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A review by dani_bugz
Unwanted by Amanda Holohan
3.0
Actual rating 2.5
The reason this got a 2.5 instead of a 1 is because I loved the author's writing style. Her ability to write is admirable and I very much enjoyed the way she structured and paced the novel. I also thought that the erebii bad guys were pretty well thought out. I was really excited after the first couple chaptwrs, hoping to have a kickass story by a great Australian author, but I was let down.
The book itself was quite clumsy. There was an attempted romance and love triangle incorporated but unfortunately it was poorly executed. I didn't really care about Gus, the vest friend, and found him to be obnoxious. There wasn't really any particular reason they were close, no bonding or inside jokes, and so I felt like he was just there for the sake of that ending. Then Red is full on instantly enamoured of Bea and she couldn't give two hoots about him. It really could have done without either of the characters but being YA the author felt the need to include them.
I felt like Bea wasn't a fully fleshed out character either. You can see she has the makings of it, but she just felt very 2D to me. I feel like she needed more motivation for following in her father's footsteps, as all I got was that she wanted to do it because her dad did, not from loyalty of fierce determination or to prove herself or some such other possible motivation. Also, despite being heavily trained she doesn't fight ANYONE or stand up for herself. Pretty much I thought that the author had more of a role in kind for her but didn't humanise her or make her feel real. Even her relationships with her sisters felt pretty flat and watered down.
In the end I just didn't care about this book. I read it for Holohan's writing more than anything, and I can tell that her writing will only improve. So while I felt Unwanted was a bit of a flop, I very much look forward to her future work and will continue to buy her books.
The reason this got a 2.5 instead of a 1 is because I loved the author's writing style. Her ability to write is admirable and I very much enjoyed the way she structured and paced the novel. I also thought that the erebii bad guys were pretty well thought out. I was really excited after the first couple chaptwrs, hoping to have a kickass story by a great Australian author, but I was let down.
The book itself was quite clumsy. There was an attempted romance and love triangle incorporated but unfortunately it was poorly executed. I didn't really care about Gus, the vest friend, and found him to be obnoxious. There wasn't really any particular reason they were close, no bonding or inside jokes, and so I felt like he was just there for the sake of that ending. Then Red is full on instantly enamoured of Bea and she couldn't give two hoots about him. It really could have done without either of the characters but being YA the author felt the need to include them.
I felt like Bea wasn't a fully fleshed out character either. You can see she has the makings of it, but she just felt very 2D to me. I feel like she needed more motivation for following in her father's footsteps, as all I got was that she wanted to do it because her dad did, not from loyalty of fierce determination or to prove herself or some such other possible motivation. Also, despite being heavily trained she doesn't fight ANYONE or stand up for herself. Pretty much I thought that the author had more of a role in kind for her but didn't humanise her or make her feel real. Even her relationships with her sisters felt pretty flat and watered down.
In the end I just didn't care about this book. I read it for Holohan's writing more than anything, and I can tell that her writing will only improve. So while I felt Unwanted was a bit of a flop, I very much look forward to her future work and will continue to buy her books.