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A review by thebookwormofnotredame
Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger
2.0
2 stars | buddy read with Roxanne | this review is full of spoilers
Before I start this review, I want to point out the fact that I never give 1 star to books (well, I can do it if the book is racist or else, sharing hate etc) because a person actually took the time to sit, think of a story and write it. Me giving 2 stars to a book does not happen a lot, but I knew what I was going into when I started this one. I knew it wouldn’t be amazing, I knew I would be disappointed, but reading it, I somehow had hope that it will surprised me. Well, I was wrong.
Let’s begin with Eric Thorn. Oh boy, where do I start. When I picked up the book, I knew that a lot of people who have read it fell in love with him, or at least loved him. And I am really sorry but I don’t understand why. Starting this book, I hated the guy. He was the most selfish and stupid jerk I have ever met in a book. He kept complaining and being mean to people; worse, he kept talking sh*t about his fans. I am sorry you are not loving your job, boy, but you can’t insult people you know nothing about and who have done nothing but give you love. Because that’s what happens. Poor Eric boy reads his Twitter full of “I LOVE YOU ERIC” and gets mad because “no, they don’t know me, they suck, I hate them”. And what does poor Eric do after that? He creates a fake account to insult those girls. He insults Tessa, tells her monstruous things WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING HER. He tells her she has no life since she is a fangirl, but excuse me? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t want to be judged because people doesn’t know you? Right.
After that, poor Eric grows up and stops being a jerk. And that’s when we’re supposed to love him? I’m sorry, it’s a no for me. Being nice isn’t an amazing thing, it’s the RIGHT thing. A boy being nice to you should be NORMAL. And Eric is nothing else. I am really sorry but he has nothing for him. He is nice to Tessa, end of story.
Speaking of Tessa, I loved her. She was everything I wish I could be and she was special. I wanted to protect her through the whole story. There’s not a lot to say except that she is the reason I finished this book.
Boy, oh boy. Honestly, the story could have been amazing. It was addictive and I read it so fast, but it wasn’t enough. The author had great ideas but everything was so superficial.
I loved that for once we were shown the perks of social medias. Was it well done? No. The author could have done more. Go more deep. But she didn’t and everything was meh. It felt un-finished for me. And that’s what happens through the whole book. Nothing is deepen and it seriously lacked of depth. The story was flat and the relationships between characters too. At first, Tessa and Eric hate each other then BOOM they became friends. And it keeps evolving but way too fast and nothing is really described. The same thing happened between Tessa and Scott. He arrived, was a jerk, left, came back, break up with Tessa and that’s it. THAT’S IT. Nothing more. If Scott isn’t in book 2, I will seriously be pissed because his character was useless and served nothing. And so many scenes were useless. The girl who attacked Eric on stage? Useless. What was she holding? A pen, a knife? We’ll never know. And the whole Dorian thing? Useless. It better makes sense in book 2 as well.
Honestly, this book had so much potential and the author is good enough to make us addicted to her story but everything was flat, useless, and sometimes it lacked of sense. So Blair kidnapps Tessa IN HER OWN HOUSE? Her mom is supposed to come back. What a great idea to keep her hostage IN HER OWN LIVING ROOM. And for what? Taking pictures of her? WHY? We don’t know and we should have. The same thing happened with Tessa’s story. WHAT TRULY HAPPENED? The author should have wrote more descriptions because there is a problem. Also, what his wrong with her psychiatrist? We don’t know either. And MET? What about the friendship Eric and Maury shared? Why isn’t it more developped? It’s not well explained. Nothing is well explained and it’s not because it is supposed to have a sequel: it’s because it is not well made. There are some real flaws in this book, and it’s such a shame because it really could have been so great.
I was promised a plot twist, and well, I’m still waiting. Sure, it was surprising but not mind-blowing and when it happened, I rolled my eyes, whispering “seriously?” It looked like a soap opera. And wait, Tessa is kidnapped, she is free, goes to the police the same night, kisses Eric and then what? Oh yes, she is kidnapped AGAIN. What – the – damn – hell. You can’t be serious.
In conclusion, I expected nothing from this book and yet, it disappointed me. At some point I was really happy to read it; it was easy to read, and I was so intrigued. But no, it didn’t work out for me. The worst part is that I have no quotes. I love words, and here no quotes talked to me. There was no beautiful sentences, no deep words used. And I spent my whole time hating on the main character. (Again, him being nice isn’t enough. He is so one-dimensional and has NOTHING.) I am really sorry, but this isn’t a good book for me. I wouldn’t have loved it on Wattpad, I didn’t love it even published. And I work in a publishing house. If I received this manuscript at work, I would have said no, honestly. Too bad.
