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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
A solid 4.5 stars, worth rounding up. The characters were fun and it wasn't overly predictable. I enjoyed reading this book. It came with a few scenes worthy of a chuckle or a groan and even some emotional moments I needed to power through.
I like Meyer's ability to make the relationships part of the story so the reader is connected to the plot and the characters. It wasn't a clinical spy novel though it still had tons of action.
I like Meyer's ability to make the relationships part of the story so the reader is connected to the plot and the characters. It wasn't a clinical spy novel though it still had tons of action.
I hope the fact that I gave it two stars will make me regret my decision to waste my time on this one a little less.
Stephenie Meyer's book The Chemist is about a torturer. Ironically, the book in itself is a torture to read. With all of honesty, I wanted to like this book. I wanted to give Meyer a chance, to rediscover her in the thriller genre. And it is in the word thriller my problem with this book lies. I was promised a thriller, a spy thriller to be exact, yet if I say 25 percent of the book is actual thriller I may be exaggerating. I won't lie, some thriller-y parts of the book were okay. But: the main plot twist is a cliche I would not have expected from Meyer at all, and even the one plot twist that almost got me to like this book, ended up being a huge disappointment. And the remaining 75 percents of the book? Romance. Which well, is not what I came for, but would it be good I would have probably forgiven Meyer. But it is dull. You know the saying: Still it is a better love story than Twilight? In this case I am not sure. It is just as illogical, dull and misleading as Twilight. In a way even worse. I do not want to go into any spoilers, but the foundation of the main relationship of the book is outraging. And to coat this all in a romantic and gooey coat is just... Speechless. The only voice of reason of this book is considered to be the bad guy of the story, the rude and arrogant obstacle to the greatest love story of the all. Well, Obstacle, I am with you on this one.
Is it a romance? Well, in terms of genre definitely more a romance than a thriller. In terms of you know, real world relationships, no not a romance. A relationship story arc that in no way should be promoted. Is it a thriller? Vaguely. And I am very disappointing by the fact how vaguely.
Stephenie Meyer's book The Chemist is about a torturer. Ironically, the book in itself is a torture to read. With all of honesty, I wanted to like this book. I wanted to give Meyer a chance, to rediscover her in the thriller genre. And it is in the word thriller my problem with this book lies. I was promised a thriller, a spy thriller to be exact, yet if I say 25 percent of the book is actual thriller I may be exaggerating. I won't lie, some thriller-y parts of the book were okay. But: the main plot twist is a cliche I would not have expected from Meyer at all, and even the one plot twist that almost got me to like this book, ended up being a huge disappointment. And the remaining 75 percents of the book? Romance. Which well, is not what I came for, but would it be good I would have probably forgiven Meyer. But it is dull. You know the saying: Still it is a better love story than Twilight? In this case I am not sure. It is just as illogical, dull and misleading as Twilight. In a way even worse. I do not want to go into any spoilers, but the foundation of the main relationship of the book is outraging. And to coat this all in a romantic and gooey coat is just... Speechless. The only voice of reason of this book is considered to be the bad guy of the story, the rude and arrogant obstacle to the greatest love story of the all. Well, Obstacle, I am with you on this one.
Is it a romance? Well, in terms of genre definitely more a romance than a thriller. In terms of you know, real world relationships, no not a romance. A relationship story arc that in no way should be promoted. Is it a thriller? Vaguely. And I am very disappointing by the fact how vaguely.
I enjoyed this book just fine, but I was expecting it to be faster paced. I was expecting more action and excitement and I never found myself itching to pick the book back up to find out what happened. I also felt like the main couple fell for each other too fast. That aside, I did enjoy the characters, their development, and the overarching storyline. I just would have liked it more if the action was quicker and the love was slower.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This read that felt like it couldn’t figure out what kind of book it wanted to be - a spy novel, a thriller, a medical drama, a romance… while entertaining, the plot felt disjointed at times and it seemed like there were plot holes and lose ends all around. Along with an unsatisfying ending, this book was entertaining but not one I’d recommend.
Stephenie Meyer tries a spy mystery/thriller in The Chemist and I wanted to like it, I really did. But it fell flat for me, because of how predictable everything was. I hoped that the first twist wouldn't go the way that I thought it would, but it did. Each time, every plot twist just seemed to meet my expectations rather than to exceed it or to challenge it in some ways. It's a serviceable story, just that it feels like it's been done somewhere else by someone else.
The Chemist is about a woman named Alex, since that's the name that she uses most often in the book, who used to work for a clandestine government operation. However, she was betrayed and her most trusted colleagues was killed. Since then, she's been on the run for three years from the division and has managed to stay ahead of them each time, with a combination of paranoia and her unique skillset. Alex was known as the chemist and was one of the best, able to create poisonous concoctions designed to bring her opponents to their knees.
