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liz_ross's reviews
44 reviews
The Friend by Dorothy Koomson
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I am kind of disappointed, you know? I used to love Koomson's writing style but this time it was even hard to like it.
And same goes to the story. I only actually started to like it way after the 50% mark. The story just wasn't it. Yvonne was obviously too perfect for it to be real. The friends were suspects far too obvious to be the ones who commited the crime. And the real person who attempted murder was just too indifferent - appeared literally twice before Cece discovered it - for anyone to guess. It's ridiculous.
The one other plot twist also didn't feel surprising because just like Yvonne, Hazel's boyfriend was too perfect to be true.
Other thing I didn't like was how the timeline wasn't linear. We are in the present, go back to the past, come back to the present, sometimes more than once in the same chapter and when we go back it's not always for the same moment or even year as a matter of fact. That alone would alreadybe confusing, but each chapter belonged to adifferent character, making everything even harder to follow.
Not to mention how sexist this whole thing felt. In the entire book I never once saw any child being taken to school by a father. It was always the mother who, by the way, did nothing the rest of the day aside from gossiping. There's nothing wrong with the mother staying at home taking care of house and children, especially if there's no need for both to work. But it bothered me that Koomson couldn't introduce in the entire book one single family whose income came not from the father's job, but the mother's; one single family with both parents working somewhere that is not home. It bothered me a lot.
Full review coming soon!
And same goes to the story. I only actually started to like it way after the 50% mark. The story just wasn't it. Yvonne was obviously too perfect for it to be real. The friends were suspects far too obvious to be the ones who commited the crime. And the real person who attempted murder was just too indifferent - appeared literally twice before Cece discovered it - for anyone to guess. It's ridiculous.
The one other plot twist also didn't feel surprising because just like Yvonne, Hazel's boyfriend was too perfect to be true.
Other thing I didn't like was how the timeline wasn't linear. We are in the present, go back to the past, come back to the present, sometimes more than once in the same chapter and when we go back it's not always for the same moment or even year as a matter of fact. That alone would alreadybe confusing, but each chapter belonged to adifferent character, making everything even harder to follow.
Not to mention how sexist this whole thing felt. In the entire book I never once saw any child being taken to school by a father. It was always the mother who, by the way, did nothing the rest of the day aside from gossiping. There's nothing wrong with the mother staying at home taking care of house and children, especially if there's no need for both to work. But it bothered me that Koomson couldn't introduce in the entire book one single family whose income came not from the father's job, but the mother's; one single family with both parents working somewhere that is not home. It bothered me a lot.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Domestic abuse
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Was it a huge disappointment? Yes. Did it ruin my wish to read any other book of CoHo I can put my hands on? No. And jeez, I was so scared it would happen. But a bad book doesn't make CoHo a bad writer. And CoHo is most definitely not a bad writer. Her writing style is beautiful (if we ignore Miles' PoV from six years ago - WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! It's one thing to use that kind of atyle from time to time to emphatize some words, feelings or whatever; but to use it in every sentence in his PoV?! It just ruined the whole point of that style and took away any impact it could have had on the readers) and I really, really like it.
There's other thing I didn't like about Miles' PoV from 6 years ago. First of all, he is 18. Which 18-years-old boy in his right mind thinks like that?! Which 18-years-old boy in his right mind sees a girl for the first time and decides he is 💫in love💫 even before they say a word to each other?! Miles and Rachel's relationship feels artificial, fake, makes me cringe and lacks depth or meaning. Not to mention it has 0 chemestry.
The problem repeats itself 6 years later with Miles and Tate. Artificial, fake and with no depth. At leaat they do have some chemestry, but not as much as I would like. Not nearly enough to make up for one of the worst cases of instalove I have ever seen, that's for sure.
And 6 years later there's also another problem. I got to read the whole relationship from Tate's PoV, which means I had to read as Tate made up excuses to justify Miles' behaviour over and over again, allowing him to walk over her over and over again. She shows a lack of self-respect that made me flinch every single time. It's just too much. Especially when she clearly does all that in the name of a love. A love that let me clarify is not believable at all, because they never had more than sex, Tate knew nothing about Miles - literally zero due to his hidden past that destroyed him - and yet she loved him?! That's not hos it works. You can feel lust, desire. You can want sex. All without knowing someone. You cannot love someone without knowing anything about them.
The plot twist is ridiculosly predictable. I still felt sorry for Miles, it still made my heart ache, but only because CoHo's writing style is beautiful. I knew what was Miles' hidden past since chapter four.
Same goes to the ending. I couldn't care less about Tate and Miles' relationship but CoHo's writing style made it so damn beautiful and heartwarming that I finished the book with this stupid smile on my face I still have right now.
Really loved the message about never giving up on love and locking your heart forever. About finding peace with yourself and learning to love again. I just think CoHo could have made the characters that pass that message way more interesting and realistic.
Full review coming soon!
There's other thing I didn't like about Miles' PoV from 6 years ago. First of all, he is 18. Which 18-years-old boy in his right mind thinks like that?! Which 18-years-old boy in his right mind sees a girl for the first time and decides he is 💫in love💫 even before they say a word to each other?! Miles and Rachel's relationship feels artificial, fake, makes me cringe and lacks depth or meaning. Not to mention it has 0 chemestry.
The problem repeats itself 6 years later with Miles and Tate. Artificial, fake and with no depth. At leaat they do have some chemestry, but not as much as I would like. Not nearly enough to make up for one of the worst cases of instalove I have ever seen, that's for sure.
And 6 years later there's also another problem. I got to read the whole relationship from Tate's PoV, which means I had to read as Tate made up excuses to justify Miles' behaviour over and over again, allowing him to walk over her over and over again. She shows a lack of self-respect that made me flinch every single time. It's just too much. Especially when she clearly does all that in the name of a love. A love that let me clarify is not believable at all, because they never had more than sex, Tate knew nothing about Miles - literally zero due to his hidden past that destroyed him - and yet she loved him?! That's not hos it works. You can feel lust, desire. You can want sex. All without knowing someone. You cannot love someone without knowing anything about them.
The plot twist is ridiculosly predictable. I still felt sorry for Miles, it still made my heart ache, but only because CoHo's writing style is beautiful. I knew what was Miles' hidden past since chapter four.
Same goes to the ending. I couldn't care less about Tate and Miles' relationship but CoHo's writing style made it so damn beautiful and heartwarming that I finished the book with this stupid smile on my face I still have right now.
Really loved the message about never giving up on love and locking your heart forever. About finding peace with yourself and learning to love again. I just think CoHo could have made the characters that pass that message way more interesting and realistic.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Car accident, and Sexual content
The Defense by Steve Cavanagh
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It was good but... that's it. There's nothing else to say; it was just good and just good isn't enough. I like amazing, great, perfect. Not good... good is boring.
The word, not the book. The book was actually pretty filled with action to the point I couldn't put it down once it reached the climax. But that was due to the writing style and my love for elaborated plans such as the one Eddie created (I LOVED IT!), more than due to the plot.
The plot was good, sure, but it was so damn obvious and for someone who is supposedly so smart it took him way too much time to figure things out. It took me less than 10 chapters. Which means that when the "plot twist" came I already knew it far too long ago.
