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imme_van_gorp's Reviews (702)
This book has me a bit conflicted. On the one hand I want to go on and on about how much I loved Alex and Brittany's slow-burn romance, how it totally swept me off of my feet due to their great chemistry, seductive teasing and riveting tension. I want to swoon over 'bad boy' Alex and his adoration for his unlikely dream girl, Brittany, which really was the cutest thing ever. I want to talk about all the interesting plot points and characters. I also want to (or maybe need to...) take a cold shower from how hot Alex is, because damn, his whole personality, way of speaking, and treatment of Brittany had me under a love spell. I basically just want to only have to emphasize how much I am infatuated with this book. But.. I can't.
I really don't expect her to do it. I think she's teasing me, testing to see how much I can take before I crack. But as her eyelids close and she leans closer, I realize it's going to happen. This girl of my dreams, this girl who is more like me than anyone I've ever met, wants to kiss me.
And it is all because of that ending.. Oh my, it was so not what I had hoped it would be. Not necessarily because of what happened, but more so because of its execution. It felt rushed. The resolution regarding the mystery of Alex's father's death, the breaking point of Brittany finding out about the bet, the dramatics of Alex stepping away from his gang, the intensity of Brittany's whole family situation, the climax of Brittany and Alex having their happily ever after: it all could have been so much more, but instead it was rushed and felt weird. It did not grip me at all, and I was so disappointed. Especially because of how much I love Alex and his romance with Brittany. I just wish the ending was better, so I could have been fully gushing over this book. Sadly, that's not how it is, but since I do believe that it is more important that I really enjoyed the big majority of this book rather than the fact that I think the ending is kind of crap, I will still remember this as an exciting book with a great romance.
What is it I could add that has not been said plenty already? This book is well-written in terms of its plotline, but even more so in its characterization. Rather than feeling stiff and tedious, these characters awaken interest and even captivation. It is after all a classic for a reason.
I read this book as if I were participating in some sort of sprint. I turned those pages quickly and without stop. I was invested and needed to know the ending. I think it is mostly the mystery itself that you want to see unfold: you want to understand how it is all being done. And you want to know it as soon as possible, not wanting to wait 'til the end.. but you must: hence the unavoidable quick and non-stop turning of pages.
Everyone involved in the story was really quite interesting and had their own unique characteristics. None were particularly likable, but I did have a bit of a soft spot for one of them, which is funny since I think he was meant to be the one we were mostly led to believe to be the murderer. I, however, never thought this to be the case, and oddly enough, I found him to be quite.. funny and charming. I had begun to form this idle kind of hope to see him survive, yet he unfortunately did die and by the hands of the girl I kind of 'shipped' him with, no less. No happy ending for me.. nor them I suppose.
I must admit that I did have my suspicions for one person quite fast (which in the end turned out to be correct), as in my opinion only one of the ten was truly creepy and appeared to portray some sociopathic tendencies mixed with a lot of narcissism. I won't spoil who the killer was of course, and I won't pretend like I was sure of this person's guilt at all, it was just a gut feeling.
Besides, although I had this gut feeling about the identity of the murderer, how the crimes themselves were actually committed I had absolutely not a clue until they were spelled it out for us in the epilogue. I'm not sure if I find the explanation quite satisfactory as it does lean towards the fantastical, but, although I feel like there must have been quite a few coincidences and luck on the murderer's side, I do suppose this explanation accounts for everything that has happened in the story and is, with a far stretch of the imagination, plausible. And you know, for novels like this, it doesn't need to be realistic. As long as the events described can indeed happen, no matter how improbable, the novel has done its job. Especially if it entices you completely like this mystery certainly does. Very well done.
Everyone involved in the story was really quite interesting and had their own unique characteristics. None were particularly likable, but I did have a bit of a soft spot for one of them, which is funny since I think he was meant to be the one we were mostly led to believe to be the murderer. I, however, never thought this to be the case, and oddly enough, I found him to be quite.. funny and charming. I had begun to form this idle kind of hope to see him survive, yet he unfortunately did die and by the hands of the girl I kind of 'shipped' him with, no less. No happy ending for me.. nor them I suppose.
I must admit that I did have my suspicions for one person quite fast (which in the end turned out to be correct), as in my opinion only one of the ten was truly creepy and appeared to portray some sociopathic tendencies mixed with a lot of narcissism. I won't spoil who the killer was of course, and I won't pretend like I was sure of this person's guilt at all, it was just a gut feeling.