Three years later, Alex is starting to tire of running and when one of her former colleagues claims that she will be free after she completes one last job for them, Alex agrees to take on the task. She's asked to deal with a man named Daniel. On the surface, Daniel is a high school teacher and a volleyball coach. However, her division is convinced that Daniel has links to a Mexican drug cartel and could have the plan to detonate a chemical weapon. Alex's job is to uncover the connections and to figure out what his end-goal is. However, neither Daniel nor Alex are what each other expect and the information that Alex manages to acquire from him makes them even more of a target than Alex was before.
The Chemist gets two stars from me because of two reasons. Firstly, Stephenie Meyer actually attempts something new here. Even if it may not be very successful. However, she does try to write outside of a genre that she's most well-known for and also writes in the third-person, as opposed to the first-person that she usually writes in. It keeps us more detached from Alex, such that we aren't very sure about Alex's past or what she could be hiding. The second reason is because Alex's skillset is actually pretty badass. As compared to Meyer's more passive heroines of the past, Alex is clearly more of a take-charge kind of character and does actively seek out answers.
However, there are plenty of flaws with the book. The twists are predictable. And the romance, as many of the other reviewers have mentioned, seems unrealistic and full of insta-love.
Once the romance is ignited, a lot of the other plot is sidelined as well which annoys me. I didn't sign up for a romance with dashes of a thriller in it. I signed up for a thriller with dashes of romance in it.
The Chemist is about a woman named Alex, since that's the name that she uses most often in the book, who used to work for a clandestine government operation. However, she was betrayed and her most trusted colleagues was killed. Since then, she's been on the run for three years from the division and has managed to stay ahead of them each time, with a combination of paranoia and her unique skillset. Alex was known as the chemist and was one of the best, able to create poisonous concoctions designed to bring her opponents to their knees.
Three years later, Alex is starting to tire of running and when one of her former colleagues claims that she will be free after she completes one last job for them, Alex agrees to take on the task. She's asked to deal with a man named Daniel. On the surface, Daniel is a high school teacher and a volleyball coach. However, her division is convinced that Daniel has links to a Mexican drug cartel and could have the plan to detonate a chemical weapon. Alex's job is to uncover the connections and to figure out what his end-goal is. However, neither Daniel nor Alex are what each other expect and the information that Alex manages to acquire from him makes them even more of a target than Alex was before.
The Chemist gets two stars from me because of two reasons. Firstly, Stephenie Meyer actually attempts something new here. Even if it may not be very successful. However, she does try to write outside of a genre that she's most well-known for and also writes in the third-person, as opposed to the first-person that she usually writes in. It keeps us more detached from Alex, such that we aren't very sure about Alex's past or what she could be hiding. The second reason is because Alex's skillset is actually pretty badass. As compared to Meyer's more passive heroines of the past, Alex is clearly more of a take-charge kind of character and does actively seek out answers.
However, there are plenty of flaws with the book. The twists are predictable. And the romance, as many of the other reviewers have mentioned, seems unrealistic and full of insta-love.
Spoiler
Like many of the other reviewers have mentioned, Daniel does not behave like a normal human at all — he isn't angry (at all) with Alex for torturing him. That is totally insane. Furthermore, he's convinced that he's loved Alex from the start but this is crazy behaviour, especially after he's aware of how dangerous she is. And I do not buy that a woman that's as badass as Alex would fall for someone that's as milquetoast as Daniel because his main two selling points are that (1) he's very normal and (2) he can cook.Once the romance is ignited, a lot of the other plot is sidelined as well which annoys me.
Spoiler
Daniel's brother, Kevin, who is actually the one in the photos and who used to work for the CIA. Kevin is off on their mission for the most part, while Alex sits back and falls in love with Daniel, learns to love dogs and gets some semblance of a normal life. Though Alex is supposed to spend time thinking about what information she was privy to that caused her to be so dangerous according to her agency, she really doesn't do this until the very end. Otherwise, she's busy ~loving~ Daniel.
*So* long for a very drawn out story. Could've been at least 1/3 shorter. Don't recommend it
This was a very good book, while I read it a while back. It was a very easy and captivating read. A great escape from reality book.
This book bored me, oddly enough and I have nothing more to say about it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 12th June 2021
Think this is my favourite book which Stephenie Meyer’s has written, definitely better than the twilight saga in my opinion.
I love how this book is so different compared to hear other novels. This is a high stakes, mystery romance involving people with deadly jobs and how they are trying to survive. Thought the characters were well portrayed and I enjoyed the character progression you witness in the protagonist. Also, the romantic relationship between our protagonist and another character was presented nicely, not too much of a slow burn but also not insta love and plenty of issues, very realistic.
Overall, very enjoyable and would reread. Also like the fact it is a standalone.
Think this is my favourite book which Stephenie Meyer’s has written, definitely better than the twilight saga in my opinion.
I love how this book is so different compared to hear other novels. This is a high stakes, mystery romance involving people with deadly jobs and how they are trying to survive. Thought the characters were well portrayed and I enjoyed the character progression you witness in the protagonist. Also, the romantic relationship between our protagonist and another character was presented nicely, not too much of a slow burn but also not insta love and plenty of issues, very realistic.
Overall, very enjoyable and would reread. Also like the fact it is a standalone.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes