This is just not the story or author for me. I recognize I'm not the target audience for this novella, because I really dislike royalty romance storieThis is just not the story or author for me. I recognize I'm not the target audience for this novella, because I really dislike royalty romance stories and usually only tolerate them in the occasional Harlequin Presents, where the editors seem to think we're all still stuck in 6-year-old-I-wanna-be-a-princess mode. But I'd just finished the rest of the (mostly) fun Improbable Meet-Cute stories so thought I'd just finish off the series, hoping to be pleasantly surprised. But it wasn't to be.
I'm grateful this wasn't a full-on retelling of Roman Holiday, not only because it's one of my favorite films, but because it was so fresh in my mind after rewatching it literally just hours beforehand at a Valentine's Day event at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. But even without a play by play rehash, the story is dull, the characters are barely sketched in, there’s no real spark between them, and the dialogue is painfully juvenile. His getting mad 3/4 of the way through the story FOR SOMETHING HE WAS ALSO DOING also irritated the shit out of me. I would be more outraged by it, except I'm not a huge fan of hers either.
Several of the other books in this series have surprised me and I very much liked 4 out of the 6. But it's disappointing to have the series end on such low notes....more
I guess you could shelve this under serial killer rom-com?
Despite the copious trigger warnings, I didn’t mind the killing parts at all and even laugheI guess you could shelve this under serial killer rom-com?
Despite the copious trigger warnings, I didn’t mind the killing parts at all and even laughed a couple of times (though details of the murder game are pretty sketched in and appear to get less time the further you get into the story), but the romance felt pretty juvenile and dialogue is textbook indie NA.
DNF about halfway through. I just cringed at the predictable banter and the way these supposedly stone cold Dexter-y killers plan and execute all these elaborate murders, but can’t get manage to get into the same room together to figure out if he likes her/she likes him.
There are times when the book also feels really, really pleased with itself, which chafes when the plot and dialogue and humor don’t always deliver....more
1.5 stars I liked the other Colasanti book I read, but this one feels too short and sketched in. A whole year would pass by in a matter of a couple do1.5 stars I liked the other Colasanti book I read, but this one feels too short and sketched in. A whole year would pass by in a matter of a couple dozen pages, and everything felt too neat and unrealistically wrapped up at the end. None of the themes of separation, long distance relationships, first/real love, etc. are really explored in much depth. A disappointment in so many ways.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review....more
Reaction before reading this book: I know I may be a sucker for falling for this cover, but look at it! I totally want to go to that party.
Reaction afReaction before reading this book: I know I may be a sucker for falling for this cover, but look at it! I totally want to go to that party.
Reaction after reading this book: I no longer want to go to this party.
Full disclosure: I did not read this entire book. I took notes for the first 88 pages, read to page 168, and then skimmed the rest. I think reading more than half the book qualifies as giving it a fair shot.
The Selection arrives with a gorgeous cover and interesting premise. What if a lottery allowed 35 teenage girls to compete for the hand of a handsome prince? I thought this might be a fun and fluffy read, so I pushed aside my initial misgivings about the names and pounced on the chance to read the ARC. Turns out, sometimes your gut is just trying to do its job, as I kept struggling with the book until I finally admitted that I didn't find a single aspect of this story that I enjoyed. Somehow I missed the early blurb that described this novel as a mash-up between the The Bachelor and The Hunger Games, which is unfortunate because the comparison to the television show is pretty spot-on. Mentioning it in the same breath as The Hunger Games is a travesty, however, since this book barely qualifies as a dystopian novel--and certainly the quality of the story, characters, themes, and writing don't come even close to comparing.
Here are some facts which may help you decide whether you want to read this book:
Character Names: Our main character's name is America Singer. Guess what she does. Her boyfriend's name is Aspen. Prince Charming's name is Prince Maxon Schreave, who must marry a "True Daughter of Iléa." Other names include Queen Amberly, King Clarkson, Tiny, Kriss, Marlee, Bariel, Gavril, Kamber, and Sosie.
Attempts to Make This Novel Dystopian: Sketchy caste system. Talk of provinces. Girls are required to wait until marriage to have sex. Infrastructure Committees. Occasional mentions of hunger and lack of makeup.
Writing: Very obvious protestations that are easily seen through. Juvenile dialogue. A lot of whispering to convey dramatic statements. A plethora of exclamation points. (view spoiler)[And or the love of Pete, could we stop ending sentences in unnecessary prepositions, please? Eff you, cell phone commercial. You've ruined whole generations. (hide spoiler)]
Bachelor-like Elements: Contestants vying for a "perfect" guy. Appearance fees. Contracts. Gossiping. Sabotage. Tears. Eliminations. Television specials. Icky elements. (view spoiler)[I was afraid early on that the book was headed into really tasteless territory since the girls are asked point-blank whether they're virgins (and have to sign contracts saying the Prince can demand anything he wants of them and they cannot refuse), but fortunately it doesn't get much more gross than that. (hide spoiler)] But no limos and no rose ceremonies! Booo.
Most Annoying Element of All: The story ends on a cliffhanger, as if there was so much going on in this one book, it could not be contained in a single volume.
Why did Mom have to push me so much? Wasn't she happy? Didn't she love Dad? Why wasn't this good enough for her?
"Please don't call me gorgeous. First my mom, then May, now you. It's getting on my nerves." By the way Aspen was looking at me, I could tell I wasn't helping my "I'm not pretty" case. He smiled.
Aspen was dressed in white. He looked angelic.
That was it. I slapped him. "You idiot!" I whisper-yelled at him. "I hate him! I loved you! I wanted you; all I ever wanted was you!"
"If you don't want me to be in love with you, you're going to have to stop looking so lovely."
So. Whether you'll enjoy this book depends on whether you find any of the above details appealing. If, like me, they make you want to pull out your hair, it may be best to either try this one out at the library first or just admire the pretty cover design from a safe distance.
Putting aside the fact that this probably would have worked better as a straightforward fairy tale without the pseudo-dystopian details, as well as the annoying focus on boys boys boys being the be-all and end-all of this book, the whole thing wasn't really a very enjoyable reading experience to me, not even as mindless entertainment. Every scene, every character, and every plot development was predictable and worse yet, a cliché, and the dialogue and machinations felt painfully juvenile throughout the entire story. I almost wish this were a middle grade novel, except that there are a few too many make out scenes for that. Plus I don't think I would have enjoyed this even at the age of 8.
As always, these kinds of books are just a matter of taste. All in all, I really don't have violent feelings about The Selection the way I do with such books as The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer or Elizabeth Miles' Fury, but I'm afraid I can't say that I found very much about it that was redeeming, either.
After less than 24 hours of this review being live: Some pretty horrible developments occurred. Please check message #239 on this post if you're interested. And yes, this is the review that was featured the Publishers Weekly article Should Authors and Agents Weigh In on Citizen Reviews?
Those interested in how this one review still continues to affect me 2 years after posting it should check out the links in message #239 as well. This review has not been altered at all since its publication, with the exception of the addendum, and to delete a quote that was misread.
Let me save you some time: this book is a paranormal romance. There is precisely one chapter--the very last one--devoted to any sort of magic lasting Let me save you some time: this book is a paranormal romance. There is precisely one chapter--the very last one--devoted to any sort of magic lasting more than a few paragraphs. ALL of the magic, however, involves the tragic separation of these star-crossed lovers in some way. There is nothing else going on here except for a romance between two characters who are harmless but so blandly unremarkable that they are actually perfectly suited for each other. Every conversation, every secondary character, and every plot line revolves around Tristan and Savannah.
A paranormal romance that focuses more on the relationship than anything else could be okay if the romance were actually interesting, but after reading countless passages devoted to their interactions as managers of the school drill team--yes, both of them, he even gets thrown off the football team so that we get more scenes with them together--my eyes started to cross. Seriously, it even got the point where I was idly hoping for a prom scene, just so something would happen--and I normally hate prom scenes.
That this "forbidden romance" story is actually a series is mind-boggling. I finished this one because it was my bathtub reading, but I was hard-pressed not to drown my impatience--and more besides--before the story mercifully ended.
I think that a lot of readers are going to enjoy Tempest a lot more than I did, judging by the insane marketing efforts planned for this book and by tI think that a lot of readers are going to enjoy Tempest a lot more than I did, judging by the insane marketing efforts planned for this book and by the early reactions I've seen. And to be fair, this is a very readable novel that kept me turning pages so fast you'd think I was eating potato chips. (view spoiler)[I don't eat many potato chips, however, because eventually they'll just make me feel sick. (hide spoiler)] Unfortunately, my own overall reading experience was a very frustrating one because the story was so confusing and I never really felt a connection with the primary characters.
Jackson Meyer is a college student in 2009 who has recently discovered he can jump back and forth through time. He's just beginning to test the limit of his abilities with the help of his friend Adam when one day, a bunch of weirdos burst into his dorm room and during the struggle, his girlfriend Holly is killed. Now Jackson, who speaks several languages and is filthy rich (of course), has to figure out if he can go back in time to save her, all the while avoiding the dangerous people who are chasing after him.
This is a pretty cool premise, if borrowing heavily from Dr. Who's time lords + the movie Jumper. The fundamental problem with a conceit like this, however, is that if the rules of your time traveling aren't fairly clear and the switches in timeline fairly easy to follow, it's going to be hard to hang onto your audience. I have a rudimentary understanding of the guidelines Jackson has to follow, but the timeline made very little sense and the plot feels as if it's just a jumbled mess of events strung together. The jumps are also far too frequent and short-lived, which makes for very abrupt shifts in setting and action; I calculated that in 352 pages and 43 chapters, this kid jumps nearly every 8 pages.
If that weren't enough, there are also elements of Alias (including shades of Sydney Bristow's dad) thrown in + a dead sister + a whole lotta romance...which really isn't all that romantic. By the time Jackson discovers that he's been lied to his whole life and the conspiracies pile up higher and higher, it becomes a pretty ridiculous exercise to watch him become a super secret, teenaged, time-traveling CIA agent in just eleven days. All so he can battle the bad guys, who are called EOTs, or...wait for it...Enemies of Time! *dun dun dun*
This book is also extremely romance-centered, and there's a lot of wish-fulfillment going on in Jackson's fixation with Holly, who appears to be a nice but fairly ordinary, unremarkable girl. I just didn't find them very compelling individually or together, and it's not until the end that there's even a hint of anything genuinely emotional developing in their relationship. (I do give him some credit for not taking advantage of the "past" Holly when he so easily could have, however.) The two characters that interested me the most were Jackson's long-dead sister Courtney, whom he sees when he travels back to the past, and another mysterious little red-headed girl who appears intermittently in his travels. I really wish the book had done more with those characters instead of trying to randomly hit on so many other, less interesting things in the name of serving a far-fetched, unconvincing plot. This novel is really like an episode of any number of pseudo sci-fi adventure tv shows that specialize in flashy quick cuts and dramatic music, most of which also play fast and loose with pesky elements such as science and logic and character development.
As I said, I think a lot of readers will probably enjoy this more than I did, however, so I'm going to be sharing my ARC with fellow readers. If you're interested in joining an ARC blog tour for Tempest, sign up here for a chance to participate! (If you don't have a blog, you may also post your review to GoodReads instead.) YA readers will likely be hearing about this trilogy quite a bit in the near future, since this is not only the first book in a planned trilogy, but the movie rights have also been snapped up by Summit Entertainment. It will be interesting to compare notes to see whether the majority of readers will be as wowed by this story as the powers-that-be are predicting that they will be.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review. ...more
Wow. This might be the most annoying girl I've ever read about in YA book--and I've read a lot of YA books.
Enid and her boyfriend are on a break, becaWow. This might be the most annoying girl I've ever read about in YA book--and I've read a lot of YA books.
Enid and her boyfriend are on a break, because she is controlling and possessive and mistrustful. She tells him he can't go to parties, she reads his emails, she checks his text messages, she jealously hounds him about a girl who is interested in him, and then she STALKS him 500 miles on a weekend getaway, where she spies on him and his friends.
The book then becomes a totally weird, totally unrealistic, totally uninteresting Lifeboat + Shark Week lite situation in which they all get really hungry and sick and (view spoiler)[a couple of them die (hide spoiler)]. What I don't understand about any of this is that somehow Enid becomes even more of a jealous harpy once they're adrift at sea, and the boyfriend doesn't call her on it at all. She eventually changes a tiny bit once the situation becomes extreme, but it feels like she gives in just because she's become too exhausted and dehydrated to play the martyr more than anything else--and she certainly doesn't acknowledge the stupidity and obsessiveness of her actions. There are a bunch of other things wrong with this book as well, but they pale in comparison to the problem of the main character being such a self-centered, childish airhead, so I'm not even going to bother going into them.
What a bizarre book. I kept skimming ahead because I couldn't really believe how completely asinine the story was, thinking that at some point something good had to happen to redeem it. I'll save you the trouble now and just tell you: that doesn't happen....more
Wendy Darling
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