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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is a long book. Lots of details and the beginning was a little slow. But I loved how the characters were developed and there were a few LOL moments. This story is not realistic at all, but if you read it as completely fictional it works. I didn’t like all the torturous parts and was upset to not hear how Lola fared, but it was a good story.
Dnf @ chapter 2
I only made it 2 chapters in and it felt like I had repeated the same two phrases through all of it with only 1 slight plot point added to create action. There just wasnt a grab for me like others say they got. Normally I give it a solid 50 percent before I dnf. But this one...all I got so far is how she escaped, how shes stayed alive, and what all she uses to stay that way. Just on repeat.
I only made it 2 chapters in and it felt like I had repeated the same two phrases through all of it with only 1 slight plot point added to create action. There just wasnt a grab for me like others say they got. Normally I give it a solid 50 percent before I dnf. But this one...all I got so far is how she escaped, how shes stayed alive, and what all she uses to stay that way. Just on repeat.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
it would've been better if the POV is 1st person because it was hard to keep up with her changing names
This was a solid adult romance novel. It was none too heavy on the romance and had a good storyline underpinning it - it mostly made sense and didn't go off on random tangents as so many romance novels do. The characters were believable (although I don't know why Meyer only write self-depreciating plain-but-gorgeous female leads) and interesting. It's a steady story that builds however like all Meyer books the first two chapters are almost incomprehensible until you read a bit further. It is worth it though, just speed read the first two chapters as a back story (she really likes to throw you in there without any context) and it'll make sense. Was a good slow read novel. It was able to keep me interested but the chapters didn't all end in cliff-hangers that make you need to finish the book with urgency.
I would recommend it for fans of Meyer and fans of other adventure/romances (Claudia Grey/Cassandra Clare fans and the like)
I would recommend it for fans of Meyer and fans of other adventure/romances (Claudia Grey/Cassandra Clare fans and the like)
I liked this one. It was a little bit silly but mostly just enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was interested to see how this book turned out. I had a LOT of issues with the [b:The Twilight Saga|3090465|The Twilight Saga (Twilight, #1-4)|Stephenie Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327930511s/3090465.jpg|6440505], but I really enjoyed [b:The Host|1656001|The Host (The Host, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1318009171s/1656001.jpg|3328799] (Still waiting on the sequel - [b:The Seeker|6138606|The Seeker (The Host, #2)|Stephenie Meyer|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|6317390]!). The synopsis of this book definitely seems different enough.
The result however, is just...
Rating: 3.5
I feel that fans of her previous work (especially Twilight) will not love the governmental conspiracy, spy thriller parts. Fans of spy thrillers will not be completely satisfied either. Both will—at best—be in the middle. Fanatics of Meyers will probably love it though and forgive all the obvious flaws of the book, nothing wrong with that though as I myself have authors that I am that way about
(My reaction to anything [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg])
Not surprisingly the characters are really one dimensional. This is not always a bad thing, sometimes a story calls for it or does not suffer because of it. Usually when there is enough action and suspense to cover for it. This was not the case in The Chemist though. Much of the book is spent with the characters "in hiding", which would be a great time for them to get to know each other but there is not much to that. The majority of the characters can be summed up in a single sentence:
Alex (for simplicity) - Former government chemist interrogator on the run.
Daniel - White knight.
Kevin - Super macho ex-special ops who is on the run and trains dogs.
Surprisingly, one of the most multidimensional characters is the main antagonist—whom I can't for the life of me remember the name of—Alex's former handler.
The thing that was the hardest for me to swallow in this book is the whole romance angle. Daniel just felt completely unbelievable and hard to swallow. From the first moment he enters the story he is obviously smitten with Alex. At first this is fine, but after the, he just acts as if that never happened and it doesn't change how he feels about her at all? And the whole "love at first sight" stuff?
On the flip-side I do give Meyer tons of props for completely changing genres and stepping out and writing somethingcompletely... ok mostly different.
In conclusion, there were definitely enjoyable parts of this book and it entertained me sufficiently. I do wish there was either more character and relationship development or more fast-paced, nonstop action.
The result however, is just...
Rating: 3.5
I feel that fans of her previous work (especially Twilight) will not love the governmental conspiracy, spy thriller parts. Fans of spy thrillers will not be completely satisfied either. Both will—at best—be in the middle. Fanatics of Meyers will probably love it though and forgive all the obvious flaws of the book, nothing wrong with that though as I myself have authors that I am that way about
(My reaction to anything [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg])
Not surprisingly the characters are really one dimensional. This is not always a bad thing, sometimes a story calls for it or does not suffer because of it. Usually when there is enough action and suspense to cover for it. This was not the case in The Chemist though. Much of the book is spent with the characters "in hiding", which would be a great time for them to get to know each other but there is not much to that. The majority of the characters can be summed up in a single sentence:
Alex (for simplicity) - Former government chemist interrogator on the run.
Daniel - White knight.
Kevin - Super macho ex-special ops who is on the run and trains dogs.
Surprisingly, one of the most multidimensional characters is the main antagonist—whom I can't for the life of me remember the name of—Alex's former handler.
The thing that was the hardest for me to swallow in this book is the whole romance angle. Daniel just felt completely unbelievable and hard to swallow. From the first moment he enters the story he is obviously smitten with Alex. At first this is fine, but after the
Spoiler
torture scene where she tortures himOn the flip-side I do give Meyer tons of props for completely changing genres and stepping out and writing something
In conclusion, there were definitely enjoyable parts of this book and it entertained me sufficiently. I do wish there was either more character and relationship development or more fast-paced, nonstop action.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Terrible writing.
Mindless, skimmable spy thriller. Could have been a 100 pages shorter--some passages linger on a topic for pages. Meyer's writing has improved tremendously since the Twilight days.