Now the characters, as the synopsis said it contains 6 characters. All these characters were really nice to see together and also amazing to witness but I have to say I wished every character was equally talked about. Some received more attention than others which makes me wonder a lot about if the ones not highly spoken of are really important for the story.
First of all there's Grace, the character I absolutely loved most and really surprised me the most as well. Grace is just very relatable for me since she's such a silent and calm person also very gentle and kind. I absolutely loved this character for who she was! She didn't seem to be any harm to anyone, very open to everyone and always there when people needed her. The thing a lot of people and all characters in the book might love about this character is her feeling for justice as she writes with people who have been sentenced to death. During the story we get to see her go to visit the person she's writing with and see how much this affects her life. It really brings a lot of sympathy for Grace when you read it which only adds a lot more to how you feel about her.
Something I absolutely loved about Grace was the fact that she didn't only come as a sweet, gentle girl. Grace has this darker side to her and this jealous side to her that I really enjoyed to read about. Especially because it brought more to her relationship with the other characters and also build the intensity of her character: is she really as kind as she seems? Soon enough it seems like Grace's character runs a lot deeper than we expected and also she seems to hide something which I thought was magnificent to witness. It really builds up questions about this character because she kind of deceived us at the beginning of the book. When even she's hiding something but you know she's so gentle you can only wonder if her intentions are good or bad. The author really saved her for last, her part in the book started to grow more towards the end which I think was a good thing because Grace really is my favorite (female) character!
Secondly there's Candace, the step-sister of Grace. I have to say I'm really disappointed in this character as she was the one character that wasn't talked about at all. The synopsis says they all have something to hide but with Candace there's literally no indication to what she might be hiding. All we know is that she's trying to make it in Hollywood which is fine and she has a role she's constantly out for. The thing with Candace is that I really don't have any grip on her and on her life. We know little of her background and she's only interested in other people's business so she can gossip.
If I had to describe Candace in a few words it'd be arrogant, self-centered and gossip. She really is one of my least favorite characters in this book just because of her personality as well. I found it really hard to like her with the few things we got from her in the story, she written very superficial. She sure does bring drama when she's around which does bring some things to the plot but that's really it. There's no indication of her hiding something or meaning harm to the others other than gossiping. I don't really know if her role in the next books will increase since her role in Emancipated wasn't big and she also didn't get any chapters for herself. This book has six pov's and each chapter is someone elses pov but Candace barely gets any. A very disappointing character to me.
Then there's another female character named Lucy. It's not that I didn't like Lucy but she's also not my favorite, that's probably because I'm still trying to figure her out. Lucy gets a very big and important role in the book because of what she's hiding. It also takes a very long time to understand what her secret is and for how long we've known it because Lucy's secret really brings a big mystery in the book that makes things confusing. I can't really get into that too much because then I'd spoil but just know Lucy's secret is major and really affecting the rest of the plot and characters!
As for her personality itself, since she has such a big role it's obvious she'll be talked about a lot. First impression of Lucy is that she's kind of distant but the more you see her the more you recognize a facade in it for some reason we don't really know yet. She's also a rock chick in this book and very invested in the music world which I really loved about her because she sparkled passion for music and I absolutely adored that! She comes off strong but eventually it's really easy to like her and get the things she says. I really loved the fact that Lucy is one of those girls that doesn't care what others say and go for what they want, it really shows how courageous and passionate she is!
The last female character is Maya, who's also the youngest sibling. She's also one of those characters that's not spoken of that much which is a little annoying. However the author did increase her participation in the book near the end which really made up for a lot. Her part in the book will also open eyes and be very shocking which was something I never had expected to happen with Maya. The author really saved best for last when it comes to this character so I can't say I don't like the part she plays!
As for her character Maya is a very closed off character and only busy with creating an app. Most of the time she isn't around and when she is, there's not much to be said about her. I think that's a little disappointing though that we didn't get to know her better from the start but not knowing her that well really plays with the character she is as she's very closed off. Her secret also leads to her being this and it will also make sure that the characters will start to ask questions about her when she is around. I'm really glad that M.G. Reyes decided to make her role bigger near the end since it really does make sure we can get to know Maya in some way but I hope her role will be bigger in the next book, which I'm sure it will be.
As for out male characters, let's start with Paolo. The first impression everyone gets from Paolo is the hot guy, the gets-every-girl guy which is very misleading with this character because he actually has a bigger heart than he leads on. It's also very clear from the start that he's looking for more than just one nightstands and is seeking for something deeper. The question is will he find it in a house full of women? Above that his secret won't be there until he comes into the house which makes it different from the other characters. The secret he's keeping also isn't anything he thought would happen and comes over as a little shocking when it happens.
The main thing with Paolo is that he's trying to find himself out and trying to find what he's been looking for for so long: real, deep and connecting love. He's really trying to figure that out and how he can get that. If he will get that at all. That's going to be the main plotline about Paolo. His secret will be important for a little but gets less interesting further on into the read.
The last character to discuss is John-Michael which is my favorite male character in this book because he's very diverse. The thing with John-Michael is that the first chapter we see him in he's doing something very weird but we don't know for sure what he's doing. The author really wrote it suggestively and readers will have their suspicion and know for 80% sure that what they think is real. However this isn't discussed until very late in the book which makes his character all the better.
John-Michael is a little like Grace in my opinion which makes him of course a great character in my opinion. Although we already knew the secret from the start, it's still easy to really like this guy for who he is. He's very nice, gentle and kind towards everyone else and the author really builds a story around him including his past. The first things we know about John-Michael is that he has a bad relationship with his now dead father and that it really bothers him a lot. This tension will really make him feel bad at times and makes him close off for others about himself, but he'll still be there when others need him. Things get really interesting for John-Michael and for the readers since we don't know everything and a lot about his secret will be revealed in the book. I think his secret is pretty amazing and well build so you won't be disappointed at the end. Especially because a long lost person will come to visit him which makes it even more thrilling! A very interesting plotline he has!
As for the plot I have to be honest in the beginning it was very confusing. The book has these six plotlines which isn't really the problem but there's another plotline I can't tell more about. The thing it that coming into the book and having no clue at all, it got really confusing because you didn't know anything about anyone. Others can and probably will say this isn't confusing but building up the mystery, which I really agree on. For me it just became a little much to comprehend next to the other six main character's that are revealing their secrets as well in the beginning. So that's a little downside to the book, although the start was confusing things will get really clear even before half the book and that really made things a lot better for me.
As I did mention it can be seen as building up the mystery which this book really has a lot of. Although I'm not that into mystery this book really made me love it in a way I never thought I could. The fact that each of them has a secret and none of them are clearly in the picture for the readers really builds up the tension and mystery during the book. Especially because some characters are more related to each other than others and some aren't who they say they are.
Of course the fact that each of them has this secret they're protecting with their life really builds up tension between the characters and makes sure some relationships work better than others, also their personalities make sure that some work better and some just don't kick it off. I really loved how the characters and their secrets had such influence on their relationships.
Also since the tension and their relationships toward each other, the house screams drama. I have to say I'm not much into drama reads but this wasn't over the top and was also very understanding since you're in each persons head most of the time. You really see everyone's perspective and understand their point of view towards each other or towards a subject. Therefore the drama wasn't anything that bothered me at all but really added to the plotline.
Main thing in this book will of course be the secrets and I was happily to start figuring them out without being confused and start to unravel each mystery with the characters. Some things even seemed so obvious than others and then you're all wrong and so on, for short the book will keep making you guess and it'll never bore you at all!
"Six teens legally liberated from parental control for six different reasons, all with one thing in common: something to hide."
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