Review: "Night Owl" by M. Pierce

"I already knew that the price of great pleasure is great pain." (Matt)

Don't you just hate it when your To-Be-Read (TBR) list is so freaking long that you lose track of all those great books that you should have read as soon as they were released but never got around to doing so? Well, that's what ALMOST happened with Night Owl, the debut novel of M. Pierce and the first book in the Night Owl trilogy. When I noticed the second book in the series available for review on NetGalley, I suddenly remembered its predecessor, still stuck somewhere on my TBR list. So, when I was approved to review Last Light, I FINALLY did what I should have done last year and read Night Owl. Better late than never (even if it does make me want to smack myself for not realizing the error of my ways earlier)! ^.^

"He was a puzzle, and the more I opened up to him, the more closed he seemed to me." (Hannah)

When Matt Sky and Hannah Catalano, aka as Night Owl and Little Bird online, meet on a writing forum and become writing partners, Matt sets certain rules to assure they maintain personal distance and anonymity. However, when Hannah unintentionally sends him an email from her private account, an account that just so happens to have a profile picture of herself attached to it, Matt now has a face to go with the name and he can't help but wonder about the woman behind the photo. From there, Matt's perfectly controlled and organized world and Hannah's slightly off-kilter and disarrayed life are destined for more than a safe and impersonal online writing partnership.

"Again and again we went there together--tumbling over the raw edge, touching the live wire, collapsing, exploding, dissolving like dead stars."(Matt)

What can I say about this book that won't give the twists away? I seriously loved everything about Night Owl. The story was intoxicating and grips you from start to finish, making you want more and more and was told from the interchanging points of view of the two lead characters. Matt and Hannah were truly addictive characters, both imperfect individuals who live such different lives but seem so absolutely perfect together. There's no denying that these two have their issues and that Matt is more broken than he lets on but you root for them and want them to have their happily ever after because anything less than that would be a disservice to them.

"Matt...I don't want a perfect gentleman." 

"What do you want?" 

"You."

A word of warning: the book ends with an epilogue that has a cliffhanger that literally had me blurting out, "What the fuck?!" Cliffhangers. Are. Evil. But, after my (over)reaction, I quickly remembered that I had the ARC of Last Light waiting for me to read and review on my tablet so I was back to being a happy camper. ^.^ However, please, please, PLEASE don't let the cliffhanger stop you from reading Night Owl because I highly recommend you read it. I know it was released last year but I'm still putting it on my list of Favorite Reads for 2014 and it gets five stars from me. ♥♥♥

Date read: 20 October 2014

Learn more about the addictive M. Pierce here.

Grab a copy of Night Owl and M. Pierce's other books on Amazon | Barnes & Noble (first three books displayed only).