Besides, although I had this gut feeling about the identity of the murderer, how the crimes themselves were actually committed I had absolutely not a clue until they were spelled it out for us in the epilogue. I'm not sure if I find the explanation quite satisfactory as it does lean towards the fantastical, but, although I feel like there must have been quite a few coincidences and luck on the murderer's side, I do suppose this explanation accounts for everything that has happened in the story and is, with a far stretch of the imagination, plausible. And you know, for novels like this, it doesn't need to be realistic. As long as the events described can indeed happen, no matter how improbable, the novel has done its job. Especially if it entices you completely like this mystery certainly does. Very well done.
This book really did a big 180 with its plotline.
It started off really cute and it genuinely had me thinking I was in for a totally swoon-worthy romance. Thus, I treated it as such until I was led to believe otherwise.
I had made it a point to not know anything about this novel beforehand, so I went in completely blank. I advise everyone to do this, as it makes the story as well as Lily’s experiences feel much more authentic. You understand her shock when certain things come to a head as you feel that exact shock and surprise yourself as well. You truly want to think you have it all wrong (just like she wants to) and you still want to think the best of the situation. You keep at this until you can no longer outrun the truth and you have to realize that this story is not what you thought it was going to be like.
The whole story was just really well done when you think about it, and I really appreciate the psychological side of it. I think anyone should be able to appreciate this novel, not to mention that it’s also a really enjoyable read. I did swoon, I definitely smiled and even laughed, but most of all I felt quite unsure and disturbed. I was questioning a lot.
This isn’t a light story, but I think it makes it better that the novel tricks you into thinking it will be. You are just like Lily with how she felt at the start of it all: thinking she was in for a swoon-worthy romance, but instead being in for quite an unpleasant surprise.
It started off really cute and it genuinely had me thinking I was in for a totally swoon-worthy romance. Thus, I treated it as such until I was led to believe otherwise.
I had made it a point to not know anything about this novel beforehand, so I went in completely blank. I advise everyone to do this, as it makes the story as well as Lily’s experiences feel much more authentic. You understand her shock when certain things come to a head as you feel that exact shock and surprise yourself as well. You truly want to think you have it all wrong (just like she wants to) and you still want to think the best of the situation. You keep at this until you can no longer outrun the truth and you have to realize that this story is not what you thought it was going to be like.
The whole story was just really well done when you think about it, and I really appreciate the psychological side of it. I think anyone should be able to appreciate this novel, not to mention that it’s also a really enjoyable read. I did swoon, I definitely smiled and even laughed, but most of all I felt quite unsure and disturbed. I was questioning a lot.
This isn’t a light story, but I think it makes it better that the novel tricks you into thinking it will be. You are just like Lily with how she felt at the start of it all: thinking she was in for a swoon-worthy romance, but instead being in for quite an unpleasant surprise.
That was hot. Like seriously, hot. Bram and his adoration for Julia gave me chills. He was such a swoon-worthy romantic interest and every time we read from his POV, I knew I was going to enjoy every sentence written on those pages. I don’t particularly hold a big candle for Julia though, but that didn’t really matter to me. I actually found it even more endearing that Bram kept pursuing her and fighting to finally have her, even when she would have probably been rather annoying to anyone else. I don’t know, I found Bram’s unconditional love just so cute and also, like I said, very hot.
Additionally, I laughed out loud more times than I can count. This book was actually funny. That’s always a great bonus when it comes to a romance novel, and this one definitely has humour. Another big plus is that the story never felt like it started to drag. Not once did I consider myself bored, which is actually more rare with a novel like this than you’d hope.
Additionally, I laughed out loud more times than I can count. This book was actually funny. That’s always a great bonus when it comes to a romance novel, and this one definitely has humour. Another big plus is that the story never felt like it started to drag. Not once did I consider myself bored, which is actually more rare with a novel like this than you’d hope.
I don't know what it is exactly that didn't make me love this a bit more, but for some reason it just didn't hit home for me completely. It was all interesting and fun enough, but I was never truly captivated or swooning. That's what was missing for me. This story just didn't really have many highlights; it was all just quite average... which is okay, but not great.
Hell no. I can handle my cheesy romance novels like no other, but this was just horrifyingly bad. It had me on the verge of screaming and ripping my hair out with utter annoyance and pure disgust. Seriously, it was that bad.
The writing made me want to gauge my own eyes out, the plot was paper thin, the pacing of the story had me completely unnerved, the characters lacked any form of depth and the romance made me cringe more than anything I think I have ever experienced.
