I went to BEA knowing I would meet some authors at signings and not expecting much past that. Then at the Friday night Book Blogger Dinner, I went to go say hey to Lauren and struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to her. As we spoke I casually glanced at her name tag and then tried not to freak out. It was Mia Siegert! Holy crapsticks, it took all I had not to go full fangirl on her and be an actual adult holding a conversation. I first heard of Jerkbait from Jana’s Debut Authors Post in March. I loved the sound of it and added it to my TBR right then. I checked a few times and thought it came out on the 17^th of May, but after talking to Mia realized it had come out the 10^th. Needing to read it right away I grabbed it for my Kindle and read it that night.

Jerkbait is a one sitting read that will suck you in from the first paragraph and not let you go till you close the cover. The tale of identical twin brothers, living out their parents’ dream of becoming hockey superstars. But Tristan just wants to act and Robbie just wants out. So when Robbie tries to commit suicide and Tristan is instructed to watch him at all times, their lives turn down a path neither ever expected.

The plot of Jerkbait is detailed, intense and dense. It mixes so many genres in a very unique way. The writing of Mia Siegert is very well structured. She is able to mix themes and add in the necessary emotions to tie it all together. Speaking of the emotions, they were very strong. I found myself gasping and crying and cheering, sometimes in the same chapter. The pacing and world building were the only two slightly areas that were a bit off. The pacing had a few minor times that it jumped and through me off, but not enough to detract from the overall read. The world built also had a few very small issues. The character development and emotions were front and center and it made the locations not stand out. The characters were all intense in their own ways. Tristan and Robbie were stand outs as they carried the entire tale. Everyone circling around them was there for a reason and they all had a distinct place in the storyline.

Jerkbait is an emotional rollercoaster that you need to ride. A powerful tale that brings together homophobia, racism, abusive parents, bullying, online predators and sports. Now those all sound like they should not go together and normally they would not. However, Mia Siegert was able to make an extremely cohesive tale that blends them all together beautifully. So do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It is an immense read that will put you through the wringer in the best way. This is Mia Siegert’s debut and I cannot wait to see what she does next.