Title: Jekel Loves Hyde
Author: Beth Fantaskey
Release Date: May 3, 2010
Goodreads Synopsis: “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 key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.
To better 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 Review: I received an ARC of this book through the bookstore where I am a part time bookseller. I had actually just finished reading Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side when I walked into the store and saw this ARC and got really excited! I loved Jessica’s Guide so I was really eager to get my hands on Beth’s next book. Jekel Loves Hyde focuses on two high school students, Jill Jekel and Tristen Hyde who aside from sharing infamous literary last names, don’t run in the same social circles. Jill is the “goody two shoes”, she always does the right thing, you can always count on her to help out her friends and that is usually why she gets pushed around quite a bit. Tristen is the school loner, he transferred from England and his past is just as mysterious as he is. The two end up getting together to work on a school science project trying to capitalize on their last names by recreating some of the experiments conducted by the original Mr. Jekyll. However, Tristen believes that his family has the “Hyde curse” and he has a dark monster lurking inside him that thrives on violence and he sees the experiments as a way to save his soul and rid himself of the curse. As the experiment progress Jill and Tristen find themselves drawn to one another and are constantly playing a love-hate game throughout the novel.
I really did enjoy this book, I liked the relationship between Jill and Tristen, you feel like these two are either going to be life long rivals or they are going to fall in love, but you weren’t quite sure which outcome would come true. I felt like I did know a lot of how the book was going to end before I got to it, it seemed a little predictable. However, there were one or two surprises that did occur that caught me a little off guard so I was happy that I did not see everything that was coming.
I thought the idea behind the story was interesting, what would happen if there really was a “Hyde curse”?” How would that affect someone’s life? Could they be helped? That is what drew me into this story, the science behind the Jekyll and Hyde story, the mystery interested me almost more that the whole Jane/Tristen story. Don’t get me wrong, I loved watching their story unfold, but after I was done reading I am not dying to know what happened to them, like I was in Beth’s other book Jessica’s Guide (which if you have read that and want to know what happens, you can go here to find out!)
Overall, it is a great, quick, light read. I liked the story, thought the back story was very interesting and I was left happy with the books outcome. If you liked Beth Fantaskey’s first book you should check this one out.
