Review: Eighteen – J.A. Huss

Posted 19 November, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 10 Comments


Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: Eighteen – J.A. HussEighteen by J. A. Huss
Published by Selfpublished on 18 november 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Purchase

4 Stars

Eighteen is hard.
And so is Mateo Alesci.
He’s hard to read, hard to predict, hard in every way that counts. He wants things from me.
Dirty things, nasty things, forbidden things.
And I have to give in.
His attention is completely inappropriate, but I can’t say no. The way he looks at me… the way he watches me through my bedroom window… the way he drags me deeper and deeper into his completely forbidden fantasy world just… turns me on.
He knows it turns me on.
He holds all the power. He holds all the cards.
He holds my entire future in his hands.
And I have to give in.
Because Mr. Alesci is my teacher.
And I need everything he’s offering.

I’m not even sure what I’m going to say about Eighteen! It’s dark. It’s pretty effed up, and it is also a pretty intense and filled with secrets.

My Eighteen review:

At the beginning of Eighteen, I got to meet Shannon, and most of the time, I enjoyed her. I didn’t really enjoy Mateo, though, because he was so alpha and controlling, when he knew that Shannon had been through hell and partly back already. He was also in a position of power, where Shannon could have felt as if she didn’t have a choice at all. She did have a choice, though, and she made it, even if she wasn’t sure about what to do, or how to deal with Mateo most of the time. I did get my emotions invested in a big time, though, I was sad, happy, angry and felt with Shannon in all the ways I enjoy feeling things along with a character when I’m reading a good story.

The storyline in Eighteen was really well done, and I really enjoyed how Shannon matured and managed to deal with so many different things at the same time. The death of her sister, living with her brother-in-law and her niece, Olivia, who was a baby, while finishing high-school and having to take extra trig and science classes. Much smarter than she gave herself credit for, she really did work very hard to try to get a better life for herself after graduating.

Mateo didn’t exactly make that very easy for her, though. Being ten years older and working already, he had much more life experience than Shannon. He also was really into her, but he wasn’t completely honest with her. And man, I have rarely followed a main character as confusing as him! Introducing Shannon to his own family one day, to completely disappear for several days afterwards. Warning her to stay away from the one friend she had, but without explaining anything about why, leaving her to think he was jealous. If I had been Shannon, I’d have left him and not looked back! The secondary characters are well done, especially Danny, and I would absolutely love to read a story about him! He definitely needs his own novel!

The whole story in Eighteen is told from Shannon’s perspective, in first person point of view and present tense. This was a very smart choice, because the readers only got to know what Shannon knew, so the mystery and confusion Mateo left Shannon feeling was something I was left feeling as well. And of course, the writing is really good – this is a Huss novel after all! So while I didn’t truly warm up to Mateo, Shannon and Danny were amazing, and the storyline as well as the main plot and the secondary plots were well executed.

Some of my favorite Eighteen quotes:

But he never brings up our conversation or the fact that I said I won’t take rides from him anymore. I’m impressed with that, actually.

I don’t know much about this world. I’m only eighteen. I feel like a little baby seahorse in a sea of sharks, that’s how confusing life is for me right now. But I do know one thing for sure. I should walk out of this house, call the police, and tell them what Mateo is doing.

And then he walks through the gate and disappears in the alley. Fucker. What the hell am I doing with that guy anyway? In the heat of the moment it makes sense. I’m horny and I just want someone to pay attention to me. But I don’t like feeling this way afterward.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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10 responses to “Review: Eighteen – J.A. Huss

  1. This si the first review I’ve read for this book. I saw it in JA Huss her newsletter earlier this week and wa scurious what you woudl think of it as I know you always read her books soon. Shannon sounds liek a great main characetr with how she’s been through so much and works hard for a beter life. I like it when you see a character change and mature throughout the course of the book.
    Mateo doesn’t sound as likeable though with how he keeps so many scerets and doesn’t explain his behavior, although I guess the fact that it’s told from first perspective and only from Shannon her point of view is probably intentional so you keep wondering about Mateo and his intentions. Great review!

  2. He’s her teacher? That’s just wrong, I don’t care how old she is! This sounds way too dark for me I think, but I am glad you were able to enjoy it enough to give it 4 stars!

  3. I could have sworn I commented to tell you I’d come back to actually read your review once I’d written mine…apparently, that was in my head. 😉 As you know, since we chatted, we have similar opinions on this one. It was hard to review – took me several days, obviously. 😉 But although I had certain issues, in the end I was satisfied. And that, in my opinion, is something Huss is pretty good at. 🙂
    Happy Monday, my dear! I’m sorry I’ve been MIA. James has been home since last Thursday and now the kids are home so my time is being dominated by family. *ha* I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that your Monday was excellent! Hope to chat soon! **BIG HUGS**

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: New Release Review ~ Eighteen (18) ~ JA Huss
    • LOL Brandee 🙂 I think it’s because we chatted about it that you thought you’d already commented. I was satisfied in the end, too, and Huss definitely is a master at making me change my mind about a lot of things! It’s pretty amazing when you think about it!
      I’m glad you’re having some family time, it’s nice to know your busy with James and the kids 🙂 I hope there has been no more storms, so that you guys can just hang out and be together *BIG HUGS*

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