And the characters were also good. Complex, easy to remember, filled with life. But I swear if I had to read about Eddie being a former con artist, I would have set the book on fire. You could have forgotten everything else about him, but I guarantee you, that he was a con artist you wouldn't forget. He told me that five freaking times in the same freaking paragraph!
The action was realistic, though. Everything was. Which is obviously good. I don't have any Court experience, which means it may have felt realistic, but in reality none of it would ever happen. But that's the perks of not having Court experience. As it felt realistic, I can accept it as real and enjoy. I couldn't have done that if it didn't feel realistic as I would have spent my time on Google checking to see if things are really that way.
Just one last thing, what the hell is wrong with me to end up liking Olek almost as much as I liked Eddie?!
Full review coming soon!
The word, not the book. The book was actually pretty filled with action to the point I couldn't put it down once it reached the climax. But that was due to the writing style and my love for elaborated plans such as the one Eddie created (I LOVED IT!), more than due to the plot.
The plot was good, sure, but it was so damn obvious and for someone who is supposedly so smart it took him way too much time to figure things out. It took me less than 10 chapters. Which means that when the "plot twist" came I already knew it far too long ago.
And the characters were also good. Complex, easy to remember, filled with life. But I swear if I had to read about Eddie being a former con artist, I would have set the book on fire. You could have forgotten everything else about him, but I guarantee you, that he was a con artist you wouldn't forget. He told me that five freaking times in the same freaking paragraph!
The action was realistic, though. Everything was. Which is obviously good. I don't have any Court experience, which means it may have felt realistic, but in reality none of it would ever happen. But that's the perks of not having Court experience. As it felt realistic, I can accept it as real and enjoy. I couldn't have done that if it didn't feel realistic as I would have spent my time on Google checking to see if things are really that way.
Just one last thing, what the hell is wrong with me to end up liking Olek almost as much as I liked Eddie?!
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
A Time of Prophecy by Rebecca Crunden
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
I was provided with an e-copy of the book by the author in exchange for a honest review.
This is exactly the kind of finale this series needed. I couldn't have thought of a better way to finish this amazing series.
The whole book is leading you to the inevitable rebellion that has been expected since book one. But at the same time there's so many things on the way, in part because none of the main characters really wants that rebellion as that will mean they will end up even more broken than they already are. And whereas these things add some mystery to the book - you are never sure if the rebellion is really about to start until it actually starts -, sometimes they also drove me crazy as there were moments the characters seemed to be doing nothing but existing - which is already a lot for characters that are broken beyond repair and haunted by terrifying demons that only exist inside their mind, but that doesn't really add much to the story and makes the pace a bit too slow.
I did like to see the characters handling those demons, their past, their traumas. That's something Crunden did really, really well. She has never once forgotten what her characters went through and she never used it just to make them more interesting - those traumas are present in every moment of their lives and condicionate them, those traumas are acknowledge and dealt with as they should be. And that is quite amazing, because in a kingdom where everyone has way too much to deal with, it would have been so easy to forget part of what happened sometimes. Crunden never does.
The one thing I liked the most, though, was the rebellion. How even that was conditioned by their traumas. How they had to fight those traumas in order to make the rebellion happen. And in the end, that rebellion is the ultimate fight against their traumas, it's the key to actually start healing, because for as long as the kingdom exists, there will always be new traumas, new losses and no one can really heal like that.
There are also things that bothered me, though. For once, how dumb can the entire kingdom be to buy Thom's story that easily? Even Taenia did it with little hesitation. How and why?! Who in their right mind (or as close as anyone in that kingdom can get to that) would buy that story? Thom had his life way too facilitated by people who should have never believed him and the only reason I can see for that is plot convenience and I hate when that happens.
Other thing I find way too hard to believe is how everyone that is actually important to the story found a way to survive. Let's be realistic, the most important characters are also the ones who risked the most, who fought the most dangerous enemies. And yet not even one of them is dead?! How??!!
Quick note: the way Crunden approaches so many controversial matters in such a natural way is absolutely perfect and I really admire her for doing that. Not wanting kids, abortion, sexual orientation. And much more. All handled perfectly.
Full review coming soon!
This is exactly the kind of finale this series needed. I couldn't have thought of a better way to finish this amazing series.
The whole book is leading you to the inevitable rebellion that has been expected since book one. But at the same time there's so many things on the way, in part because none of the main characters really wants that rebellion as that will mean they will end up even more broken than they already are. And whereas these things add some mystery to the book - you are never sure if the rebellion is really about to start until it actually starts -, sometimes they also drove me crazy as there were moments the characters seemed to be doing nothing but existing - which is already a lot for characters that are broken beyond repair and haunted by terrifying demons that only exist inside their mind, but that doesn't really add much to the story and makes the pace a bit too slow.
I did like to see the characters handling those demons, their past, their traumas. That's something Crunden did really, really well. She has never once forgotten what her characters went through and she never used it just to make them more interesting - those traumas are present in every moment of their lives and condicionate them, those traumas are acknowledge and dealt with as they should be. And that is quite amazing, because in a kingdom where everyone has way too much to deal with, it would have been so easy to forget part of what happened sometimes. Crunden never does.
The one thing I liked the most, though, was the rebellion. How even that was conditioned by their traumas. How they had to fight those traumas in order to make the rebellion happen. And in the end, that rebellion is the ultimate fight against their traumas, it's the key to actually start healing, because for as long as the kingdom exists, there will always be new traumas, new losses and no one can really heal like that.
There are also things that bothered me, though. For once, how dumb can the entire kingdom be to buy Thom's story that easily? Even Taenia did it with little hesitation. How and why?! Who in their right mind (or as close as anyone in that kingdom can get to that) would buy that story? Thom had his life way too facilitated by people who should have never believed him and the only reason I can see for that is plot convenience and I hate when that happens.
Other thing I find way too hard to believe is how everyone that is actually important to the story found a way to survive. Let's be realistic, the most important characters are also the ones who risked the most, who fought the most dangerous enemies. And yet not even one of them is dead?! How??!!
Quick note: the way Crunden approaches so many controversial matters in such a natural way is absolutely perfect and I really admire her for doing that. Not wanting kids, abortion, sexual orientation. And much more. All handled perfectly.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Child death, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion
Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
" 'I love you forever' didn't always need to be spoken to be understood."
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series books are Dark Romance with vampires. Anyone who knows that has no trouble realizing it means that there are sex scenes. Lots of them. And I have no doubt those sex scenes with sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires are what makes many readers continue to buy the books in this series. Which is fine because anyone should be allowed to read whatever they please and this genre is as good as any other.
But those sex scenes are not the reason why I keep buying these books and loving them (with one sad exception so far). They are a plus I could live without. What makes me buy the books and love them are the mesmerizing world Ward created that is even more complex that it already seemed at first sight; the addicting, extremely interesting plot when it is related to the war between the vampries and the Lessening; and yes, the sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires, but not because they provide quite good sex scenes, because they are messed up, each one with demons of their own that they fight everyday, and that makes them so incredibly credible and somehow easy to love, to care about, to connect with.
All these things create stunningly beautiful books. Give me a reason to put up with all the sex scenes, because I need to know more about everything else.
Now, you must be wondering why I am telling you all this. Because that's the only way you can understand why I loved this book so much, when Phury is the Brother I like the least - I do love him, but I love all the others way more. There are really few sex scenes in this book, which means there are really few scenes I have to put up with in order to have the chance to enjoy everything else. And that made the book even better for me.
It's not just the fact that it made things easier for me, though. This lack of sex scenes when compared to the other books is just something that feels so damn right. Because it's Phury we are talking about. The Brother who pretty much gave up his life for his brother, sacrificed his own happiness to take care of his brother, devoted his life to him. He didn't deserve a story filled with sex scenes, a story mostly about sex or about loving Cormia like a "man" should. He deserves exactly what Ward gave him. A story about self-love, about trust, about acceptance and learning to forgive himself. Phury deserved redemption perhaps more than any other brother and he finally got that.
And by giving him all that, Ward created this absolutely lovely story that got me near tears as often as it made me smile. It's quite close to perfection and the best match to that bittersweet ending that left my heart throbbing while I stared at the book with a stupid smile on my face.
Ward made me love the one book I was expecting to like the least and I do admire her for that.
But it's more than Phury's path that made me give this book such a high rating. The lack of sex scnes brought one other positive aspect - it left a lot of space for world and plot development.
I loved to learn more about The Chosen and their world and I absolutely love what Ward did with it and how it fits Phury and Cormia's relationship so well. It was so interesting to dive into that side of the world Ward created, which had only began to be developed in the previous book and definitely hadn't got enough "screen time" yet. It adds a few more layers to the complexity of the vampiric world and its culture.
And the Lessening are no longer on vacation!! 🎉🎉 You know what that means? Action. LOTS of it. And DRAMAAAAA. And oh boy, I am here for the drama! And the action. Well, mostly the action. The drama is a bonus, but you know what I meant. Anyway, as I said before the part of the plot related to the fight between vampires and the Lessening is one of my favorite parts about these books. So, you can imagine how glad I was to get more about that in this book. It made the book a thousand times more interesting and I am desperate to get my hands on the next book. I need to know when will the Brotherhood finally figure out the threat that is pretty much knocking at their door. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!
Overall, one of the best books of the series so far. Phury's story is absolutely endearing and left me so many good memories of the book that fill me with joy just for thinking about it. And the new information about the world and the developments in the war against the Lessening are just as interesting. For those who read this book for the sex scenes, I can guarantee you, everything else makes up for the lack of those. And for those who read the book for the same reason that I do, I assure you, you'll love this book.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series books are Dark Romance with vampires. Anyone who knows that has no trouble realizing it means that there are sex scenes. Lots of them. And I have no doubt those sex scenes with sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires are what makes many readers continue to buy the books in this series. Which is fine because anyone should be allowed to read whatever they please and this genre is as good as any other.
But those sex scenes are not the reason why I keep buying these books and loving them (with one sad exception so far). They are a plus I could live without. What makes me buy the books and love them are the mesmerizing world Ward created that is even more complex that it already seemed at first sight; the addicting, extremely interesting plot when it is related to the war between the vampries and the Lessening; and yes, the sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires, but not because they provide quite good sex scenes, because they are messed up, each one with demons of their own that they fight everyday, and that makes them so incredibly credible and somehow easy to love, to care about, to connect with.
All these things create stunningly beautiful books. Give me a reason to put up with all the sex scenes, because I need to know more about everything else.
Now, you must be wondering why I am telling you all this. Because that's the only way you can understand why I loved this book so much, when Phury is the Brother I like the least - I do love him, but I love all the others way more. There are really few sex scenes in this book, which means there are really few scenes I have to put up with in order to have the chance to enjoy everything else. And that made the book even better for me.
It's not just the fact that it made things easier for me, though. This lack of sex scenes when compared to the other books is just something that feels so damn right. Because it's Phury we are talking about. The Brother who pretty much gave up his life for his brother, sacrificed his own happiness to take care of his brother, devoted his life to him. He didn't deserve a story filled with sex scenes, a story mostly about sex or about loving Cormia like a "man" should. He deserves exactly what Ward gave him. A story about self-love, about trust, about acceptance and learning to forgive himself. Phury deserved redemption perhaps more than any other brother and he finally got that.
And by giving him all that, Ward created this absolutely lovely story that got me near tears as often as it made me smile. It's quite close to perfection and the best match to that bittersweet ending that left my heart throbbing while I stared at the book with a stupid smile on my face.
Ward made me love the one book I was expecting to like the least and I do admire her for that.
But it's more than Phury's path that made me give this book such a high rating. The lack of sex scnes brought one other positive aspect - it left a lot of space for world and plot development.
I loved to learn more about The Chosen and their world and I absolutely love what Ward did with it and how it fits Phury and Cormia's relationship so well. It was so interesting to dive into that side of the world Ward created, which had only began to be developed in the previous book and definitely hadn't got enough "screen time" yet. It adds a few more layers to the complexity of the vampiric world and its culture.
And the Lessening are no longer on vacation!! 🎉🎉 You know what that means? Action. LOTS of it. And DRAMAAAAA. And oh boy, I am here for the drama! And the action. Well, mostly the action. The drama is a bonus, but you know what I meant. Anyway, as I said before the part of the plot related to the fight between vampires and the Lessening is one of my favorite parts about these books. So, you can imagine how glad I was to get more about that in this book. It made the book a thousand times more interesting and I am desperate to get my hands on the next book. I need to know when will the Brotherhood finally figure out the threat that is pretty much knocking at their door. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!
Overall, one of the best books of the series so far. Phury's story is absolutely endearing and left me so many good memories of the book that fill me with joy just for thinking about it. And the new information about the world and the developments in the war against the Lessening are just as interesting. For those who read this book for the sex scenes, I can guarantee you, everything else makes up for the lack of those. And for those who read the book for the same reason that I do, I assure you, you'll love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Dry by Jarrod Shusterman, Neal Shusterman
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
"When we've lost the strength to save ourselves, we somehow find the strength to save each other."
Do you know those books that have such an amazing concept that you can't imagine any way the author (or in this case authors) could possibly mess it up? This was one of those books. And the authors did find that way to mess it up that I had missed.
California finding itself without water may not be a reality, but it's easy to imagine it as one. There is already a crisis whether people acknowledge it or not. If we don't do anything to change our habits and start living in a more susteinable way, it won't take many years for California and other places to find themselves in a situation like the one in this book.
Quite similar even, because if there's something the Shusterman duo did well, it was describing the whole scenario. The denial, everyone rushing to supermarkets and other places to buy as much water as they can find without thinking about everyone else around them, the chaos that followed when people found themselves without enough water. The authors created a very realistic and frightning picture of what would happen if people ever find themselves without access to water, an unvaluable resource that we so often take for granted. The world crumbled and shattered and all that mattered as to survive at all costs because that's the sad reality about being human and that we often forget as well - if we see ourselves in deadly danger, there's nothing that distinguishes us from wild animals, except for our exceptional and much more effective capacity for violence.
