Decline (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #1)

Declan Reede finds fame as a champion race car driver, but life comes at him too fast and too furious. Ghosts from his past throw him off track—literally. He chose a future of glory over love, but with six crashes, the neon lights around his name are about to snuff out. The team owner sends him to London to get straight or lose it all. He boards a plane only to find Alyssa, the girl he needs to purge, sitting next to him.

“Decline” is sopping with drama and heart break, most likely appealing to young adults. Author Michelle Irwin writes in Declan’s POV, which evokes a raw perspective of a young mind. Mature readers will only find sadness in Declan’s tale. Like watching a train wreck unfold, he’s thrust into a world of drugs and women and the 21-year old binges until he’s a lost cause. Prepare yourself for the world record in “F” bombs. Is there really a point to so many? The intensity of the story is the tragedy of a gifted young man who has big dreams, but destroys everyone who loves him. His selfishness and immaturity result in a monumental collapse.

Ms. Irwin keeps the emotional springs coiled tight until the end, which is a testament to her writing abilities. The angst is extreme. Declan's actions are almost unbelievable if not for the moral of this story “How foolish men are. It is their lot to suffer, but because of their folly they bring upon themselves sufferings over and above what is fated for them. And then they blame the gods, Zeus and the Odyssey

Sloane Austen