Scan barcode
A review by freadomlibrary
The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill
4.0
I received an e-ARC of this book from Delacorte Press and Random House Children’s via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was a really predictable. Most of the time I don’t mind when there’s a bit of predictability in my stories, especially when it somehow still catches me by surprise, but this book was like a giant cliche. The pace was slow and it had the general plot points of drama, mystery and secrets. There’s a lot of miscommunication but in the end, everything gets wrapped up in a little bow.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
It was very simple and straight forward. Nothing to write home about. It was a bit wordy and would sometimes get sidetracked, there would be something talked about and in the same paragraph something completely different would be mentioned. It had the tendency to be a little young but overall it was easy to read.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
I have to say that this is where the story both made it and broke it for me. Liza, the main character, was so annoying. She spent the whole book under the pretense of helping her band members but really she was just thinking about herself. Along with being self-centered, she was rude and incredibly bossy. She was a nervous wreck and really disturbing to read about. Obviously I didn’t like her at all. But this is where things get tricky. Huck, her best friend, is amazing, way too good for her to be honest. He’s playful, funny, honest, open and strong. I would’ve much preferred to have him be the narrator. Then we have Demi, who is your basic mean girl and the enemy of our main character. She’s snobby and stuck up. Everything about this book is cliche.
Emotionally
The plot was predictable. We follow our main character who in an attempt to save her band from cuts signs them up for a talent competition on a cruise. This is then immersed with an old rivalry, an childhood friend , a mysterious admirer and a random old lady. Like I said above, it was all just very cliche. All the old tricks in the book were used. From how the competition would turn out, to who the admirer was, everything was just way too obvious for me. There was no point where I felt surprised by the outcome or impressed with what happened. Most of it was easy to guess. There was no originality involved. But it wasn’t bad. It was just an average contemporary romance. There was no extra shine to it, nothing outstanding, just regular.
Liza was incredibly annoying. I could not stand her. She had this false sense of guidance. She spent the whole time saying that she was worried about her band and that she had to save them but she was just worried about herself. She didn’t want to be alone and have no where to fit in and she took it to this whole other unnecessary level. It was all about her and what she wanted. I did not like her at all. She was bossy and rude to the people that were supposed to be her friends and by the time she realized how awful she’d been, everyone just forgave her super fast. I was not happy.
The only reason this is four stars at all is because of the side characters. I feel like that characters that made up the band were stellar and they should’ve had a more central part in the story. They were unique, interesting and just really nice and genuine type of people. They were very good friends to a girl I feel didn’t deserve it at all and I just wish they could’ve shined a little more.
The rest of the characters all annoyed me in a specific way. Lenny was just a plain old asshole. Demi, the arch nemesis, was really stereotypical and had nothing new about her. Rush was really lackluster. He was sweet and nice but there wasn’t anything that stood out to me about his personality.
I wish I could’ve liked this better but it just wasn’t for me.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was a really predictable. Most of the time I don’t mind when there’s a bit of predictability in my stories, especially when it somehow still catches me by surprise, but this book was like a giant cliche. The pace was slow and it had the general plot points of drama, mystery and secrets. There’s a lot of miscommunication but in the end, everything gets wrapped up in a little bow.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
It was very simple and straight forward. Nothing to write home about. It was a bit wordy and would sometimes get sidetracked, there would be something talked about and in the same paragraph something completely different would be mentioned. It had the tendency to be a little young but overall it was easy to read.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
I have to say that this is where the story both made it and broke it for me. Liza, the main character, was so annoying. She spent the whole book under the pretense of helping her band members but really she was just thinking about herself. Along with being self-centered, she was rude and incredibly bossy. She was a nervous wreck and really disturbing to read about. Obviously I didn’t like her at all. But this is where things get tricky. Huck, her best friend, is amazing, way too good for her to be honest. He’s playful, funny, honest, open and strong. I would’ve much preferred to have him be the narrator. Then we have Demi, who is your basic mean girl and the enemy of our main character. She’s snobby and stuck up. Everything about this book is cliche.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t blown away by it. Honestly, I’ve read better.The plot was predictable. We follow our main character who in an attempt to save her band from cuts signs them up for a talent competition on a cruise. This is then immersed with an old rivalry, an childhood friend , a mysterious admirer and a random old lady. Like I said above, it was all just very cliche. All the old tricks in the book were used. From how the competition would turn out, to who the admirer was, everything was just way too obvious for me. There was no point where I felt surprised by the outcome or impressed with what happened. Most of it was easy to guess. There was no originality involved. But it wasn’t bad. It was just an average contemporary romance. There was no extra shine to it, nothing outstanding, just regular.
Liza was incredibly annoying. I could not stand her. She had this false sense of guidance. She spent the whole time saying that she was worried about her band and that she had to save them but she was just worried about herself. She didn’t want to be alone and have no where to fit in and she took it to this whole other unnecessary level. It was all about her and what she wanted. I did not like her at all. She was bossy and rude to the people that were supposed to be her friends and by the time she realized how awful she’d been, everyone just forgave her super fast. I was not happy.
The only reason this is four stars at all is because of the side characters. I feel like that characters that made up the band were stellar and they should’ve had a more central part in the story. They were unique, interesting and just really nice and genuine type of people. They were very good friends to a girl I feel didn’t deserve it at all and I just wish they could’ve shined a little more.
The rest of the characters all annoyed me in a specific way. Lenny was just a plain old asshole. Demi, the arch nemesis, was really stereotypical and had nothing new about her. Rush was really lackluster. He was sweet and nice but there wasn’t anything that stood out to me about his personality.
I wish I could’ve liked this better but it just wasn’t for me.