But the good things about this book end here. Yes, the concept was amazing, and yes, it was developed in a brilliant way. But choosing a bunch of teenagers as main characters? Not the authors' best idea.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against underage main characters. As long as they don't look like they can barely make reasonable decisions when the world is fine, let alone when it is quickly racing towards the apocalypse. Which is exactly what they look like in this book.
Alyssa, the female main character, is meant to be the good, smart girl who cares for everyone. First of all, she is clearly too dumb to be smart. Secondly, I would have no problem with her being a good person trying to keep her humanity in a world where everyone seemed to have lost it if all her good actions weren't used to either show how bad and cruel everyone else had became or for the authors to remind me once again of how selfless Alyssa is. Not to mention that all her good actions ended up putting herself, her friends and her brother (who she said over and over again that she would always protect) in danger. So, I just have one thing to tell Alyssa - Alyssa, dear, a bit of self-love and taking a moment to think before doing anything wouldn't hurt, you know? In fact, they could have saved you and your friends a lot of trouble.
Alyssa's brother, Garrett, is barely more than a background character and for me he is just there. Kelton is a creep. Period. I don't care if they were all almost dying every day, there's no excuse for what he did. The only character of the group that I did like was Jacqui - if the other teenagers were like her, the fact that they were all teenagers wouldn't have been a problem -, but ever her annoyed me quite often.
But wait, wait! I almost forgot Henry. And oh boy, I have a whole ranting about him. Well, not him. I couldn't care less about him. About how everyone else treated him. Like, seriously?! And you still wonder why I think they shouldn't have been the main chracters! In what world does anyeone decide to trust someone like Henry knowing what they know about him?! It almost makes me want to say that what happened to them served them right! Just why?!
And along with this bunch of annoying, unlikable characters, comes a plot that not only has a painfully slow pace, but that is boring as hell as well. The state the world is in is amazing and realistic, yes. But do you know how I had the chance to know that? The authors made the group travel around on something that felt way too much like a quest. Which would have been fine if I didn't keep reading the same thing over and over again. It was basically losing hope and freak out, find a way to deal with it, travel, arrive at somewhere. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. But jeez, the book was so bad that I would have dealt with it as well if I didn't know fully well how it was going to end.
You know what would have been amazing? If I was wrong about the ending, if for once there wasn't a happily ever after waiting for the main character. The rating of this book would have been much higher that way.
And the point is, there wasn't no need for an ending like that at all. I appreciate the message the authors wanted to share. And trust me, they were successful in that department and it would be a mistake for anyone who read the book (whether they liked it or not) to ignore that message. But it would have been just as successfully shared if the ending would have been diffetent. In fact, if it had been different, less of a happy ever after I even think the message would have been stronger. And damn it, the book would have been much better.
Overall, the message the authors want to share is one that is extremely important. Everyone should be aware of how precarious is our situation right now. And all I wanted was to be able to reccomed this book to everyone I know. But the authors failed to deliever a story that would make justice to its message and I can't reccomed a book just for its message, because that's not all that matters about it. The book had a lot of potential and could have been amazing. But the characters choice, the pace and the predictability of the plot just ruined it all.
"As a kid you idiolize your parents. But there's that moment when you realize they're not superheroes, or villains. They're painfully, unforgivably human. The question is, can you forgive them for being human anyway?"
Do you know those books that have such an amazing concept that you can't imagine any way the author (or in this case authors) could possibly mess it up? This was one of those books. And the authors did find that way to mess it up that I had missed.
California finding itself without water may not be a reality, but it's easy to imagine it as one. There is already a crisis whether people acknowledge it or not. If we don't do anything to change our habits and start living in a more susteinable way, it won't take many years for California and other places to find themselves in a situation like the one in this book.
Quite similar even, because if there's something the Shusterman duo did well, it was describing the whole scenario. The denial, everyone rushing to supermarkets and other places to buy as much water as they can find without thinking about everyone else around them, the chaos that followed when people found themselves without enough water. The authors created a very realistic and frightning picture of what would happen if people ever find themselves without access to water, an unvaluable resource that we so often take for granted. The world crumbled and shattered and all that mattered as to survive at all costs because that's the sad reality about being human and that we often forget as well - if we see ourselves in deadly danger, there's nothing that distinguishes us from wild animals, except for our exceptional and much more effective capacity for violence.
But the good things about this book end here. Yes, the concept was amazing, and yes, it was developed in a brilliant way. But choosing a bunch of teenagers as main characters? Not the authors' best idea.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against underage main characters. As long as they don't look like they can barely make reasonable decisions when the world is fine, let alone when it is quickly racing towards the apocalypse. Which is exactly what they look like in this book.
Alyssa, the female main character, is meant to be the good, smart girl who cares for everyone. First of all, she is clearly too dumb to be smart. Secondly, I would have no problem with her being a good person trying to keep her humanity in a world where everyone seemed to have lost it if all her good actions weren't used to either show how bad and cruel everyone else had became or for the authors to remind me once again of how selfless Alyssa is. Not to mention that all her good actions ended up putting herself, her friends and her brother (who she said over and over again that she would always protect) in danger. So, I just have one thing to tell Alyssa - Alyssa, dear, a bit of self-love and taking a moment to think before doing anything wouldn't hurt, you know? In fact, they could have saved you and your friends a lot of trouble.
Alyssa's brother, Garrett, is barely more than a background character and for me he is just there. Kelton is a creep. Period. I don't care if they were all almost dying every day, there's no excuse for what he did. The only character of the group that I did like was Jacqui - if the other teenagers were like her, the fact that they were all teenagers wouldn't have been a problem -, but ever her annoyed me quite often.
But wait, wait! I almost forgot Henry. And oh boy, I have a whole ranting about him. Well, not him. I couldn't care less about him. About how everyone else treated him. Like, seriously?! And you still wonder why I think they shouldn't have been the main chracters! In what world does anyeone decide to trust someone like Henry knowing what they know about him?! It almost makes me want to say that what happened to them served them right! Just why?!
And along with this bunch of annoying, unlikable characters, comes a plot that not only has a painfully slow pace, but that is boring as hell as well. The state the world is in is amazing and realistic, yes. But do you know how I had the chance to know that? The authors made the group travel around on something that felt way too much like a quest. Which would have been fine if I didn't keep reading the same thing over and over again. It was basically losing hope and freak out, find a way to deal with it, travel, arrive at somewhere. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. But jeez, the book was so bad that I would have dealt with it as well if I didn't know fully well how it was going to end.
You know what would have been amazing? If I was wrong about the ending, if for once there wasn't a happily ever after waiting for the main character. The rating of this book would have been much higher that way.
And the point is, there wasn't no need for an ending like that at all. I appreciate the message the authors wanted to share. And trust me, they were successful in that department and it would be a mistake for anyone who read the book (whether they liked it or not) to ignore that message. But it would have been just as successfully shared if the ending would have been diffetent. In fact, if it had been different, less of a happy ever after I even think the message would have been stronger. And damn it, the book would have been much better.
Overall, the message the authors want to share is one that is extremely important. Everyone should be aware of how precarious is our situation right now. And all I wanted was to be able to reccomed this book to everyone I know. But the authors failed to deliever a story that would make justice to its message and I can't reccomed a book just for its message, because that's not all that matters about it. The book had a lot of potential and could have been amazing. But the characters choice, the pace and the predictability of the plot just ruined it all.