To be completely frank, not only is the stupidity through the roof with this entire novel, the main guy of the story also really really really creeps me out. If I were Eden, I’d be scared out of my mind and freaking run! But of course she lacks the brain capacity to come to that obvious conclusion, so instead we are stuck with this so called romantic story, which would actually work way better were it presented as a thriller about some stalking, kidnapping rapist.
The writing made me want to gauge my own eyes out, the plot was paper thin, the pacing of the story had me completely unnerved, the characters lacked any form of depth and the romance made me cringe more than anything I think I have ever experienced.
To be completely frank, not only is the stupidity through the roof with this entire novel, the main guy of the story also really really really creeps me out. If I were Eden, I’d be scared out of my mind and freaking run! But of course she lacks the brain capacity to come to that obvious conclusion, so instead we are stuck with this so called romantic story, which would actually work way better were it presented as a thriller about some stalking, kidnapping rapist.
This book started off absolutely hilarious. I laughed like a crazy person, tears and all. The amazingly humorous exchange between the two main characters went on for quite a while, until eventually the humour dialled down a bit, being replaced with an intense romance. I thought this gradual shift was a nice balance between two aspects that I enjoy very much in a book.
The romance was very enjoyable as Charlee and Rath have undeniable chemistry. Charlee is extremely likable (being the reason for most of my chuckles and laughs while reading this novel), and I can completely understand why Rath fell hard for her. The playfulness in their romance was enhanced by the office-setting, seeing how their employee-boss relationship worked really well for them and their developing feelings (unlike many other romance novels trying to work with a similar trope). I do have to say that I could have done without the ‘marriage of convenience’ as it did not really add much tension for me, and rather made the shift into being more than just co-workers a little bit too easy for my liking.
The romance was very enjoyable as Charlee and Rath have undeniable chemistry. Charlee is extremely likable (being the reason for most of my chuckles and laughs while reading this novel), and I can completely understand why Rath fell hard for her. The playfulness in their romance was enhanced by the office-setting, seeing how their employee-boss relationship worked really well for them and their developing feelings (unlike many other romance novels trying to work with a similar trope). I do have to say that I could have done without the ‘marriage of convenience’ as it did not really add much tension for me, and rather made the shift into being more than just co-workers a little bit too easy for my liking.
The prose in this book is fairly well done, but the story and characters just make me extremely uncomfortable. The romantic interests are so unkind to one another, I could not see the appeal. Misha is basically a judgemental bastard to Ryen, which in turn makes her a pathetic weirdo for being into that. Seriously, for two people who have been writing to one another for seven years, their relationship sure does feel embarrassingly superficial. I think their relationship at times even borderlines harassment or bullying. I don’t get it.
I also really could have done without all the erotica. When you see no chemistry or healthy tension between the two main characters, those scenes just seem filthy and unnecessary. Especially when the girl constantly keeps telling the guy to freaking stop and he just doesn’t. Is that supposed to be attractive in some way? Because to me it sure as hell isn’t. The book doesn’t handle it as sexual assault since the girl seems to be ridiculously turned on by it, but this dude sure does creep me out. I’d stay ten feet away from this man at all times, no kidding.
I also really could have done without all the erotica. When you see no chemistry or healthy tension between the two main characters, those scenes just seem filthy and unnecessary. Especially when the girl constantly keeps telling the guy to freaking stop and he just doesn’t. Is that supposed to be attractive in some way? Because to me it sure as hell isn’t. The book doesn’t handle it as sexual assault since the girl seems to be ridiculously turned on by it, but this dude sure does creep me out. I’d stay ten feet away from this man at all times, no kidding.
This book was really a very interesting read. These myths are so cool to know about and it makes it even more awesome to think that people used to actually believe these stories rather than them just being regular pieces of fiction. These myths were intended to be believed instead of merely entertain. This knowledge gives these stories an extra little boost which any other 'fantasy' novel would obviously miss. It’s fascinating.
Aside from this, however, I do have to point out that the way these myths were written down in this particular book did not grip me completely. The stories were told in a rather stiff manner, never diving deep into any emotional territory. I suppose this must have been necessary to stay as close as possible to the source material of these myths and I can applaud it for that, but it did lower the entertainment aspect slightly.
Aside from this, however, I do have to point out that the way these myths were written down in this particular book did not grip me completely. The stories were told in a rather stiff manner, never diving deep into any emotional territory. I suppose this must have been necessary to stay as close as possible to the source material of these myths and I can applaud it for that, but it did lower the entertainment aspect slightly.