I started this book after reading a review mentioning River's powers. I was interested to see what the author would do with it, as it could be an interesting twist to the insta-love trope so common in young adult trope and all the cliches that come with it (i.e. forgetting all your problems and important issues like people in danger when your love interest is present). Unfortunately, it wasn't really well done here. Violet is upset when she learns how she has been manipulated but she soon seems to completely forget it when she learns (view spoiler)[that River didn't commit all the crimes he was credited with - it doesn't change the fact that he manipulated her and that she would never be sure of the source of her feelings. In addition, the fact that he wasn't responsible for all the crime still means that he did commit some of them, something the characters seem to have completely forgotten. (hide spoiler)] 
 I really struggled while reading the first half of the book. I had problems with the writing in addition to the cliches of the genre: there are far to much repetition (i.e. Violet thinks something and then she says it aloud, she analyses in her head what people have just says and have to repeat their words for that...). I could see where the author was going with this first half, but it was really uninteresting for me (I really sympathize with Brodie here). 
 The second half was more interesting, things were happening and there was a real sense of danger. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate the final twist: (view spoiler)[first we learn that River has one brother who shows up unexpected, then another brother does the same. In addition, it's revealed that he is the one responsible for the more outrageous crimes and not River as we believed. I prefer when we believed it was River's powers which make him forget his actions. Besides, now River is presented as being nice, just because we have met someone worse. As I said previously, the characters are conveniently forgetting all the other crimes he did commit. I would prefer it far more if River was presented as manipulating the others' feelings so that they forgive him. (hide spoiler)] 
 Despite those things I would prefer the author had done differently, my principal problem is the writing, a problem that I find more and more often in recently published young adult books. I think that for people who are not bothered by it, the book would be a three stars read.