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beeboisourgod 's review for:
Mina and the Undead
by Amy McCaw
Oh this book was so close to tipping back into 4 star territory at the end there, it got dark and wild for a hot minute and I was ready to sit up in my seat and take note, but then it took the cliché and coward's way out and fell firmly back into place at the 3 star mark.
Don't get me wrong, the book was decent.... but not much more than that. For starters, an over reliance on nostalgia references never does anyone any favours and as one of the main selling points for this novel, it starts to become a little much really early on. The near constant alluding to and "sly" comparisons to 90s flicks/tech/music/shows every other sentence feels unnaturally thrown in and almost jarring as if it's being shoved in your face at every foreseeable opportunity to remind you "This is the 90's, hey, guys, remember the 90's? Look how 90's we are! Good ol' 90's!" making the setting feel hollow and superficial rather than true to the decade. Like instead of it feeling like just a part of the setting, it feels like they're constantly drawing your attention to it. Not that I'm not a sucker for Green Day, but hearing one of their songs referenced in a book feels like whiplash right out of the world.
I admit, I'm a little disappointed because despite its over reliance on nostalgic references, I was actually cautiously optimistic about this book: the potential was there, the story was there, the vibes were there! I mean, it had pretty solid pacing for the first half, an interesting mystery setup, and I do think the atmosphere was well crafted, with a nice touch in the fact that they didn't over glamourize the New Orleans setting, hitting us with a splash of reality and really building up the vibes. Also, I do like the way they mix more well known and lesser known myths so it feels like you're a part of it like 'oh I know that one', but not 'oh I know all those.'
But there was one thing, one singular thing that killed the overall vibe and curbed my enjoyment of this book immensely and that was: the generic/bland romance angle, or more specifically, the insta-romance angle. Insta-love, my beloathed, will I ever be free of you??? The first chapter is already horny, pardon my language, and Mina's focus is a little too boy-centric a little too often, describing looks and abs and feelings rather than actually showing those feelings build, not that I won't look at a guy like that perhaps every now and then, sure, but I don't want to read it happening constantly, or I want to read it building up naturally, not being shoehorned in and going from zero to hot and heavy makeout sessions in a couple chapters flat. The romance is literally insufferable! And so ever constant seeping in at the edges, it's like it's all Mina thinks about over 75% of the time. It's just so fast and hollow and I cringe at every scene.
"Why did we wait so long to do that?" They ask after kissing the first time, but it's like girl, so long??? It's been nary a couple days and one of those days you found a murder victim! Calm yourselves! It doesn't help that I couldn't picture Jared for the life of me, also sue me, but Lestat isn't that attractive.
Other random notes:
-Jack the Ripper being Mina's favourite serial killer story? Yawn, lame. Also why do you have a favourite serial killer, girl?
-The fact they reference Buffy 3-4 times, like Buffy (the show) is my favourite too, but I-it just really irks me when media is referenced in books or when they directly point out their other media inspiration source *cough* like how badly it's done in adventures in babysitting *cough*, but I'll give this one a pass for now, just hmm... eye twitching, really cutting it close there.
-Everyone feels very flat, but not as bad as some YA books I've read, still probably interchangeable with the cast of near any other YA at this point, though I appreciate the way they strived to be a little more diverse.
-I just found it odd how they kept using the phrase "apple of my cheek" like "he cupped the apple of my cheek," is that a British thing?
-The end game felt really rushed and a little out of the blue in some aspects. Also
-Lastly, there was really no real reason for this to be set in the 90s other than to have an excuse to throw references in. Like this could be set in modern day and have almost no change to it. One could argue the lack of phone angles or research, but that didn't seem to affect it too much.
Despite my harshness though, I may still check out the sequel to this one. It's still interesting in theory, just infuriating in that one little aspect, *grumbling about forced romance*. I'm not gritting my teeth, I'm not. 3.5 or 4 stars if the insta-love is cut out, but otherwise a solid 3. I read it fast enough and had some fun, that's more than I can say for some of the last things I read.
Oh actually one more thing: I actually do like the cover unlike some others, I think it's nice, but I don't think it's successful in trying to look like a VHS tape despite the slapping on of stickers. That's all.