"As a kid you idiolize your parents. But there's that moment when you realize they're not superheroes, or villains. They're painfully, unforgivably human. The question is, can you forgive them for being human anyway?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
The Betrayed by Kiera Cass
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Is it a much better example of how well Cass can write than The Betrothed? Yes, it is. It definitely is.
Is it still not enough? Absolutely.
Yes, the romance is better. First of all, it is not instalove. THANK GOD! Secondly, the love interest does have a personality this time! That's a really high standard to have after the first book; I don't think I would ever be this happy for having to think about a character's eye color because I can't remember it right away!
And let's be honest, it's extremly refreshing seeing an enemies to lovers done right. If all enemies to lovers relationships were done like this one, I would be much more willing to buy any enemies to lovers book reccommeded to me. Just two characters who hate each other and grow to love each other, without being toxic or havic a toxic past. A freaking healthy relationship!
<b>BUT</b> damn it! Hollis makes everyone around her happy for no reason but being the main character. And I could have dealt with it if Cass would just let that be, but she had to keep reminding me of that every freaking two pages. "Oh, Hollis was the only one that could make Jameson smile.", "Oh, Hollis is the first to make Evan smile is such a long time.", "Oh, Hollis, please don't change, you are a ray of sunshine and make everyone around you so happy they all can die at any second.". I got tired of that after the first five chapters.
Oh and the plot twists were so obvious that my brain was hurting that no one had figured them out yet. EVAN IS SUPOSED TO BE SMART, DAMN IT. AND HIS FATHER AND SCARLETT'S MOTHER ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STRATEGIST FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Also this book suffers from a Syndrome that unfortunatelly is way too common. The "somehow-everything-will-work-out-because-I-want-the-book-to-end-this-way Syndrome". It usually happens when the author of a book decides the book should end in a certain way (which, by the way, was obvious since the beginning of the first book), so it will end that way, no matter how far-fetched the plot has to become. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of that ending, but what the hell! With so many ways to put Hollis in the position she ended up, couldn't Cass have found something a little bit more realistic. How could anyone in their right mind accept that?!
Oh, but I did lovd the last scene of Jameson. It was PERFECT, chef-kiss kind of perfect actually.
Full review coming soon!
Is it still not enough? Absolutely.
Yes, the romance is better. First of all, it is not instalove. THANK GOD! Secondly, the love interest does have a personality this time! That's a really high standard to have after the first book; I don't think I would ever be this happy for having to think about a character's eye color because I can't remember it right away!
And let's be honest, it's extremly refreshing seeing an enemies to lovers done right. If all enemies to lovers relationships were done like this one, I would be much more willing to buy any enemies to lovers book reccommeded to me. Just two characters who hate each other and grow to love each other, without being toxic or havic a toxic past. A freaking healthy relationship!
<b>BUT</b> damn it! Hollis makes everyone around her happy for no reason but being the main character. And I could have dealt with it if Cass would just let that be, but she had to keep reminding me of that every freaking two pages. "Oh, Hollis was the only one that could make Jameson smile.", "Oh, Hollis is the first to make Evan smile is such a long time.", "Oh, Hollis, please don't change, you are a ray of sunshine and make everyone around you so happy they all can die at any second.". I got tired of that after the first five chapters.
Oh and the plot twists were so obvious that my brain was hurting that no one had figured them out yet. EVAN IS SUPOSED TO BE SMART, DAMN IT. AND HIS FATHER AND SCARLETT'S MOTHER ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STRATEGIST FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Also this book suffers from a Syndrome that unfortunatelly is way too common. The "somehow-everything-will-work-out-because-I-want-the-book-to-end-this-way Syndrome". It usually happens when the author of a book decides the book should end in a certain way (which, by the way, was obvious since the beginning of the first book), so it will end that way, no matter how far-fetched the plot has to become. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of that ending, but what the hell! With so many ways to put Hollis in the position she ended up, couldn't Cass have found something a little bit more realistic. How could anyone in their right mind accept that?!
Oh, but I did lovd the last scene of Jameson. It was PERFECT, chef-kiss kind of perfect actually.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage and Infertility
The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
"What is a friend but someone who thinks you're capable of more than you do?"
I am so freaking disappointed with this book! I expected so much more from the author of The Selection and The Siren. It is just so, so dull!
I was stolen of all the joy I could have felt. All of it. The book started and it was promising me a delightful court intrigue that would explore the idea of a Royal marriage and a scandalous affair that would have been unforgetable. All that was stolen, replaced by the sketch of a court intrigue and a secret kiss that degenerated into a sappy romance that has absolutely zero chemestry and is most likely the worst case of instalove I have ever read about.
To be fair, instalove is not really my thing. I usually hate it. There are, however, exceptions and The Siren written by Cass herself is one of them. So, my question is - how did she go from that absolutely sweet and endearing love story between Kahlen and Akinli to this horrendous disaster that is Hollis and Silas?! I have seen doors with more personality than Silas. Which isn't hard, because all I can really tell you for sure about him is that his eyes are blue. Oh and that he loooooves Hollis, who is the most incredible, amazing and perfect person who has ever walked on earth. For him, that is, because for everyone else she is just useless.
I haven't found on single person aside from Silas capable of giving one single, decent compliment to her. And since it has to be decent, no, Jameson's compliments don't count. She is just the mosr useless, talentless person everyone has ever come across. Which means I shouldn't be so surprised she ended up 💫falling on love💫 with the only person who would praise her for her talents and that she is one of the most annoying characters ever. Because you see, as everyone thinks she is talentless, she will follow them and tell us again and again and again and again that she is useless, talentless, almost below average and that is absolutely not fit to be a Queen even if everything she ever did while playing that role unofficially was the best thing to do. She created a whole place to ease the tension all by herself and executed it perfectly - and yet she is talentless and would never be a good Queen. Anyway, no need to worry about forgetting Hollis is useless, she will remind you once again just in case.
The rest of the characters aren't better. First of all, why would anyone need enemies when you have a friend like Delia Grace? Jeez! The toxicity of the friendship between her and Hollis hurt my brain. Cass can create friendships so pure and sweet and yet chose to create one of the most toxic I ever found in a book. Hollis just kept forgiving her and finding excuses for everything she said and did - "oh, I understand it must be hard, you are forgiven" and "oh, I know her better than anyone, of couse she misses me, she just doesn't know how to show it!" and "oh, love for everyone because my big heart is the thing the blue-eyes Silas most admires about me, so I must let everyone walk over me as otherwise I couldn't be seen as kind" (these are not quotes from the book, but they are close and could very much be). HOLLIS EVEN APOLOGIZED TO HER WHEN SHE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Then we have one more character eho is toxic as hell. The King himself. At least, Cass acknowledges that much in the end of the book. That's the only good thing about it.
And then we have characters like Nora, Valentina and Hollis' mother who can't keep a consistent personality. Nora and Valentine were described like bitches and behaved accordingly the first time they showed up, but the second time they were beyond nice and sweet to Hollis and willing to build a friendship with her. Hollis' mother is a cold bitch, but just when it is convinient to the plot, the rest of the time, she loves her daughter, although she isn't effusive in her demonstrations of love.
