Title: Lost Girls
Author: Merrie Destefano
Genre: YA Contemporary/Mystery
Pages: 360
Release Date: 03 January 2016

From Goodreads: "Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life. She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black. Black to cover the blood. And she can fight. 

Tell no one.

She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls. But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves—the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…

The only rule is: There are no rules."

Thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review!

Lost Girls was nothing like what I expected- and I really ended up loving it! I thought this would be about a girl who came back from being kidnapped and her memories would slowly return and then the kidnapper would come back to take her all over again, fade to black end of story. I'm so happy to say I was wrong and that there was so much more to this book than a girl who got kidnapped. It took so many twists and turns that I didn't expect and was much better than I imagined it would be.

The last thing Rachel remembers before waking up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere is going to sleep under her grandma's quilt listening to Taylor Swift. Now, she's covered in blood and bruises and can't remember an entire year of her life. Now she's popular, wears nothing but black, and can fight. When she realizes that she's not the only girl to go missing within the past year, Rachel wants to try and unravel the mystery behind what happened to her and where the other girls are. But the more she uncovers, the more her memories start to come back to her, and the more she realizes that her new life is one that scares her- one that could get her killed.

When I started this book, I didn't have incredibly high expectations for it. I thought it would just be a kidnapping mystery/thriller book, which interested me, but I wasn't looking for anything to really make me go, "WOAH WHAT?!" My reading experience was actually quite the opposite, actually. The further I got in this book, the more I found myself going, "Wait what?" in a very good way. There were several twists throughout that I wasn't expecting and the more I read, the more I enjoyed. There was so much more depth than I expected and it was such a deep, dark, and twisted read that I couldn't get enough of.

Rachel was such a kick-butt character and easily took the spot as my favorite, with Dylan being a close second. She was so strong, both mentally and physically. After coming home from being kidnapped and realizing that there were other girls missing, she wanted to do everything she could to help find them. Even when she couldn't remember what happened to her, she was so determined to help any of the other girls that were missing and tried to prevent others from going missing as well. I loved how protective she was over all of her friends and her family, and how she wasn't afraid to show that she could protect herself. I just really loved her and everything about her and how she handled herself through all of the ups and downs that happen throught this book. Also, I tend not to swoon over characters in books, but Dylan was definitely swoon-worthy! He was your typical bad boy character but he was just the best kind of bad boy you could ask for.

The writing of Lost Girls was a perfect mix of creepy and elegant. While reading, you really get an ominous feeling as Rachel tries to navigate her new life that she doesn't remember with the constant terror of the kidnapping looming over her. But you also get a beautifully descriptive story alongside the creepy feelings. You really get a feel for how Rachel now sees the world and how she feels about this life that's completely unknown to her, from the friends she doesn't know to the nights she spends in withdrawal from some drug that she can't remember taking and the crazy raves that her group attends that feel like so much more than just raves. I couldn't get enough of this book while reading, constantly craving the truth behind why Rachel was kidnapped and absolutely devouring each page filled with some twists that I never saw coming. You can easily get lost in the world of this book and, if you're anything like me, won't want to leave until the mystery is solved!

With the perfect combination of thrills, mystery, and beauty, Lost Girls is a book that shouldn't be missed. Not only does it have a fantastic story line, it also has a very important message. There are many ways to be lost, but please never forget that you're never alone. No matter what, you are loved and cared for, and there is always someone willing to lend a kind ear or helping hand. If you're looking for a roller coaster thriller with beautiful writing and unforgettable characters, then Lost Girls is just the book for you!