Torn by Erica O'Rourke | Book Review

Throwback Review!

I read and reviewed Torn in October 2013, for work.  A coworker was going to be interviewing Erica O'Rourke and we needed some reviews of her books for the library's website.  I ended up reading the entire trilogy!  This is Book 1, and I gave it 4 of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Maura is about to start her senior year of high school. She and her best friend Verity have it all planned out; they're excited to be at the top of the high school food chain and looking forward to applying to SUNY together and escaping Chicago. But when Verity comes back from a summer spent with her aunt in New Orleans, she seems very different from the girl Maura has grown up with. More mysterious. And Verity's after-graduation plans have changed from New York City to New Orleans. When the girls are attacked one night, and Verity ends up killed, Maura sets out to find out exactly what happened over the summer to change Verity so much. 

This isn't your typical murder mystery, though: there's magic in Chicago and Maura finds herself inextricably involved in saving her hometown from destruction by magical forces. She is helped along the way by Luc, an incredibly good-looking guy who shows up just after the attack, and hindered by Colin, the hot young bodyguard that her mobster uncle hires to protect/watch her. Torn is an incredibly engaging book that will appeal to many teens. It's got mystery, romance, intrigue, and paranormal elements. Torn is the first book in a trilogy, so there's more great story coming in Tangled and then Bound.