We also have characters like Scarlett and Silas' mother who don't show up enough, so they are too nice every time they show and Hollis spends the whole scenes telling us how much she loves them, in hopes we like them too - FLASH NEWS: we don't, they are just indifferent.
Basically, what I am trying to say is Cass created a whole set of annoying and/or toxic characters who are flat and two-dimensional.
It's easy to guess that with characters like these, there's not much anyone can expect from their relationships. And you better not expect anything at all, because they are just nlantly disappointing. There isn't one single relationship - whether it is friendly, romantic or familiar - I could root for. You already know how much I hated the instalove, but you don't really have any idea how strong my hatred it. Let me clarify that. I would rather have been stuck in the relationship between the king and Hollis, one I have already said that is beyond toxic. At least that relationship would have brought some action and life to the plot with the political intrigue and perhaps the scandalous affair I wanted so badly. Which is obviously more than the sappy, poorly executed instalve brought.
The friendships are either with people whose personality completly changed between the first they showed up and the second or just toxic because at least one of the characters involved is toxic.
The familiar relationships are disastrous. I won't even talk between the one between Hollis and her parents. It is just wrong. And the ones between Silas' family are just... not enough. I mean, I am told about them, but I don't see much of that love, brotherly, motherly, fatherly or whatever. It is just not shown enough.
Let's disgrace the book even more with a world just as catastrophic. And anyone who has read the book is even in a position to ask, "What world?". Because truth is, you just can't see it. Aside from a palace where every single one that is important for the plot lives and one single tradition, all you get is a neighbour kingdom that you are not even quite sure where exactly it is in relation to Coroa. A neighbour kingdom that, guess what?!, is ruled by an evil king!! 😱😱 Shocking, I know. And it gets even more shocking! Why is that king evil? Well, because he has to be. Evil kings are cool and a must in Fantasy! I bet you weren't expecting that!
Oh, and speaking of Coroa. I have a fun fact for you. Do you know how Portuguese say "crown"? Coroa. Which is quite similar to how Spanish and Italian say it - Corona. And how Romanian say it - coroană. I found it weird to be reading a bok where the name of the country is literally crown. And I am sure I wasn't the only one. The woman who came up with Illéa for The Selection couldn't have made an effort and find a better name for the new country?! Something just a little bit more original for crying out loud!
In fact, the only good thing about the world is the court environment (before it gets ruined by the instalove plotline that is). It is extremely credible and I really, really loved it.
And the small good things don't end here, which is the only reason why this book didn't get 1 single star.
Although the pace is slow and drags on and on without any actual plot development, Cass makes the story flow without problem, making the book incredibly easy to read. More than that, although my brain cells wanted to commit suicide, Cass' writing style made me want to keep reading as if this book was the most interesting one in the entire world. And I have no idea how she managed that, ut she does deserve credits for being able to do so.
The ending was so incredibly sad and yet the best part of this book. Hollis was finally a character I could empathize with. Everything she was feeling was described so well and vivedly, I felt every single bit of it. I mean, I couldn't care less about every single character of this book and yet I felt my heart breaking a little bit. Cass makes us feel exactly what the main character feel and that is awesome.
Overall, this is nowhere near as good as The Selection and The Siren. It is a disappointment, to be honest. And I can't find in myself the strenght to believe the next book will be better, even if I know I'll read it anyway. I wish Cass had done more, developed more. The characters, the world, the plot. It all had potential - lots of it - and Cass wasted it by going down the sappy instalove road, ignoring all the court intrigue the plot was offering her. And even if she didn't want the court intrigue, there was so much more than could have been done, other than a rushed love story between the main character and a blue-eyed boy who has no other trait.
"The most valuable thing you can own is the assurance of your place in someone's heart."
I am so freaking disappointed with this book! I expected so much more from the author of The Selection and The Siren. It is just so, so dull!
I was stolen of all the joy I could have felt. All of it. The book started and it was promising me a delightful court intrigue that would explore the idea of a Royal marriage and a scandalous affair that would have been unforgetable. All that was stolen, replaced by the sketch of a court intrigue and a secret kiss that degenerated into a sappy romance that has absolutely zero chemestry and is most likely the worst case of instalove I have ever read about.
To be fair, instalove is not really my thing. I usually hate it. There are, however, exceptions and The Siren written by Cass herself is one of them. So, my question is - how did she go from that absolutely sweet and endearing love story between Kahlen and Akinli to this horrendous disaster that is Hollis and Silas?! I have seen doors with more personality than Silas. Which isn't hard, because all I can really tell you for sure about him is that his eyes are blue. Oh and that he loooooves Hollis, who is the most incredible, amazing and perfect person who has ever walked on earth. For him, that is, because for everyone else she is just useless.
I haven't found on single person aside from Silas capable of giving one single, decent compliment to her. And since it has to be decent, no, Jameson's compliments don't count. She is just the mosr useless, talentless person everyone has ever come across. Which means I shouldn't be so surprised she ended up 💫falling on love💫 with the only person who would praise her for her talents and that she is one of the most annoying characters ever. Because you see, as everyone thinks she is talentless, she will follow them and tell us again and again and again and again that she is useless, talentless, almost below average and that is absolutely not fit to be a Queen even if everything she ever did while playing that role unofficially was the best thing to do. She created a whole place to ease the tension all by herself and executed it perfectly - and yet she is talentless and would never be a good Queen. Anyway, no need to worry about forgetting Hollis is useless, she will remind you once again just in case.
The rest of the characters aren't better. First of all, why would anyone need enemies when you have a friend like Delia Grace? Jeez! The toxicity of the friendship between her and Hollis hurt my brain. Cass can create friendships so pure and sweet and yet chose to create one of the most toxic I ever found in a book. Hollis just kept forgiving her and finding excuses for everything she said and did - "oh, I understand it must be hard, you are forgiven" and "oh, I know her better than anyone, of couse she misses me, she just doesn't know how to show it!" and "oh, love for everyone because my big heart is the thing the blue-eyes Silas most admires about me, so I must let everyone walk over me as otherwise I couldn't be seen as kind" (these are not quotes from the book, but they are close and could very much be). HOLLIS EVEN APOLOGIZED TO HER WHEN SHE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Then we have one more character eho is toxic as hell. The King himself. At least, Cass acknowledges that much in the end of the book. That's the only good thing about it.
And then we have characters like Nora, Valentina and Hollis' mother who can't keep a consistent personality. Nora and Valentine were described like bitches and behaved accordingly the first time they showed up, but the second time they were beyond nice and sweet to Hollis and willing to build a friendship with her. Hollis' mother is a cold bitch, but just when it is convinient to the plot, the rest of the time, she loves her daughter, although she isn't effusive in her demonstrations of love.
We also have characters like Scarlett and Silas' mother who don't show up enough, so they are too nice every time they show and Hollis spends the whole scenes telling us how much she loves them, in hopes we like them too - FLASH NEWS: we don't, they are just indifferent.
Basically, what I am trying to say is Cass created a whole set of annoying and/or toxic characters who are flat and two-dimensional.
It's easy to guess that with characters like these, there's not much anyone can expect from their relationships. And you better not expect anything at all, because they are just nlantly disappointing. There isn't one single relationship - whether it is friendly, romantic or familiar - I could root for. You already know how much I hated the instalove, but you don't really have any idea how strong my hatred it. Let me clarify that. I would rather have been stuck in the relationship between the king and Hollis, one I have already said that is beyond toxic. At least that relationship would have brought some action and life to the plot with the political intrigue and perhaps the scandalous affair I wanted so badly. Which is obviously more than the sappy, poorly executed instalve brought.
The friendships are either with people whose personality completly changed between the first they showed up and the second or just toxic because at least one of the characters involved is toxic.
The familiar relationships are disastrous. I won't even talk between the one between Hollis and her parents. It is just wrong. And the ones between Silas' family are just... not enough. I mean, I am told about them, but I don't see much of that love, brotherly, motherly, fatherly or whatever. It is just not shown enough.
Let's disgrace the book even more with a world just as catastrophic. And anyone who has read the book is even in a position to ask, "What world?". Because truth is, you just can't see it. Aside from a palace where every single one that is important for the plot lives and one single tradition, all you get is a neighbour kingdom that you are not even quite sure where exactly it is in relation to Coroa. A neighbour kingdom that, guess what?!, is ruled by an evil king!! 😱😱 Shocking, I know. And it gets even more shocking! Why is that king evil? Well, because he has to be. Evil kings are cool and a must in Fantasy! I bet you weren't expecting that!
Oh, and speaking of Coroa. I have a fun fact for you. Do you know how Portuguese say "crown"? Coroa. Which is quite similar to how Spanish and Italian say it - Corona. And how Romanian say it - coroană. I found it weird to be reading a bok where the name of the country is literally crown. And I am sure I wasn't the only one. The woman who came up with Illéa for The Selection couldn't have made an effort and find a better name for the new country?! Something just a little bit more original for crying out loud!
In fact, the only good thing about the world is the court environment (before it gets ruined by the instalove plotline that is). It is extremely credible and I really, really loved it.
And the small good things don't end here, which is the only reason why this book didn't get 1 single star.
Although the pace is slow and drags on and on without any actual plot development, Cass makes the story flow without problem, making the book incredibly easy to read. More than that, although my brain cells wanted to commit suicide, Cass' writing style made me want to keep reading as if this book was the most interesting one in the entire world. And I have no idea how she managed that, ut she does deserve credits for being able to do so.
The ending was so incredibly sad and yet the best part of this book. Hollis was finally a character I could empathize with. Everything she was feeling was described so well and vivedly, I felt every single bit of it. I mean, I couldn't care less about every single character of this book and yet I felt my heart breaking a little bit. Cass makes us feel exactly what the main character feel and that is awesome.
Overall, this is nowhere near as good as The Selection and The Siren. It is a disappointment, to be honest. And I can't find in myself the strenght to believe the next book will be better, even if I know I'll read it anyway. I wish Cass had done more, developed more. The characters, the world, the plot. It all had potential - lots of it - and Cass wasted it by going down the sappy instalove road, ignoring all the court intrigue the plot was offering her. And even if she didn't want the court intrigue, there was so much more than could have been done, other than a rushed love story between the main character and a blue-eyed boy who has no other trait.
"The most valuable thing you can own is the assurance of your place in someone's heart."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
Glimpse Of Death by Leslie Wolfe
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Let's pretend I didn't read the entire book in less than a day, thank you.
I should hate this book. I should hate the fact that I knew right away who one of the members of the team commiting the murders was. I should hate it, but I didn't. It became a game, trying to find out which of the members was my suspect. And when I found out, I was too invested on the story and the characters to stop and I still didn't know who the other member was and I <i>needed</i> to find out.
And turth is, Wolfe gives it away because she wants to. I feel so freaking stupid because I couldn't guess who the second member was. I had a feeling and I ignored it, because everything pointed elsewhere. Wolfe did such a great job and it amazes me.
Also, I loved the development of Tess' character and I would be so happy if she and Mel became friends! Mel could really use a friend like Tess. And I need more of Cat, he is incredible!
Full review coming soon!
I should hate this book. I should hate the fact that I knew right away who one of the members of the team commiting the murders was. I should hate it, but I didn't. It became a game, trying to find out which of the members was my suspect. And when I found out, I was too invested on the story and the characters to stop and I still didn't know who the other member was and I <i>needed</i> to find out.
And turth is, Wolfe gives it away because she wants to. I feel so freaking stupid because I couldn't guess who the second member was. I had a feeling and I ignored it, because everything pointed elsewhere. Wolfe did such a great job and it amazes me.
Also, I loved the development of Tess' character and I would be so happy if she and Mel became friends! Mel could really use a friend like Tess. And I need more of Cat, he is incredible!
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Rape, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Infidelity
Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward
adventurous
dark
funny
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
"Love was worth sacrificing for."
Dark romance book. I amalmost sure I am fine with that. Dangerous and sexy vampires who go out hunting not-so-dead dead humans who hunt them in return. Absolutely love it. Learning about the past of these vampires, finding out they do have a background and that their past is capable of breaking your heart. If it wasn't for the romance, it would be my heaven. Screw that, it is like a heaven for me.
So, you see, I was really excited for this book, because I absolutely love V (he is right behind Wrath and Hollywood, but just because no one can beat those two) and I desperately wanted to know more about him and his past, which was the most mysterious until this book. I was so, so excited.
And I did get my story about his past and damn, what an awful, heartbreaking past. My baby V didn't deserve that. And to learn he had such a terrible past and suffered so much and yet grew up to be such a nice, kind, attentive and patient person... I can't help admiring him for all that and my heart breaks even more because of all that. He is a truly good person and deserves the world. Ward did an excellent job creating him like this.
I love him so, so much and all I wanted was to love this book just as much. So my love for V could match the rate given to the book about him - 5 stars because I can't give a thousand. But everything else about this book was just not enough. V deserved love, perhaps more than any other member of the Brotherhood (I mean, they all deserve love and really need it, but V is just so sweet it hurt to see him alone), and all I wanted was to be able to root for him and his love interest to end up together, to be happy for him and love the relationship.
And Ward took that all away from me because of how she chose to start they relationship. Four, four books before this one and she never needed to kidnap the love interest for the relationship to start. But for some reason, she decided it had to be like that with V. WHY?! What is even the point?! I can accept the BDSM lifestyle; it is a lifestyle and as long as it is consensual people can do whatever they want and makes them happy. But I can not and will not accept a freaking relationship that starts with the woman being kidnapped.
But by all means, I would love to root for them and I know people will always try to find arguments to support their opinion if they disagree with me - which is completly fine, so feel free to tell me your opinion -, so let me just answer right away to two of the most likely arguments for anyone to think of.
1. Mary was also kidnapped. Yes, she was. After her and Rhage had already met and gone out on dates. Oh, and Mary was in danger when Hollywood kidnapped her. But Jane?! She and V had never talked, let alone go on dates and there was nothing dangerous on her life until V decided to kidnap her for absolutely no reason. If he wanted to meet her again, he could have just gone to the freaking hospital!
