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A review by laurie_p
Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike
3.0
Hmm... I have to admit, after loving Pike's Wings series as much as I do, this was a bit of a disappointment. It's not the writing style, or the plot really, or the characters, but just... Okay, let's take a walk through all the things that bothered me.
It starts early on. Actually, most of it is early on. We meet Tavia and she's alright, I think. But then we meet the love interests. Now, I'll admit that I am the kind of person who likes to build their romances painstakingly slowly. So I notice pretty easily when a romance is normally paced, and I definitely know when it's fast. The ones in here? Way too fast. With Benson I could still kind of get behind it because he and Tavia have been friends and she's had a crush on him for a while already at the start of the book. I still would have preferred a bit more introduction - I mean, they kiss I think the second time we even see Benson? - but it was logical enough. But then there's Quinn, who she basically falls in love with from the second time she sees him?? (Keep in mind that they have not exchanged a word at this point.) I get that she thinks he's hot. I even get having a bit of a crush on a complete stranger. But love? It was just weird. And the dichotomy of the smart, sweet best friend/crush and the mysterious guy who sets your insides on fire and makes you throw away all caution is just so cliché. Pike even already used it with David and Tamani. (Even the colors of their eyes are the same, like come onnnn...) Thank god for the plot twist at the ending that kind of broke away from this.
What else? Well, actually pace might be just the right problem in the rest of the book too, not just in the romance parts. I'm even having trouble remembering specific examples because a lot of it felt so chaotic. Sure, that's one way to create an atmosphere but it just makes this book a lot to take in. Only about halfway through I started to feel like things were clicking into place. And then I don't mean plotwise with the secrets that Tavia is discovering which make clear exactly why all of the stuff before has happened but the actual reading experience itself. Because I did like the ending! I liked the plot twists and the climax and I really am curious about what will happen next! But the first half was a hot mess.
It starts early on. Actually, most of it is early on. We meet Tavia and she's alright, I think. But then we meet the love interests. Now, I'll admit that I am the kind of person who likes to build their romances painstakingly slowly. So I notice pretty easily when a romance is normally paced, and I definitely know when it's fast. The ones in here? Way too fast. With Benson I could still kind of get behind it because he and Tavia have been friends and she's had a crush on him for a while already at the start of the book. I still would have preferred a bit more introduction - I mean, they kiss I think the second time we even see Benson? - but it was logical enough. But then there's Quinn, who she basically falls in love with from the second time she sees him?? (Keep in mind that they have not exchanged a word at this point.) I get that she thinks he's hot. I even get having a bit of a crush on a complete stranger. But love? It was just weird. And the dichotomy of the smart, sweet best friend/crush and the mysterious guy who sets your insides on fire and makes you throw away all caution is just so cliché. Pike even already used it with David and Tamani. (Even the colors of their eyes are the same, like come onnnn...) Thank god for the plot twist at the ending that kind of broke away from this.
What else? Well, actually pace might be just the right problem in the rest of the book too, not just in the romance parts. I'm even having trouble remembering specific examples because a lot of it felt so chaotic. Sure, that's one way to create an atmosphere but it just makes this book a lot to take in. Only about halfway through I started to feel like things were clicking into place. And then I don't mean plotwise with the secrets that Tavia is discovering which make clear exactly why all of the stuff before has happened but the actual reading experience itself. Because I did like the ending! I liked the plot twists and the climax and I really am curious about what will happen next! But the first half was a hot mess.