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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I’ve heard so much mixed reviews about this book but I really liked. There’s both romance and mystery and I like how well the story comes together.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The reviews had me sceptical. The first few chapters slightly slow, but all of a sudden it picks up pace! A real page turner for me! And no sparkling heroes.... :)
I needed this read so I'm glad to start this. It helped me quite a bit out of my slump as I find the pacing and writing easy to digest.
I didn't really know what to expect reading this book, and I had not realized that this was released in 2016. It did not feel outdated though, despite the trope. I ate that up.
It also took me time to finish this because of the demands from school, but whenever I pause and go away from it, there was this lingering feeling that the characters are just doing their regular things at the moment. And I miss that feeling, knowing the story is waiting for me.
As to the characters, I found myself adoring them all. Alex in my head shares the face of. I usually try to create an original person in my head when I'm reading fiction but I let it be with this one because Alex suits her. And I appreciate Alex a lot and how she's always at the top of her game. She is aware of her disadvantages but uses her advantages much greater to compensate for that. Plus, her comebacks are just amazing.
I also appreciate that Daniel, her love interest, did not eventually come out to be a skilled agent or spy as well. He remained to be an ordinary citizen who just happened to have professional assassins and interrogator as his loved ones. And he gave them a path to have normal lives as well.
My only small issue with it is that the villains did not feel real most of the time, or the threat rather. Instead of a spy fiction, it does feel more like a romance and a found family story. I also had an issue with Alex not really having a specific long-term goal when she felt, to me, like someone who's goal-oriented and ambitious. Her objective in pursuing her career which is to save innocent lives, did not feel real to me. She didn't seem to be actively doing that, and only shown to do so when she's following orders. But I decided to take it as just part of her character in consideration of her upbringing and how she kept to herself for a long time. Having big dreams or life goals aren't probably imbedded in her head.
Overall, I just really enjoyed the ride with this one. The banters are funny and there's an intense page flip moment, which again, I missed feeling of. The dogs are also the best for me. I only cried once reading this book, and it has to do with the dogs.
I didn't really know what to expect reading this book, and I had not realized that this was released in 2016. It did not feel outdated though, despite the trope
Spoiler
of love at first sightIt also took me time to finish this because of the demands from school, but whenever I pause and go away from it, there was this lingering feeling that the characters are just doing their regular things at the moment. And I miss that feeling, knowing the story is waiting for me.
As to the characters, I found myself adoring them all. Alex in my head shares the face of
Spoiler
Emily Rudd, thanks to the hype of Netflix's One PieceSpoiler
I also appreciate that Daniel, her love interest, did not eventually come out to be a skilled agent or spy as well. He remained to be an ordinary citizen who just happened to have professional assassins and interrogator as his loved ones. And he gave them a path to have normal lives as well.
My only small issue with it is that the villains did not feel real most of the time, or the threat rather. Instead of a spy fiction, it does feel more like a romance and a found family story. I also had an issue with Alex not really having a specific long-term goal when she felt, to me, like someone who's goal-oriented and ambitious. Her objective in pursuing her career which is to save innocent lives, did not feel real to me. She didn't seem to be actively doing that, and only shown to do so when she's following orders. But I decided to take it as just part of her character in consideration of her upbringing and how she kept to herself for a long time. Having big dreams or life goals aren't probably imbedded in her head.
Overall, I just really enjoyed the ride with this one. The banters are funny and there's an intense page flip moment, which again, I missed feeling of. The dogs are also the best for me. I only cried once reading this book, and it has to do with the dogs.
I was up and down with this one: say what you will about Meyer, but she does have a way of making readable MC's.
The reason I rolled coasted with this so much is at first it was interesting, but there were parts where it would completely flip. The plot first presented was actually far more interesting to me than what actually happened. The romance at first felt refreshing, than too pedestrian and convenient. There were times I desperately didn't want any of the main characters to harbouring any deep secrets, as I found them more interesting they say they were, but then times where I wish it would flip and some giant twist would be revealed to make things interesting again.
The cons:
-The story was just too long, it dragged. Not so much because it had unnecessary scenes, but because a lot of scenes just had two or three paragraphs of unnecessary filler or repetition.
-Insta love that makes the characters act completely out of character than what is originally presented.
-It lacks compelling stakes. The few opening chapters present us with world-ending stakes the MC is fighting against, then flips its to be only a matter of self-preservation. Which isn't bad on it's own, but does seem to weaken the stakes a little and then it doesn't really fill the tension back up.
-The romance distracts from the action too much, which compounds the dragging feeling and the lack if tension.
The Pros:
-Dogs
-The MC is unique as is her abilities and talents. Written well, feels real, and is very interesting. Not something I feel I see often and I appreciated it.
-Despite the set backs, I found myself happy with the ending. I smiled, was ultimately satisfied when I accepted the kind of read it was.
-When there was action, I was invested.
I think the biggest issue with this book is it didn't know what it was trying to be (or rather, it wasn't marketed well). It's more romance than an action spy novel, and if that had been better explained, I'd have known it probably wasn't for me.
The reason I rolled coasted with this so much is at first it was interesting, but there were parts where it would completely flip. The plot first presented was actually far more interesting to me than what actually happened. The romance at first felt refreshing, than too pedestrian and convenient. There were times I desperately didn't want any of the main characters to harbouring any deep secrets, as I found them more interesting they say they were, but then times where I wish it would flip and some giant twist would be revealed to make things interesting again.
The cons:
-The story was just too long, it dragged. Not so much because it had unnecessary scenes, but because a lot of scenes just had two or three paragraphs of unnecessary filler or repetition.
-Insta love that makes the characters act completely out of character than what is originally presented.
-It lacks compelling stakes. The few opening chapters present us with world-ending stakes the MC is fighting against, then flips its to be only a matter of self-preservation. Which isn't bad on it's own, but does seem to weaken the stakes a little and then it doesn't really fill the tension back up.
-The romance distracts from the action too much, which compounds the dragging feeling and the lack if tension.
The Pros:
-Dogs
-The MC is unique as is her abilities and talents. Written well, feels real, and is very interesting. Not something I feel I see often and I appreciated it.
-Despite the set backs, I found myself happy with the ending. I smiled, was ultimately satisfied when I accepted the kind of read it was.
-When there was action, I was invested.
I think the biggest issue with this book is it didn't know what it was trying to be (or rather, it wasn't marketed well). It's more romance than an action spy novel, and if that had been better explained, I'd have known it probably wasn't for me.
It was solid. Sometimes it was too wordy and it was slightly predictable but I did always seem to want want to find out what happened next. The title is slightly misleading because not much actual chemistry was done. Oleander (nickname of character) may have been a better title.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated