreshing and at times surprising. I would have liked to know how often Knox had to do something strange for a little bit of change to obtain the things he has in the story. 

Part of the story was a bit predictable, as in I correctly guessed the wrongdoer fairly early in the story, but it still made for a compelling read, especially when the true motive is revealed. And we're never told why a professor was so adamant about who they believed the culprit to be.

But still, there are quite a few laugh out loud moments in this book and I'm glad I got a chance to read this, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Rating

Book provided in exchange for honest review.