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A review by selbs2004
Keepers of the Cave by Gerri Hill
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
It took me a while to really know how I was going to rate this, especially because I kept thinking I was being too harsh 😅, but the fact that the only thing I could say after I finished this book was "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?!?" I think the rating is fitting.
This book suffers from the very common book disorder called telling not showing. In some cases, this disease can be treated (with actual interesting characters or plot) in most cases though like this book for instance it is fatal.
When I say no aspect of this book was good I'm not exaggerating. The romance was forced beyond the rules of physics, the plot made zero sense and never felt like it had a point, and all the characters were unlikable.
Let's start with the plot. This book thrived on the act of shock value way more than actually delivering something interesting, and that's unfortunate because it had so much potential. But when most of it is just terrible graphic things happening without the two characters doing any investigation to strengthen the plot, suspense, mystery, or give an actual point to all this horrific stuff that is happening It leaves me incredibly disappointed, and not even caring about anything that's going on. The two main characters do absolutely nothing to figure out what's going on in the story, and funnily enough without the other perspectives (which I originally hated) we wouldn't have known fuck-all about the actual world that is being created in this novel.
(Writing about this makes me realize how much I should have dnf this, but I'm stubborn as hell)
The romance does not make this better either. Which just really sucks. I would usually really like it when one character is a little more pushy and the other is a little more apprensive, and this book has the advantage of having multiple points of view so this could've been done very well. But in order for this type of dynamic to work YOU HAVE TO ACUTELY SHOW THAT THE APPRENSHIVE CHARCTER SECRETLY WANTS IT! There was no point that truly felt like Paige genuinely liked CJ's advances but needed to hold back due to her own reasons. They did not have any chemistry or compatibility, and they honestly seemed like two characters that the entire time I was hoping would never get together, because their animosity for each other felt too genuine to hold some secret feelings of love underneath. When they finally got together, it felt gross and wrong, and overall I hated it. You need to make me believe two characters are in love based on their actions, you can't just tell me!!
The characters fell so flat. Not only because CJ and Paige are fucking terrible at their jobs and spend zero time investigating, but also because Gerri Hill paints this picture of CJ and Paige being these two secretly haunted characters that because of their upbringing have a passion for helping others and protecting kids from harm. But they never truly do that. And this is where the telling not showing comes in. There are so many moments where Gerri Hill uses the tortured past as a motivator for action and nothing happens. I was hoping maybe CJ or Paige would build a relationship with one of the girls from the school, but the school is just a disregarded plotline. Or maybe they show their relationship with Fiona getting them closer and closer to figuring out what is going on in the town, but that doesn't happen, because at the 80% mark Fiona JUST FUCKING TELLS THEM WHATS HAPPENING!! They don't have to do anything, they don't even actually save anyone from harm based on their hard work or passion, it's all so stupid!!
Ice and Billy are so creepy and weird (what was the point of them??l
And Fiona was just a tortured plot device
Overall it was all very empty and if it wasn't for the many recommendations I have gotten I would avoid Gerri Hill books at all costs.
Overall 1.5 stars
This book suffers from the very common book disorder called telling not showing. In some cases, this disease can be treated (with actual interesting characters or plot) in most cases though like this book for instance it is fatal.
When I say no aspect of this book was good I'm not exaggerating. The romance was forced beyond the rules of physics, the plot made zero sense and never felt like it had a point, and all the characters were unlikable.
Let's start with the plot. This book thrived on the act of shock value way more than actually delivering something interesting, and that's unfortunate because it had so much potential. But when most of it is just terrible graphic things happening without the two characters doing any investigation to strengthen the plot, suspense, mystery, or give an actual point to all this horrific stuff that is happening It leaves me incredibly disappointed, and not even caring about anything that's going on. The two main characters do absolutely nothing to figure out what's going on in the story, and funnily enough without the other perspectives (which I originally hated) we wouldn't have known fuck-all about the actual world that is being created in this novel.
(Writing about this makes me realize how much I should have dnf this, but I'm stubborn as hell)
The romance does not make this better either. Which just really sucks. I would usually really like it when one character is a little more pushy and the other is a little more apprensive, and this book has the advantage of having multiple points of view so this could've been done very well. But in order for this type of dynamic to work YOU HAVE TO ACUTELY SHOW THAT THE APPRENSHIVE CHARCTER SECRETLY WANTS IT! There was no point that truly felt like Paige genuinely liked CJ's advances but needed to hold back due to her own reasons. They did not have any chemistry or compatibility, and they honestly seemed like two characters that the entire time I was hoping would never get together, because their animosity for each other felt too genuine to hold some secret feelings of love underneath. When they finally got together, it felt gross and wrong, and overall I hated it. You need to make me believe two characters are in love based on their actions, you can't just tell me!!
The characters fell so flat. Not only because CJ and Paige are fucking terrible at their jobs and spend zero time investigating, but also because Gerri Hill paints this picture of CJ and Paige being these two secretly haunted characters that because of their upbringing have a passion for helping others and protecting kids from harm. But they never truly do that. And this is where the telling not showing comes in. There are so many moments where Gerri Hill uses the tortured past as a motivator for action and nothing happens. I was hoping maybe CJ or Paige would build a relationship with one of the girls from the school, but the school is just a disregarded plotline. Or maybe they show their relationship with Fiona getting them closer and closer to figuring out what is going on in the town, but that doesn't happen, because at the 80% mark Fiona JUST FUCKING TELLS THEM WHATS HAPPENING!! They don't have to do anything, they don't even actually save anyone from harm based on their hard work or passion, it's all so stupid!!
Ice and Billy are so creepy and weird (what was the point of them??l
And Fiona was just a tortured plot device
Overall it was all very empty and if it wasn't for the many recommendations I have gotten I would avoid Gerri Hill books at all costs.
Overall 1.5 stars