ARC Review: Silenced by Leddy Harper

Summary: As a young child, Killian Foster survives the unimaginable. Silenced and scarred, he keeps to himself, spending his time with his notebook in the woods behind his aunt’s house. 

Until Rylee Anderson…

When Rylee spots Killian hopping over a fence next door, she follows him, unprepared for the boy she’d find—or the relationship that would unfold over the next seven years.

Or the silence that would follow.

Fighting between the hate of his past and the promise of his future, Killian must make choices—ones that would affect more than himself. Choices that would test the lines of right and wrong. Decisions that could break the bond of the only love Killian knew.

Hate or love.
Revenge or forgiveness.
Silence or his voice. (Via Goodreads.com)

Release Date: February 22nd, 2017

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Review:
  

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Silenced from Social Butterfly PR. I knew nothing about Silenced prior to starting it; however, the beginning of the novel completely captured my attention. I fell in love with the characters and their story until half way through the novel. The second half of the novel felt completely different from the first half in an unpleasant way. The characters were completely different and none of their actions were justifiable. It felt as though the author had started one story and halfway through she decided to write a new story with characters that shared very few similarities with the characters from the original novel. 

I could easily rate the first half of Silenced a four point five or higher star rating out of five. The novel captured the development of friendship and the struggles of growing up perfectly. The beginning of Silenced also wove together a beautiful love story and a couple that was one of my absolute favorites. The second half of Silenced completely wrecked my love for the first half. As I stated previously, none of the characters were remotely similar to their characters in the first half. Normally that could be understandable due to development and age, but the growth of the characters was not in a positive direction. Some of the actions they made were despicable and unjustifiable under any circumstances, yet the characters never showed any remorse or reviewed those choices later on. The characters were not meant to be antiheroes, yet the choices they made were disgusting and never apologized for. These were characters who started out as fantastic individuals who I would love to befriend to individuals I would never want to associate with.

The development of new characters and plot lines also lacked. One new character was unnecessarily made out to be a villain even though poor decisions in their past could have been a one time ordeal. While I do not want to name this character or dive into spoilers, the past actions of this character are horrendous and should not be viewed any other way; however, his overall character should have been incorporated into the story another way. I disliked the way the characters were brought into the story and the character was unnecessarily developed into a completely horrible person. While their actions should never be condoned, it was unnecessary to develop them with certain issues. Some people are just horrible, there are not always explanations or 'root' problems that made them the way they are. Also, numerous plot lines in the second half were so clear that it was laughable. They were so easy to discern. 

I felt so betrayed by Silenced. I absolutely loved the first half of the novel. I felt countless emotions for the characters as they grew and developed only to have those characters demolished by the second half of the novel. I thought I had discovered a new favorite author, but I cannot overlook the second half of Silenced. At the moment I have no desire to try another novel by Leddy Harper. 

The beginning of Silenced gave me so much hope that I had found a new favorite novel. I felt so many emotions and such a close connection with the character, but the second half just left me angry and unsatisfied. I wish I could forget the second half existed and just pretend the novel ended there or that the second half was completely cut out except for the last two chapters. 

Silenced received numerous four and five stars on Goodreads, so you might enjoy the novel; however, I would not recommend it. I cannot truly convey how betrayed I feel. I became so attached to these characters only for them to be ripped away and ruined. I considered putting down Silenced and never returning to it, but I had to finish it and I regret not putting it down. The love I had for the beginning of this novel is gone, it is overshadowed by the second half of the novel. I was kind enough to give Silenced a two out of five stars because I still cannot forget that I loved the first half of the novel.