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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I had to try so hard to make it to the end. I couldn't believe it was a Marissa Meyer book. Felt a Cecelia Ahern or kasie west vibe which is not bad but the whole plot moved on a snail pace. A story about animal shelter that is not even about the animals. And the power which is just coincidence overexaggerated in the synopsis. And if she's that good to take up a business major why would there still be this major loose end concerning her parents shop? I must be living in an alternate universe where Marissa Meyer books are boring. The time at the shelter made me feel nostalgic for the aquarium at the last song but you know, I am all for enemies to friends to lovers' trope but prudence is not a perfectionist like gia from fib but more of this judgmental hypocritical idiotic infuriating mc you sometimes want to just think in the head, like stop talking, stop jumping to conclusions, listen to other ppl first. And quint was just a textbook version of a male mc for this type of plot. To think I have been waiting for this book from the start of the year...but then again, what's one more disappointment in 2020...., right?
I loved Meyer’s “Lunar Chronicles” and went to a book signing last year where she talked about this book and I was hooked!
i usually love marissa meyer's works (like heartless & the lunar chronicles), but this book was so different from what i was used to getting from her and was SO incredibly close to just being a total disaster for me. had it not been for the last 25% ish of the book, this would have definitely been a 2 star rating because of how frustrating it was to get through.
prudence is insufferable. plain and simple. she's rude, condescending, self-righteous, immature, judgmental, and so much more. sure, this is done somewhat intentionally and we get to see her growth by the end of the novel, but it's too little and too late. i suffered way too much listening to her and i didn't feel like i could actually stand her until the last few chapters. it was so hard to root for her and i really found myself not caring about her or her grade worries whatsoever.
another thing that bothered me was the lack of subtlety. you can clearly see when a "life lesson" is being set up and then you have no choice but to wait a couple of chapters until the characters learn this themselves. it makes things so predictable and (i hate to say it) boring.
the thing that salvaged this novel for me was the earring/money plot. i already had a strong feeling of what was going to go down, but i did appreciate the build up and tension. it was better than i had thought it was going to be and ended the book on a positive note for me.
i though pru and quint had pretty good chemistry together too.
the first 75% of the book was a solid 2.5 stars (just because of how annoying i found prudence to be) but the ending bumped it up to a very weak 3 stars.
prudence is insufferable. plain and simple. she's rude, condescending, self-righteous, immature, judgmental, and so much more. sure, this is done somewhat intentionally and we get to see her growth by the end of the novel, but it's too little and too late. i suffered way too much listening to her and i didn't feel like i could actually stand her until the last few chapters. it was so hard to root for her and i really found myself not caring about her or her grade worries whatsoever.
another thing that bothered me was the lack of subtlety. you can clearly see when a "life lesson" is being set up and then you have no choice but to wait a couple of chapters until the characters learn this themselves. it makes things so predictable and (i hate to say it) boring.
the thing that salvaged this novel for me was the earring/money plot. i already had a strong feeling of what was going to go down, but i did appreciate the build up and tension. it was better than i had thought it was going to be and ended the book on a positive note for me.
i though pru and quint had pretty good chemistry together too.
the first 75% of the book was a solid 2.5 stars (just because of how annoying i found prudence to be) but the ending bumped it up to a very weak 3 stars.
I'm so happy I stuck with this, because it was worth it!
The first hundred pages were a drag. The pacing was painfully slow and included an unnecessary level of detail, I couldn't stand the narrator, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the narrator's instant karma power. Not only had I decided that contemporary was not a good fit for Marissa Meyer, but I was considering DNF-ing.
Then, magically, around a third of the way through, I was drawn in. Pacing tightened, scenes were more exciting, dialogue became wittier, and the narrator began to develop into a better person. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, and I found the romance storyline very well done. I had so much fun with all the Beatles and classic rock references (classic rock fan here!), a rarity for contemporary YA.
Though Instant Karma has a supernatural twist- the narrator's karma-giving power- this power didn't play as large a role in the story as I had expected. The story was much more about the power of teamwork and overcoming differences, and helping the environment (by rehabilitating sea animals) was a much more prominent theme than karma.
While Meyer can write a good contemporary novel, I think her talent is more apparent in sci-fi and fantasy. I missed my favorite parts of her writing- her lovely descriptions and thrilling plot-based stories, which this book didn't have, focusing more on character voice and development. So if you're a Meyer fan, I would not recommend this book unless you're also a fan of YA contemporary romance- and sea animals!
The first hundred pages were a drag. The pacing was painfully slow and included an unnecessary level of detail, I couldn't stand the narrator, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the narrator's instant karma power. Not only had I decided that contemporary was not a good fit for Marissa Meyer, but I was considering DNF-ing.
Then, magically, around a third of the way through, I was drawn in. Pacing tightened, scenes were more exciting, dialogue became wittier, and the narrator began to develop into a better person. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, and I found the romance storyline very well done. I had so much fun with all the Beatles and classic rock references (classic rock fan here!), a rarity for contemporary YA.
Though Instant Karma has a supernatural twist- the narrator's karma-giving power- this power didn't play as large a role in the story as I had expected. The story was much more about the power of teamwork and overcoming differences, and helping the environment (by rehabilitating sea animals) was a much more prominent theme than karma.
While Meyer can write a good contemporary novel, I think her talent is more apparent in sci-fi and fantasy. I missed my favorite parts of her writing- her lovely descriptions and thrilling plot-based stories, which this book didn't have, focusing more on character voice and development. So if you're a Meyer fan, I would not recommend this book unless you're also a fan of YA contemporary romance- and sea animals!
MC was a spiteful negative person the entire book up until the last chapter then glossed over her "oh I should be a better person" moment in a paragraph or two.
I wanted to like this more -somewhat predictable and lots going on. A lot of unnecessary drama for plot. Not going to rush out and recommend but some will like it for animal rescue and sweet romance.
This one started out pretty promising and then sort of went sideways and the ending was disappointing for me. Based on all the love this author gets, I might try another because her writing is fast paced and this book gets mixed reviews from her fans. Bad choice (IMO) for the main character to be quite so prickly. I wasn't really rooting for her.
Edit: I *thought* this was my first book by the author, but I see I tried another a while back and also gave it 2 stars. So no more for me.
Edit: I *thought* this was my first book by the author, but I see I tried another a while back and also gave it 2 stars. So no more for me.
A cute, quick read! A little underwhelming by Marissa Meyer standards, but in general not bad for YA. Loved the animal rescue aspect, hated the karmic justice aspect (unnecessary). Enemies to lovers is so good haha. I understood the character growth that Prudence achieved by the end of the novel, but she was so insufferable for most of the story. I loved Quint
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes