Book Review #81: Jess by Daphne Paige

Hello Dear Reader!

Welcome to another indie book review on a book written by the amazing Daphne Paige! I’ve read her previous books, The Heiress of Gaia and The Empire’s Witch, so you know I had to read this one!

But before I get into it, here’s the back-cover summary: (from Goodreads)

I didn’t know what life in The Scurry would be like when I ran away, but I never expected to meet Olive. I don’t know what she sees in me, but she’s the only thing that makes The Scurry bearable.

However…

Now there’s a murderer in the woods surrounding us, and he’s been picking us off one-by-one.

It’s my responsibility to protect Olive. She’s my future, a future I could have never imagined for myself.

I refuse to lose her, so now it’s time to hunt.

On to the review!

Jess is a romance mixed with a bit of a murder mystery, making it for a rather unique read! The majority of the story takes place in a wooded are called The Scurry, the place where teens who feel they don’t have a place in society or was rejected by society go to live out their lives in survival mode. If you want food, you have to forage, hunt, and occasionally steal from the town nearby.

Within this book is a cast of differing characters, with the main couple being the sweet Olivia, or Olive for short, and the quiet and strong Jess. Surrounding them are what I consider the bullies of the group Byrn and Puck, the twin brothers Ludwick and Garrick, the fragile Will, the even smaller and more fragile Freddy, and the charming town resident, Darrel. Together, these characters provide a wide variety of relationship dynamics, and not all of them are good. Which is fine! It makes for a good bit of tension.

I thought Olivia and Jess were really cute together, especially when they’re introduced in the beginning. They support one another well, and while there is a bit of drama and miscommunication, it isn’t blown out of proportion like other romances. Honestly, a good amount of the drama lies within the murder mystery, which I personally found to be my favorite part of the book. I was able to figure out who the killer was rather early on, and boy did I feel proud of myself when I found I was right!

Though I did enjoy this book, I personally didn’t find Olivia and Jess’s romance story to be that full of depth, which could’ve been intentional, as the story both focuses on them and finding a murderer. They were cute and wholesome together, but I personally think their relationship lacked substance. I would’ve loved more detail to their backstory, meeting each other and getting to know each other. Still, I loved that the book was told from many characters’ perspectives. It made it fun trying to figure out who the killer was, and I personally think it was cleverly done.

I will say there are a few trigger warnings, mainly violence, blood, and death. While these scenes aren’t graphically described and only notes what is necessary, it can be enough to make you uncomfortable if you don’t like when these are depicted. There are also scenes that lightly touch on child abuse and misuse of religion, so if either or both of those are things you don’t particularly like reading about, be wary of those as well.

So, Jess rating:

3.5/5 and highly recommend if you like a mix of romance and a murder mystery.

Thanks for reading!