Review: Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

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 key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.



To better 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.


Talk about bringing the classics back into popularity, Beth Fantaskey has done this in spades! By taking the idea from the well known classic, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and combining that with her individual writing style, Fantaskey has created another winner.


Jill Jekel and Tristen Hyde share the spotlight in this novel as high school students with well known last names. What no one really knows is that they truly do have a connection to the characters from the classic, whom everyone though to be fictional. We get alternating narratives from both characters and personally I loved it! You get a full account of what's going on, who is thinking what and this gave me a and I'm sure will give all readers a much broader scope of the whole story.

What I wasn't expecting with this book was the dark and twisted tone that is apparent throughout, and don't even get me started on the twists and surprises that Fantaskey managed to throw in to the mix. They blindsided me and I had no warning whatsoever, nor did I know what to expect next at any given time. Fantaskey has a huge fan following from her last release, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side and I don't think her fans will be disappointed. I loved this story and really had fun reading it the whole way through.

So many mysteries and questions; will they find a cure? Will the beast win? Who is behind the murder and will the good guys really be able to come out on top? You'll be asking these questions the whole way through and you'll be on the edge of your seat until the very end. I can't wait to see what Fantaskey brings us next, and hopefully this may not be be the last we see of Jekel and Hyde.

I gave Jekel Loves Hyde 4 shamrocks!!!!