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A review by janina_reads
Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
3.0
What is there to say about Hunting Lila? It is an interesting mix of paranormal, science fiction and romance (focusing heavily on the latter), featuring an exciting cast of side characters and a (sometimes a little bratty) heroine with a (rather cool) superpower she doesn't dare tell anyone about. Let's say X-Men meets romantic comedy.
I did like Hunting Lila, especially the second half, enough to be interested in reading the sequel. I did not love it, though, for several reasons.
First off, the standard "We can't tell you because it's too dangerous for you". No, thank you. I just can't stand it. Especially when it turns into "I will tell you a little bit so that you are even more curious, but I just can't tell you everything, sorry". Gaaah! It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
Then, Lila herself. Sometimes, she had an affinity to sulk a little too much, to come across as a spoiled brat. She wasn't angry without reason, and I understood her frustration when not being told the truth, but some of the decisions she made just weren't that … thought through. They made her seem young for her seventeen years. Still, I felt with her and I can't say her faults made me dislike her in any way. They made me roll my eyes sometimes, but then a few pages later, I would be furious on her behalf.
Another thing – the romance. Okay, Alex is hot. He is swoonworthy (seriously, I think this was the first book I ever read that actually used the word swoonworthy itself to describe a character). He has a great chest. He has amazing blue eyes. Was it mentioned that he's hot?? Yes? Okay, just to make it clear: He is hot.
Eh, yes. Thank you. I got it. Not that I have anything against hot male characters in books, but please, I would like to see for myself. I do not want to be told every five pages. Lila and Alex definitely had chemistry, and I just love their kind of love story, but that killed the thing for me in parts. Also, slight evidence of "It is not right for us to be together" syndrome. But he got over it pretty quickly ;). All in all, as I might add, the book was a just bit too heavy on physical description. And of course everyone was beautiful. Tsk. What else.
You notice that I have quite some things to complain about. Still, I was thoroughly entertained. I loved some of the side characters introduced towards the end, and I was definitely glued to the pages during the fast-paced last third of the book. This book is not particularly deep, but it was positively a lot of fun to read.
Random thoughts: For those of you who have read it, do you remember that one scene fairly at the beginning when Lila wakes up, goes down to the kitchen and finds Alex there? They make tea. She puts the kettle on the stove. They talk. They decide to got to bed. The kettle is never mentioned again. Am I just too blind to notice what happened to their tea? If not, I'm glad the house didn't burn down.
I did like Hunting Lila, especially the second half, enough to be interested in reading the sequel. I did not love it, though, for several reasons.
First off, the standard "We can't tell you because it's too dangerous for you". No, thank you. I just can't stand it. Especially when it turns into "I will tell you a little bit so that you are even more curious, but I just can't tell you everything, sorry". Gaaah! It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
Then, Lila herself. Sometimes, she had an affinity to sulk a little too much, to come across as a spoiled brat. She wasn't angry without reason, and I understood her frustration when not being told the truth, but some of the decisions she made just weren't that … thought through. They made her seem young for her seventeen years. Still, I felt with her and I can't say her faults made me dislike her in any way. They made me roll my eyes sometimes, but then a few pages later, I would be furious on her behalf.
Another thing – the romance. Okay, Alex is hot. He is swoonworthy (seriously, I think this was the first book I ever read that actually used the word swoonworthy itself to describe a character). He has a great chest. He has amazing blue eyes. Was it mentioned that he's hot?? Yes? Okay, just to make it clear: He is hot.
Eh, yes. Thank you. I got it. Not that I have anything against hot male characters in books, but please, I would like to see for myself. I do not want to be told every five pages. Lila and Alex definitely had chemistry, and I just love their kind of love story, but that killed the thing for me in parts. Also, slight evidence of "It is not right for us to be together" syndrome. But he got over it pretty quickly ;). All in all, as I might add, the book was a just bit too heavy on physical description. And of course everyone was beautiful. Tsk. What else.
You notice that I have quite some things to complain about. Still, I was thoroughly entertained. I loved some of the side characters introduced towards the end, and I was definitely glued to the pages during the fast-paced last third of the book. This book is not particularly deep, but it was positively a lot of fun to read.
Random thoughts: For those of you who have read it, do you remember that one scene fairly at the beginning when Lila wakes up, goes down to the kitchen and finds Alex there? They make tea. She puts the kettle on the stove. They talk. They decide to got to bed. The kettle is never mentioned again. Am I just too blind to notice what happened to their tea? If not, I'm glad the house didn't burn down.