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mysterzoom 's review for:
The Naturals
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
3.5 stars! Tell me why this was lowkeyyy camp???
If you’re looking for a novel that’s life-changing, filled with great characterization and a believable romance, then I’m sorry to inform you that The Naturals isn’t for you. However, if you’re willing to embrace any obvious flaws, cringe dialogue, teen angst and shenanigans, and unrealistic circumstances, then this book is for you buddy!
I cannot lie, I quite liked this and enjoyed it!! But I’d like to discuss the negatives before moving on to the more fun bits.
Okay, I knew what I was getting into the moment I started this book. I had fully mentally prepared myself, yet I couldn’t help having problems with this book. Despite my glossing over many parts that would have thrown me off instantly (there was a part where JLB wrote something along the lines of “I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding”), I still couldn’t help feeling like there was something off and irritating, kind of like a fly that’s buzzing around your room incessantly. And then I realized that it’s due to JLB’s inability to write a protagonist that actually has a personality and romances (dare I say “love triangles”) that make sense. If you held me at gunpoint and told me to differentiate the voice of Avery from The Inheritance Games and Cassie from this book, I’d be long gone. I understood Cassie’s motivations but I couldn’t even understand who she was outside of being a Natural profiler… that was pretty much her only personality.. other than being severely traumatized by her mother’s death.
Moving on to the romance…. I wholeheartedly believe that JLB should stop trying to include romantic “subplots” (if you can even call it that anymore given their huge presence in her books) in her mystery novels. It’s clear that she’s way more skilled at composing compelling mysteries than strong and believable romantic relationships. You cannot convince me that there is any romance trope other than insta-love in her books. Not to mention the lack of originality in the love interests. The Naturals boys felt like an early draft of Jameson and Grayson Hawthorne. They were literally the spitting image of one another (Michael-Jameson, Dean-Grayson) that it makes you wonder if the only desirable men in the JLB universe were flirty brunettes and tortured blonds. Overall, it was very contrived and bland… I am Team Dean though because Michael is so annoying and I just wish he’d leave Cassie alone..
Now, did I even enjoy this? YES I DID! In classic JLB fashion, her chapters are short yet sweet, and very engaging to the point where you’re able to stand the horrendous London heat and train delays. I also really enjoyed the profiling scenes where Cassie starts dissecting and examining every minor detail of a subject, it felt so cool and was definitely the book equivalent of heist scenes in action movies. Another thing I liked was Lia’s character since she felt like the only person that didn’t have an Inheritance Games equivalent (and was the only POC…), and was just a snarky little instigator who made things interesting in a cast of cookie cutter characters, love my sassy queen… Lia Zhang they could never make me hate you!
TL;DR The Naturals is a fun and quick little read if you’re looking for a compelling mystery featuring insufferable yet skilled teenagers with CW-esque relationships.
If you’re looking for a novel that’s life-changing, filled with great characterization and a believable romance, then I’m sorry to inform you that The Naturals isn’t for you. However, if you’re willing to embrace any obvious flaws, cringe dialogue, teen angst and shenanigans, and unrealistic circumstances, then this book is for you buddy!
I cannot lie, I quite liked this and enjoyed it!! But I’d like to discuss the negatives before moving on to the more fun bits.
Okay, I knew what I was getting into the moment I started this book. I had fully mentally prepared myself, yet I couldn’t help having problems with this book. Despite my glossing over many parts that would have thrown me off instantly (there was a part where JLB wrote something along the lines of “I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding”), I still couldn’t help feeling like there was something off and irritating, kind of like a fly that’s buzzing around your room incessantly. And then I realized that it’s due to JLB’s inability to write a protagonist that actually has a personality and romances (dare I say “love triangles”) that make sense. If you held me at gunpoint and told me to differentiate the voice of Avery from The Inheritance Games and Cassie from this book, I’d be long gone. I understood Cassie’s motivations but I couldn’t even understand who she was outside of being a Natural profiler… that was pretty much her only personality.. other than being severely traumatized by her mother’s death.
Moving on to the romance…. I wholeheartedly believe that JLB should stop trying to include romantic “subplots” (if you can even call it that anymore given their huge presence in her books) in her mystery novels. It’s clear that she’s way more skilled at composing compelling mysteries than strong and believable romantic relationships. You cannot convince me that there is any romance trope other than insta-love in her books. Not to mention the lack of originality in the love interests. The Naturals boys felt like an early draft of Jameson and Grayson Hawthorne. They were literally the spitting image of one another (Michael-Jameson, Dean-Grayson) that it makes you wonder if the only desirable men in the JLB universe were flirty brunettes and tortured blonds. Overall, it was very contrived and bland… I am Team Dean though because Michael is so annoying and I just wish he’d leave Cassie alone..
Now, did I even enjoy this? YES I DID! In classic JLB fashion, her chapters are short yet sweet, and very engaging to the point where you’re able to stand the horrendous London heat and train delays. I also really enjoyed the profiling scenes where Cassie starts dissecting and examining every minor detail of a subject, it felt so cool and was definitely the book equivalent of heist scenes in action movies. Another thing I liked was Lia’s character since she felt like the only person that didn’t have an Inheritance Games equivalent (and was the only POC…), and was just a snarky little instigator who made things interesting in a cast of cookie cutter characters, love my sassy queen… Lia Zhang they could never make me hate you!
TL;DR The Naturals is a fun and quick little read if you’re looking for a compelling mystery featuring insufferable yet skilled teenagers with CW-esque relationships.