2. I am only complaining about how the relationship started, so why couldn't I get over that and enjoy its development? Short answer, because of how it started. Saying I didn't like Jane being kidnapped is not like saying I didn't like this one thing V said when they met on a date somewhere. They are two different things. I could have got over the second. I won't get over the first. Making someone stay in a house they had never been in, surrounded by strangers, stuck in a room with a man they had never met isn't like saying the wrong thing on a date; everything about that situation is wrong. Have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome? Can you tell me without doubts that Jane never feared for her life living in a house full of man armed with all kinds of weapons? Can you tell me that there's absolutely no way that Jane falling in love with V was the way she subconsciously found to preserve her life? Trust me, I tried to tell me that she never felt fear, that there was no way she fell in love to preserve her life. That's how badly I wanted to accept their relationship and feel happy for them. But no matter how hard I tried, the doubt always came back, because truth is, you can't be sure, because Jane was freaking kidnapped!
To make things worse, this book had definitely much less action than all the previous ones. It was focused on V and Jane' s romance and used by Ward to develop the vampiric world a bit more and to develop Phury - preparing us for the next book, which is about him - and a character that I was always curious about but that I always got so little about - the Scribe Virgin. And trust me, I loved that. I loved every single new piece of information, both about the world and the characters. But I couldn't stand the romance and it hurt so much because I do hate romance most of the time, but for V I would have made an exception if the relationship was something I could root for.
And a book where all I could enjoy was the information isn't really a book I could enjoy. All I wanted was some action, just like happened in all the previous books. Some action to balance the romance. But apparently the Lessening were on vacation, which means I got barely any glimpse of the "dangerous and sexy vampires who go out hunting not-so-dead dead humans who hunt them in return" and almost got bored to death.
I did love that ending, though. It is stunningly beautiful. And a new validation for what I already knew - V is the kindest Brother and deserves the world - and a quite pleasant surprise - I may not like V and Jane's relationship, but I like the characters very much and I couldn't think of a better ending for them that wouldn't be a repetition of Rhage and Mary's.
Before the conclusion, I just have a quick question that doesn't stop haunting me. Is V bi or is he straight and he was just confused?! At first I had no doubts that he was bi, but the way his feelings for Butch were explained left me really confused.
Overall, my heart aches for V and I hate Ward for destroying my chance of rooting for his relationship with Jane. But I don't hate her that much, because the world she created (and I got to know more about) is absolutely divine, her characters are perfectly created - a true masterpiece! - and she really left me wanting to read Phury's book to see what will happen!And hopefully the Lessening will return from their vacation!
Dark romance book. I am
So, you see, I was really excited for this book, because I absolutely love V (he is right behind Wrath and Hollywood, but just because no one can beat those two) and I desperately wanted to know more about him and his past, which was the most mysterious until this book. I was so, so excited.
And I did get my story about his past and damn, what an awful, heartbreaking past. My baby V didn't deserve that. And to learn he had such a terrible past and suffered so much and yet grew up to be such a nice, kind, attentive and patient person... I can't help admiring him for all that and my heart breaks even more because of all that. He is a truly good person and deserves the world. Ward did an excellent job creating him like this.
I love him so, so much and all I wanted was to love this book just as much. So my love for V could match the rate given to the book about him - 5 stars because I can't give a thousand. But everything else about this book was just not enough. V deserved love, perhaps more than any other member of the Brotherhood (I mean, they all deserve love and really need it, but V is just so sweet it hurt to see him alone), and all I wanted was to be able to root for him and his love interest to end up together, to be happy for him and love the relationship.
And Ward took that all away from me because of how she chose to start they relationship. Four, four books before this one and she never needed to kidnap the love interest for the relationship to start. But for some reason, she decided it had to be like that with V. WHY?! What is even the point?! I can accept the BDSM lifestyle; it is a lifestyle and as long as it is consensual people can do whatever they want and makes them happy. But I can not and will not accept a freaking relationship that starts with the woman being kidnapped.
But by all means, I would love to root for them and I know people will always try to find arguments to support their opinion if they disagree with me - which is completly fine, so feel free to tell me your opinion -, so let me just answer right away to two of the most likely arguments for anyone to think of.
1. Mary was also kidnapped. Yes, she was. After her and Rhage had already met and gone out on dates. Oh, and Mary was in danger when Hollywood kidnapped her. But Jane?! She and V had never talked, let alone go on dates and there was nothing dangerous on her life until V decided to kidnap her for absolutely no reason. If he wanted to meet her again, he could have just gone to the freaking hospital!
2. I am only complaining about how the relationship started, so why couldn't I get over that and enjoy its development? Short answer, because of how it started. Saying I didn't like Jane being kidnapped is not like saying I didn't like this one thing V said when they met on a date somewhere. They are two different things. I could have got over the second. I won't get over the first. Making someone stay in a house they had never been in, surrounded by strangers, stuck in a room with a man they had never met isn't like saying the wrong thing on a date; everything about that situation is wrong. Have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome? Can you tell me without doubts that Jane never feared for her life living in a house full of man armed with all kinds of weapons? Can you tell me that there's absolutely no way that Jane falling in love with V was the way she subconsciously found to preserve her life? Trust me, I tried to tell me that she never felt fear, that there was no way she fell in love to preserve her life. That's how badly I wanted to accept their relationship and feel happy for them. But no matter how hard I tried, the doubt always came back, because truth is, you can't be sure, because Jane was freaking kidnapped!
To make things worse, this book had definitely much less action than all the previous ones. It was focused on V and Jane' s romance and used by Ward to develop the vampiric world a bit more and to develop Phury - preparing us for the next book, which is about him - and a character that I was always curious about but that I always got so little about - the Scribe Virgin. And trust me, I loved that. I loved every single new piece of information, both about the world and the characters. But I couldn't stand the romance and it hurt so much because I do hate romance most of the time, but for V I would have made an exception if the relationship was something I could root for.
And a book where all I could enjoy was the information isn't really a book I could enjoy. All I wanted was some action, just like happened in all the previous books. Some action to balance the romance. But apparently the Lessening were on vacation, which means I got barely any glimpse of the "dangerous and sexy vampires who go out hunting not-so-dead dead humans who hunt them in return" and almost got bored to death.
I did love that ending, though. It is stunningly beautiful. And a new validation for what I already knew - V is the kindest Brother and deserves the world - and a quite pleasant surprise - I may not like V and Jane's relationship, but I like the characters very much and I couldn't think of a better ending for them that wouldn't be a repetition of Rhage and Mary's.
Before the conclusion, I just have a quick question that doesn't stop haunting me. Is V bi or is he straight and he was just confused?! At first I had no doubts that he was bi, but the way his feelings for Butch were explained left me really confused.
Overall, my heart aches for V and I hate Ward for destroying my chance of rooting for his relationship with Jane. But I don't hate her that much, because the world she created (and I got to know more about) is absolutely divine, her characters are perfectly created - a true masterpiece! - and she really left me wanting to read Phury's book to see what will happen!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Kidnapping
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Child abuse
Minor: Rape and Injury/Injury detail