Laura's Reviews > Incriminated

3.5 stars.

I love when a sequel is even better than the first in a series. What I realize now is Emancipated was setting things up for what was to come in Incriminated. Where in Emancipated, the kids were all going through that process, moving into the house on Venice Beach, and dealing with a variety of secrets they each have. In Incriminated, their secrets come to a head leading to much bigger trouble for the whole group. Let’s just say what occurs had me flying through the pages.

This book continues right where the first one left off. It’s been five months since the housemates moved to Venice Beach, all six of them getting emancipated for very different reasons. I sometimes struggle to remember all of what occurred in the previous book, but M.G. Reyes makes sure to remind us of the main developments in an organic way with Grace trying to set things right between all the housemates.

Candace is auditioning for a hot new show. Could it be her big break? Grace is still keeping her death row inmate secret. Can she keep it together with the execution date approaching? Lucy’s old rehab buddy shows up out of the blue. Could she bring more trouble than the housemates need? Maya gets busy with her app, so busy she might be failing on why she was put in the house in the first place. John-Michael is still dealing with the secret he revealed in the first book. And Paolo gets more than he bargained for in his blackmail gone wrong situation continuing from Emancipated.

This is a hard book to review because I don’t want to give away any actual developments from Emancipated. I can say this one is much more fast-paced. Things occur a lot more quickly. Some characters are dealing with the repercussions of revelations in the first book, while others end up implementing themselves in a crime no one wants on their shoulders. This could help explain why the book is titled Incriminated.

There are so many things within this series. It’s a series of secrets, friendship, and murder. This is a book filled with a race against death row, blackmail, a forbidden Hollywood romance, a mystery guest showing up uninvited, and a test of friendship. They all need one another to make it through and keep up with the lies. Will the Tyson Drew mystery ever fully be solved? We’ll find out in the third book out next year.

If you enjoy YA contemporaries filled with drama, secrets, and multiple POVS (there’s 6), this is one worth checking out.