Don't get me wrong, the book was decent.... but not much more than that. For starters, an over reliance on nostalgia references never does anyone any favours and as one of the main selling points for this novel, it starts to become a little much really early on. The near constant alluding to and "sly" comparisons to 90s flicks/tech/music/shows every other sentence feels unnaturally thrown in and almost jarring as if it's being shoved in your face at every foreseeable opportunity to remind you "This is the 90's, hey, guys, remember the 90's? Look how 90's we are! Good ol' 90's!" making the setting feel hollow and superficial rather than true to the decade. Like instead of it feeling like just a part of the setting, it feels like they're constantly drawing your attention to it. Not that I'm not a sucker for Green Day, but hearing one of their songs referenced in a book feels like whiplash right out of the world.
I admit, I'm a little disappointed because despite its over reliance on nostalgic references, I was actually cautiously optimistic about this book: the potential was there, the story was there, the vibes were there! I mean, it had pretty solid pacing for the first half, an interesting mystery setup, and I do think the atmosphere was well crafted, with a nice touch in the fact that they didn't over glamourize the New Orleans setting, hitting us with a splash of reality and really building up the vibes. Also, I do like the way they mix more well known and lesser known myths so it feels like you're a part of it like 'oh I know that one', but not 'oh I know all those.'
But there was one thing, one singular thing that killed the overall vibe and curbed my enjoyment of this book immensely and that was: the generic/bland romance angle, or more specifically, the insta-romance angle. Insta-love, my beloathed, will I ever be free of you??? The first chapter is already horny, pardon my language, and Mina's focus is a little too boy-centric a little too often, describing looks and abs and feelings rather than actually showing those feelings build, not that I won't look at a guy like that perhaps every now and then, sure, but I don't want to read it happening constantly, or I want to read it building up naturally, not being shoehorned in and going from zero to hot and heavy makeout sessions in a couple chapters flat. The romance is literally insufferable! And so ever constant seeping in at the edges, it's like it's all Mina thinks about over 75% of the time. It's just so fast and hollow and I cringe at every scene.
"Why did we wait so long to do that?" They ask after kissing the first time, but it's like girl, so long??? It's been nary a couple days and one of those days you found a murder victim! Calm yourselves! It doesn't help that I couldn't picture Jared for the life of me, also sue me, but Lestat isn't that attractive.
Other random notes:
-Jack the Ripper being Mina's favourite serial killer story? Yawn, lame. Also why do you have a favourite serial killer, girl?
-The fact they reference Buffy 3-4 times, like Buffy (the show) is my favourite too, but I-it just really irks me when media is referenced in books or when they directly point out their other media inspiration source *cough* like how badly it's done in adventures in babysitting *cough*, but I'll give this one a pass for now, just hmm... eye twitching, really cutting it close there.
-Everyone feels very flat, but not as bad as some YA books I've read, still probably interchangeable with the cast of near any other YA at this point, though I appreciate the way they strived to be a little more diverse.
-I just found it odd how they kept using the phrase "apple of my cheek" like "he cupped the apple of my cheek," is that a British thing?
-The end game felt really rushed and a little out of the blue in some aspects
Spoiler
like the reveal of Veronica and I'm like should I know who this is? and even the reveal of the Carter brother being someone they interacted with once and a half? Kind of a let down.Spoiler
Thandie's death wasn't overly necessary and then they killed and turned evil the one character (Lucas) that really interested me/would've interested me to learn about further. I thought for sure he was a red herring when they first introduced him because the weird vibes about him were too obvious a setup, but I was wrong, unfortunately. I would've enjoyed him more as a love interest than Jared too though, but alas, as the stones stay, you can't always get what you want... but also I didn't get what I needed, but moving on. Oh actually not moving on, that end credit feeling scene with their mother, girl, really?-Lastly, there was really no real reason for this to be set in the 90s other than to have an excuse to throw references in. Like this could be set in modern day and have almost no change to it. One could argue the lack of phone angles or research, but that didn't seem to affect it too much.
Despite my harshness though, I may still check out the sequel to this one. It's still interesting in theory, just infuriating in that one little aspect, *grumbling about forced romance*. I'm not gritting my teeth, I'm not. 3.5 or 4 stars if the insta-love is cut out, but otherwise a solid 3. I read it fast enough and had some fun, that's more than I can say for some of the last things I read.
Oh actually one more thing: I actually do like the cover unlike some others, I think it's nice, but I don't think it's successful in trying to look like a VHS tape despite the slapping on of stickers. That's all.