Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Summary

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. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Last year I picked up Beth Fantaskey's Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side expecting a silly vampire romance. I was impressed with how witty, complex, and fun the book was. So it was with great anticipation that I picked up Jekel Loves Hyde. Fantaskey's sophomore novel does not live up to her freshman effort, but it was a fun read nonetheless.

Tristan Hyde is cursed with an evil twin - a beast living within him that causes him to act cruelly and violently at unexpected times. He fears that it will soon overtake him. His father and grandfather were similarly haunted by the beast. It was Jill's ancestor, a science genius, who started the beast trait in the Hyde family. Now Jekel and Hyde are together again - in high school chemistry class. Tristan convinces Jill to use old family files to try to find a cure to rid himself of the beast before he is irredeemably changed.

Tristan is a fabulous love interest. Dark and handsome but sweet and caring at the same time. He's not exactly the stereotypical bad boy. He has a definite evil side but is fighting it with ever fiber of his being.

Jill is a typical YA female protagonist. She is smart and driven but not one to veer from the main path. Her father's unexpected death, her mother's resulting breakdown, and Tristan's interest pushes her to take more risks than ever before.

The plot becomes rather silly as the book goes on. Perhaps I would take it more seriously if I'd read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the stretched plot points. Tristan and Jill find a formula that can either cure or create the monster. Jill accidentally tastes the formula and unleashes her wild side. Can she and Tristan save each other from the temptations of their ancestors' creations?

Jekel Loves Hyde was a fun book and worth reading, but didn't completely do it for me.

Rating: 3 / 5