Review: Six Months Later

Book: Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Series: None
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: She has everything she's ever wanted. But not her memory...

When Chloe fell asleep in study hall, it was the middle of May. When she wakes up, snow is on the ground and she can't remember the last six months of her life.

Before, she'd been a mediocre student. Now, she's on track for valedictorian and being recruited by Ivy League schools. Before, she never had a chance with super jock Blake. Now he's her boyfriend. Before, she and Maggie were inseparable. Now her best friend won't speak to her.

What happened to her? Remembering the truth could be more dangerous than she knows...


Overall Review:
I haven't read a whole lot of psychological thrillers before so I wasn't at all sure what to expect, though they sound really good and it's definitely a genre I want to get more into, and I started Six Months Later knowing not but tons of people loved it. Once I started I was immediately addicted because right away we're thrown into the story with no idea what's going on or where the story will go. We're just as clueless as Chloe as to what is going on, in some cases probably more so! I just adored the plot to Six Months Later. You fall asleep during study hall thinking it's any other day and then all of a sudden you wake up and it's six months later, everything has changed for you, and you don't remember any of it? Talk about excitingly insane! This was the type of book where I honestly had no clue as to what was going to happen next or even coming close to figuring out how it would all end. That's so rare for me, not being able to figure out anything, but it was actually much more fun that way because everything came as a shock or a surprise. Richards has officially got me hooked on psychological thrillers. She did an amazing job on making a completely believable yet totally insane storyline that had me begging to know what was going to happen! The only thing I didn't get was everyone's lack of understanding or lack of caring. Here's Chloe freaking out and not herself, or the person she was for the past six months, and she's spewing all kinds of theories and ideas about what could've happened and nobody pays it any mind. If I were them I'd either try to hear her out to see what exactly she was freaking out over or I'd send her to get some help (harsh I know but still!) but nobody did any of that. Everyone brushed it off as nothing and it completely baffled, if not irritated me.

Chloe was a very interesting character. When we first meet her she's kind of a slacker who doesn't really care about what people say about her or think of her. She's tough and can kick any guy's butt easily and knows it. It was pretty cool, but I felt she could've cared just a little bit more if that makes sense. Like, she didn't care so much about school, tests, appearances, her reputation, etc. While some of that I get a respect, the whole school thing bugged me. Maybe because I happen to like learning, the thought of a person not caring sets me on edge. Then when we discover who she had become in the six months she doesn't remember she became a popular girl who did absolutely amazing in school. She started following the gossip, changing to fit into the preppy crowd. She became snooty, full of herself, and wanted to do anything to become bigger and better. It was such a huge change from who she was in the beginning that anyone who actually believed that to be her was a complete idiot. Then finally we have the Chloe who woke up six months later and has no idea what's happened but is determined to find out. She's stubborn, tough yet has her weak moments, and is struggling to figure out who exactly she is and where she belongs in the grand scheme of things. While she liked who she was before, she can't deny that she's proud and even happy with some of the things she's accomplished in that blank period of her memory. She tried to form a nice balance between the girl she was, the girl she had become, and the girl she wanted to be after all of this. She was a fighter through and through and I cheered her on every step of the way.

I wasn't a huge fan of the romance between Chloe and Adam simply because I didn't trust Adam. I know a lot of people didn't like him because of his reputation and rumors they heard and that wasn't why I didn't like him. Not at all. If anything those things made me want to like him because he wasn't at all what people thought he was but I just didn't trust him. He seemed to know far too much than he let on about Chloe and what had happened to her. He may have been the only one to really listen to her when she said she couldn't remember the past six months, but he didn't encourage her to find out the truth of what happened. Were they cute together? Yes, I really think they were. They had their adorable moments and their frustrating ones, like most couples I read, but I just didn't trust him so I couldn't get into the romance between Adam and Chloe as much as I wanted to. And believe me I wanted to!

The pace wasn't fast but it wasn't slow either. There were times where I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what was going to happen and then there were times where I wanted things to go faster to get to more interesting parts. I'm not familiar with many books in the psychological thriller genre nor have I read very many psychological thrillers but Six Months Later has definitely got hooked on the genre! It was so crazy because I had no idea what was going to happen next and I couldn't even make a guess as to why things were the way they were for Chloe which made the whole experience of reading Six Months Later all that more enjoyable. It blew my mind at times yet had me rolling my eyes at others. I'm kind of hoping that Richards writes another psychological thriller (after she writes a book with Romily Bernard of course. You have no idea how badly I'm holding on to that idea. It will happen!) because she has gotten me hooked and I want more from her, like now! Chloe was a really interesting character to get to know. In the beginning she was a tough chick who didn't have a care in the world. She lived life how she wanted and could care less of the consequences or what people thought of her. During that mysterious six month period she can't remember, she turned into a preppy girl who cared all about school, boys, gossip, and climbing that social ladder. She tried to be perfect at everything. The Chloe we meet that is struggling to discover what had happened to her and how she can fix things tries to find a balance between the girl she was and the girl she had mysteriously become because while she was happy with who she was before, she couldn't deny being happy with who she had become and what she had done during that six month time period. It was really fun to see her try to balance those sides of her while also changing into this totally different girl she was becoming. I wasn't a huge fan of the romance, no mater how much I wanted to be, simply because I couldn't trust Adam at all. He knew far more than he was letting on about Chloe and I didn't like it at all. So despite how adorable they were, I couldn't get into it much. I adore that cover, so much. Not only is it really pretty yet simplistic, but as soon as I see it I think of winter and the holidays! Not the gross winter we've been having but the winter that you only see in movies or something. Love it!


Overall Rating:
I give Six Months Later a 4 out of 5 star rating. I enjoyed reading this book so much that I had such a hard time putting it down! There were a couple times that it got a little slow and there were a few minor issues I had with it but all in all it was a fantastic book and I'm so glad I listened to everyone and read it! I would totally recommend Six Months Later to people, whether you like psychological thrillers or not. I hadn't read many when I read SML but I fell in love with it and I'm excited to continue on with this genre! So don't be afraid to try out something new! Thanks for reading!

4/5 stars

~Kayla~