Before I start this review, I want to point out the fact that I never give 1 star to books (well, I can do it if the book is racist or else, sharing hate etc) because a person actually took the time to sit, think of a story and write it. Me giving 2 stars to a book does not happen a lot, but I knew what I was going into when I started this one. I knew it wouldn’t be amazing, I knew I would be disappointed, but reading it, I somehow had hope that it will surprised me. Well, I was wrong.
THE CHARACTERS
Let’s begin with Eric Thorn. Oh boy, where do I start. When I picked up the book, I knew that a lot of people who have read it fell in love with him, or at least loved him. And I am really sorry but I don’t understand why. Starting this book, I hated the guy. He was the most selfish and stupid jerk I have ever met in a book. He kept complaining and being mean to people; worse, he kept talking sh*t about his fans. I am sorry you are not loving your job, boy, but you can’t insult people you know nothing about and who have done nothing but give you love. Because that’s what happens. Poor Eric boy reads his Twitter full of “I LOVE YOU ERIC” and gets mad because “no, they don’t know me, they suck, I hate them”. And what does poor Eric do after that? He creates a fake account to insult those girls. He insults Tessa, tells her monstruous things WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING HER. He tells her she has no life since she is a fangirl, but excuse me? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t want to be judged because people doesn’t know you? Right.
After that, poor Eric grows up and stops being a jerk. And that’s when we’re supposed to love him? I’m sorry, it’s a no for me. Being nice isn’t an amazing thing, it’s the RIGHT thing. A boy being nice to you should be NORMAL. And Eric is nothing else. I am really sorry but he has nothing for him. He is nice to Tessa, end of story.
Speaking of Tessa, I loved her. She was everything I wish I could be and she was special. I wanted to protect her through the whole story. There’s not a lot to say except that she is the reason I finished this book.
THE PLOT
Boy, oh boy. Honestly, the story could have been amazing. It was addictive and I read it so fast, but it wasn’t enough. The author had great ideas but everything was so superficial.
I loved that for once we were shown the perks of social medias. Was it well done? No. The author could have done more. Go more deep. But she didn’t and everything was meh. It felt un-finished for me. And that’s what happens through the whole book. Nothing is deepen and it seriously lacked of depth. The story was flat and the relationships between characters too. At first, Tessa and Eric hate each other then BOOM they became friends. And it keeps evolving but way too fast and nothing is really described. The same thing happened between Tessa and Scott. He arrived, was a jerk, left, came back, break up with Tessa and that’s it. THAT’S IT. Nothing more. If Scott isn’t in book 2, I will seriously be pissed because his character was useless and served nothing. And so many scenes were useless. The girl who attacked Eric on stage? Useless. What was she holding? A pen, a knife? We’ll never know. And the whole Dorian thing? Useless. It better makes sense in book 2 as well.
Honestly, this book had so much potential and the author is good enough to make us addicted to her story but everything was flat, useless, and sometimes it lacked of sense. So Blair kidnapps Tessa IN HER OWN HOUSE? Her mom is supposed to come back. What a great idea to keep her hostage IN HER OWN LIVING ROOM. And for what? Taking pictures of her? WHY? We don’t know and we should have. The same thing happened with Tessa’s story. WHAT TRULY HAPPENED? The author should have wrote more descriptions because there is a problem. Also, what his wrong with her psychiatrist? We don’t know either. And MET? What about the friendship Eric and Maury shared? Why isn’t it more developped? It’s not well explained. Nothing is well explained and it’s not because it is supposed to have a sequel: it’s because it is not well made. There are some real flaws in this book, and it’s such a shame because it really could have been so great.
THE END
I was promised a plot twist, and well, I’m still waiting. Sure, it was surprising but not mind-blowing and when it happened, I rolled my eyes, whispering “seriously?” It looked like a soap opera. And wait, Tessa is kidnapped, she is free, goes to the police the same night, kisses Eric and then what? Oh yes, she is kidnapped AGAIN. What – the – damn – hell. You can’t be serious.
*
In conclusion, I expected nothing from this book and yet, it disappointed me. At some point I was really happy to read it; it was easy to read, and I was so intrigued. But no, it didn’t work out for me. The worst part is that I have no quotes. I love words, and here no quotes talked to me. There was no beautiful sentences, no deep words used. And I spent my whole time hating on the main character. (Again, him being nice isn’t enough. He is so one-dimensional and has NOTHING.) I am really sorry, but this isn’t a good book for me. I wouldn’t have loved it on Wattpad, I didn’t love it even published. And I work in a publishing house. If I received this manuscript at work, I would have said no, honestly. Too bad.