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A review by mojordan
The Cerulean by Amy Ewing
3.0
I ended up really liking this book. I went back and forth in the beginning but it really caught on for me in the 2nd half. I would probably give this book a 3.5 rating.
I like to read other reviews before writing mine because I love to love books. I'm not a critic or someone who deeply analyzes a book. I will almost always forget all the bad things about a book as long as there are a few things to love. So, reading other reviews helps bring me down to earth before I give every book in the world a 5 star rating!
*minor spoilers ahead*
The biggest critiques I saw were centered around sexual orientation. Sera turns out to be straight and Agnes turns out to be a lesbian. I thought having both of them being different than they "should be" was a little bit cheesy. But, I can say I really like Agnes and I hope she is even more involved in the 2nd book. I did find the concept of Sera being attracted to men to be a little cheesy, as well. I would have preferred her to just not be interested in love in that way than to be attracted to men. It wasn't until I read the reviews that I realized it's not only cheesy but quite a stretch - there are no men in Sera's race at all so the idea of her being attracted to men is pretty ridiculous.
If someone picked up this book looking for good representation, I can see how they would be very disappointed. I didn't know anything about this story going in and didn't read it for a specific purpose, so I can't say that it totally threw me off or upset me the way it might others. But, it certainly is an element that I don't love. I am glad that romance wasn't a big part of this book. Attraction was discussed but it wasn't in the spotlight so I think that is another reason I was able to get past those things.
Although there are some flaws, I did get really into the story and I like the characters. I'm very intrigued by mystery of everything and I am eager to start the second book
*Note after reading 2nd book - I think the romance makes a lot more sense now after some reveals in book 2. I understand a lot of information was kept hidden for a more grand realization later in the story but I think the romance area was a mistake in how it all went about. I think it is something that's not too hard to get past, though.
I like to read other reviews before writing mine because I love to love books. I'm not a critic or someone who deeply analyzes a book. I will almost always forget all the bad things about a book as long as there are a few things to love. So, reading other reviews helps bring me down to earth before I give every book in the world a 5 star rating!
*minor spoilers ahead*
The biggest critiques I saw were centered around sexual orientation. Sera turns out to be straight and Agnes turns out to be a lesbian. I thought having both of them being different than they "should be" was a little bit cheesy. But, I can say I really like Agnes and I hope she is even more involved in the 2nd book. I did find the concept of Sera being attracted to men to be a little cheesy, as well. I would have preferred her to just not be interested in love in that way than to be attracted to men. It wasn't until I read the reviews that I realized it's not only cheesy but quite a stretch - there are no men in Sera's race at all so the idea of her being attracted to men is pretty ridiculous.
If someone picked up this book looking for good representation, I can see how they would be very disappointed. I didn't know anything about this story going in and didn't read it for a specific purpose, so I can't say that it totally threw me off or upset me the way it might others. But, it certainly is an element that I don't love. I am glad that romance wasn't a big part of this book. Attraction was discussed but it wasn't in the spotlight so I think that is another reason I was able to get past those things.
Although there are some flaws, I did get really into the story and I like the characters. I'm very intrigued by mystery of everything and I am eager to start the second book
*Note after reading 2nd book - I think the romance makes a lot more sense now after some reveals in book 2. I understand a lot of information was kept hidden for a more grand realization later in the story but I think the romance area was a mistake in how it all went about. I think it is something that's not too hard to get past, though.