Book Review: Jekel loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Hardcover, 282 pages

Published May 3rd 2010 by Harcourt Children's Books

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules; especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship. 

To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad.


My Thoughts:


    Jekel loves Hyde. Dr. Jekyll Hyde. Sounds familiar? That’s what it was all to me when I first saw this book at the bookstore-familiar. I know the famous literary character/s of Jekyll and Hyde, and I admit just like some of the literary illiterates, I thought at one time in my life that it was a love story of some sort, later on I learned it’s really not.

    However, in this wonderful dark contemporary love story twist of The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde, we meet mysterious & hot track runner Tristen Hyde and the intelligent good girl Jill Jekel. The synopsis at the back of the book was what actually lure me to buy the book and I don’t regret it. I’ll tell you how good it is: I read it in less than a day, read it so fast because it was that captivating and thrilling. The characters are relatable, save for the “I have an evil side in me who is totally uncontrolled by me”. The psychodrama in the story is truly riveting. Some parts were predictable, the inevitable partnership of Jill & Tristen in a project, them falling in love plus the “I love you so much but I just can’t right now because I have some dark in me, i can’t let you be tainted by it” factor. Yeah... Just when Tristen was right again, a secret past was brought out that separated him from Jill.. Just when I thought things would lie low already, but right after the first problem was solved, things got out of control, with Jill desiring viciousness, and Tristen trying to make his father right only to end up with more complicated dilemma. Not to mention the unexpected and surprising villain in the end (which made me wonder if there’s a book 2 in this) I can only but sigh when things started to get really problematic. However, this was what made me read unceasingly.

    Overall, the ending almost made me cry because I thought it was going to go bad, then it didn’t, so I loved it. Full of dark, mystery, science stuff, logic, romance, that will make you think and swoon with the characters. Another good read from Beth Fantaskey! :)

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