The Revenge by Hannah Jayne

Author: Hannah Jayne

Publisher: July 2017

Date of publication: Sourcebooks Fire

Tony just wanted a little revenge when he posted his ex’s location online. He never meant to lead a predator to her doorstep… 

After Hope breaks up with Tony and embarrasses him at school, he's devastated. In a moment of revenge, Tony makes the location on her phone public. But a week later, when Hope calls Tony and begs him to stop the prank, he hears a shriek and a car door slamming. Then the call is dropped.

When Hope isn't back at school the next day, Tony realizes that he may have put Hope's life in danger. Can he trace Hope's movements and save her before it's too late? 

In The Revenge, Tony tries to get back at his ex-girlfriend by signing her up on all sorts of websites online as well as posting the location of her phone on one of them.  Hope calls him and begs him to take reverse everything, but goes missing after their phone conversation.  

I have mixed feelings about this book.  There were a few things I liked and definitely things I hated about the story.  I did like the couple of twists that were thrown into the mix.  One I didn't see coming, so that was a bonus.  I also thought this book had the potential to show how taking revenge on anyone can majorly backfire and cause more harm.  The character I had most sympathy for was Tony.  He made a mistake in the beginning after being publicly humiliated by Hope.  And while that doesn't excuse his behavior, I thought what happened to him throughout the rest of the book was far worse and had more damaging effect on his life.  

What I didn't care for was the overall plot and the speed through which things moved. I felt like there were a few plot holes that were never addressed and I found them frustrating.  I was also not a fan of no one believing Tony when he tried to tell the truth.  Police aren't that stupid.  Finally, the ending was so abrupt.  It was almost like the author didn't quite know how to end things, so she just did with a lame epilogue.

I'm not sure I would wholeheartedly recommend this book.  The potential was there for a more fleshed out book, but it just didn't quite live up to its potential.