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sienaka 's review for:
A Stolen Kiss
by Kelsey Keating
*2.5 out of 5*
I was given an ARC for this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Full disclosure: I am obsessed with princess books. Obsessed. Like, I have a Goodreads shelf completely dedicated to princess books (you can check if you want, I'll wait). So when I heard about a new princess book, one with magicians and cute stable boys and the whole shebang, with such a beautiful cover, I knew it was perfect for me.
I should have done my research.
It turns out that this is the published copy of a Wattpad novel. For those who don't know, Wattpad is an online site where anyone can self-publish stories, usually in short serial increments. It's especially popular among middle school girls because of all the One Direction fan fiction and werewolf love stories. This book unfortunately reads exactly like a Wattpad book. The chapters are choppy and small, and usually end with unnecessary cliffhangers. The characters are pretty flat and sometimes blend together, or act strangely out of character as the book goes on. It definitely reads as middle grade, despite the summary's claim that it's young adults.
*The Characters*
Generally, the characters in this novel are underdeveloped, despite the overwhelming length of the book. Maria in particular drove me nuts. She's a classic special snowflake, pretty slow, and whiney to boot. I disliked most of her chapters, and would have preferred if the entire novel was narrated by Derric. Speaking of Derric, he was definitely an exception to the obnoxious character rule. Despite sometime slipping into chosen one territory, Derric's dark side was enthralling, and I adored how much he fell into gray area morality.
*The Plot*
Like I mentioned earlier, the chapter of this book were initially released serially and it shows. The chapters are very short and plot points are often simply repeated from multiple character POV, which makes the read sometimes pretty tedious. The relationships were paced much to quickly, as if the author just shoved Maria and Derric together and screamed "KISS NOW!!" While this obnoxiously forced relationship was eventually explained on Maria's part, it was annoying to watch Derric constantly make heroic sacrifices for a girl he doesn't know at all. That being said, the last 40% went by super quick, and basically is what earns this book the extra half point.
*All in All*
I am thoroughly disappointed in this book. I rarely start trilogies unless I see a lot of promise, but I definitely won't be picking up the sequels. It was really painful to get through. HOWEVER! I would have loved this when I was in 7th grade. As a middle school book, this almost works. As YA, it fails miserably.
I Would Recommend This To...
...middle schoolers who are princess fanatics, and literally no one else.
I was given an ARC for this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Full disclosure: I am obsessed with princess books. Obsessed. Like, I have a Goodreads shelf completely dedicated to princess books (you can check if you want, I'll wait). So when I heard about a new princess book, one with magicians and cute stable boys and the whole shebang, with such a beautiful cover, I knew it was perfect for me.
I should have done my research.
It turns out that this is the published copy of a Wattpad novel. For those who don't know, Wattpad is an online site where anyone can self-publish stories, usually in short serial increments. It's especially popular among middle school girls because of all the One Direction fan fiction and werewolf love stories. This book unfortunately reads exactly like a Wattpad book. The chapters are choppy and small, and usually end with unnecessary cliffhangers. The characters are pretty flat and sometimes blend together, or act strangely out of character as the book goes on. It definitely reads as middle grade, despite the summary's claim that it's young adults.
*The Characters*
Generally, the characters in this novel are underdeveloped, despite the overwhelming length of the book. Maria in particular drove me nuts. She's a classic special snowflake, pretty slow, and whiney to boot. I disliked most of her chapters, and would have preferred if the entire novel was narrated by Derric. Speaking of Derric, he was definitely an exception to the obnoxious character rule. Despite sometime slipping into chosen one territory, Derric's dark side was enthralling, and I adored how much he fell into gray area morality.
*The Plot*
Like I mentioned earlier, the chapter of this book were initially released serially and it shows. The chapters are very short and plot points are often simply repeated from multiple character POV, which makes the read sometimes pretty tedious. The relationships were paced much to quickly, as if the author just shoved Maria and Derric together and screamed "KISS NOW!!" While this obnoxiously forced relationship was eventually explained on Maria's part, it was annoying to watch Derric constantly make heroic sacrifices for a girl he doesn't know at all. That being said, the last 40% went by super quick, and basically is what earns this book the extra half point.
*All in All*
I am thoroughly disappointed in this book. I rarely start trilogies unless I see a lot of promise, but I definitely won't be picking up the sequels. It was really painful to get through. HOWEVER! I would have loved this when I was in 7th grade. As a middle school book, this almost works. As YA, it fails miserably.
I Would Recommend This To...
...middle schoolers who are princess fanatics, and literally no one else.