Written by contributor Belle Ellrich
For fans of You and Pretty Little Liars comes a dark and twisted story told in dual POVs of two morally corrupt characters.
After reading the synopsis of The Obsession, I’m not ashamed to admit I was a bit obsessed with getting my hands on it. However, I hadn’t been expecting just how messed up the story truly would be. There were so many twists and turns, and each time they popped up, I was holding my breath and wondering how long it’d take them to pass before I could breathe easy again.
The Obsession follows two main characters, Logan and Delilah. Delilah is just a girl trying to survive high school until college, where she can move to Singapore to attend her dad’s alma mater and get as far away as possible from her mom’s abusive boyfriend. Logan couldn’t be any different from her. He’s a textbook-defined stalker, and Delilah isn’t his first victim. However, with his unassuming behavior around others and his good looks to act as a cover, he’s made it seemingly unknown that there’s something seriously wrong with him.
Each time I read through Logan’s POV, I found myself cringing or screaming–but in a good way. Jesse Q. Sutanto has crafted a character so disgusting and convincing, that you can’t help but remind yourself that he’s the deranged one in this story. His chapters each felt genuine, convincing the reader that he couldn’t help but “protect” Delilah and save her from the dangerous world around them that he’d believed to be true. It was eerie how well written Sutanto made his character. He clearly didn’t understand just why his plans weren’t always working to his fruition, nor could he place the emotions and reactions he omitted when they failed.
Delilah, on the other hand, is different from most of the protagonists we see in our stories. Sutanto created her in a way that, at first, you’d think she’d be this damsel in distress. But no, oh no, she is no damsel. Delilah is the dragon that guards the fallen castle. Out of impulse and sheer fear of her and her mother’s possible futures, she cuts her mom’s abusive boyfriend’s life short by kicking his car’s floor jack, thus making the car and all of its weight fall on top of him in a quick and gruesome manslaughter. Though she feels guilty, it’s clear that she’d do it over again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping her mom and herself safe from him. It’s through this, and secrets we learn later on in the book, that we learn Delilah isn’t as “pure” or morally adept as we might’ve thought. Sutanto made sure that Delilah would surprise us in delirious and unexpected forms, and I both loved and feared all of it.
With both of these characters, I have no doubt and fully believe that the author designed them brilliantly. The character development, not just with these two characters but all of them, was amazing throughout the story. They each had a storyline; each gave the reader feelings and thoughts that made them second guess. I honestly feel as though this was one of the best stories I’ve seen yet that has contained such carefully and well-thought-out development in a set of characters.
When it came to the worldbuilding though, I was a bit unimpressed. Sure, there were a couple of scenes outside of the school and Delilah’s home, but overall, I felt that this entire book just took place at these two locations. It was kind of boring, in that sense. Because of that, I wouldn’t list this book as dark academia. Yes, it did take place at the school, but the school didn’t have an overall influence over the character’s decisions but for maybe two or three things.
The plot, on the other hand, had me completely shocked. Earlier, I’d mentioned that there was quite a bit of breath holding within this book, and to only briefly touch on it would be a crime within itself. This book was shocking. I hadn’t been expecting just how dark it would get, nor did I anticipate the complete shift in power by the end of the book. There were tons of secrets with unexpected twists and turns. Even though a lot of them were revealed around the midway point or past that in the book, I don’t feel as though they were suddenly added. Sutanto weaved them into the story, almost like a stitch that mends together a ripped collar on your shirt.
I will say, though, the ending was a bit disappointing. It left me with quite a few questions, such as, “Is that really it?” “Will there be another book then?” “But what happens after they find out about this?” “What will the repercussions of that be?” and the like.
Overall, I fell completely head-over-heels in love with this book, maybe even a bit more so than anticipated. Though there were a few things I feel could’ve been better, I do think that the majority of this book was a masterpiece in and of itself. Jesse Q. Sutanto is a brilliant writer, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
The Obsession is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of February 2nd 2021.
Will you be picking up The Obsession? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A classic sort of love story… except somebody might wind up dead.
Nobody knows Delilah like Logan does. Nobody. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can through her social media and watching her through a hidden camera he has trained on her house. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called “romantic.”
But after Logan sees Delilah killing her abusive stepfather, he realizes there’s still more about her to discover. His sweet, perfect Delilah isn’t so perfect after all.
Delilah knows she should feel guilty, but all she feels is free. She’s so over the men in her life controlling her. Except Logan saw what she did, and he won’t let her forget it.
Delilah is done being the victim. And she refuses to be a character in Logan’s twisted fantasy. If Logan won’t let her go… she’ll make him.
