UPDATE: 18/12/2022 - Reread. It makes no sense that I reread a book I did not really enjoy. I need my head examined. I stand by my original review 100UPDATE: 18/12/2022 - Reread. It makes no sense that I reread a book I did not really enjoy. I need my head examined. I stand by my original review 100%. The all consuming relationship between Miss Yearny and Mr Brooder was insane. At one point she was thinking how out of character someone was acting and she hadn't seen them behave like that before...you met him a week ago lady, there's a lot you don't know. Seriously, is this a healthy portrayal of love? I think not.
Original Review
In my opinion 57% is a long way into the book for any action to start. Especially considering that this book is meant to have a monster war going on. After we finally saw some fangs it still meandered along for a bit and then BAM, it was all on! There were a few action packed chapters that were actually pretty good but not nearly enough to balance out the long lingering gazes and brushing up of bodies that filled up nearly the entire book. There were a lot of ‘smexy’ blood sucking scenes and intense groping scenes which normally I would find quite cringey but somehow seemed to fit as this was pretty much a romance book.
There were some little nuggets of humour dotted throughout which made me laugh out loud. Two notable examples were: a) when Jaxon (the vampire) sent Grace a copy of Twilight to read as a hint of what he is. She didn't get the hint btw. b) One of the chapter headings was ‘Is that a wooden stake in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?’ Yip. Still funny!
On the yearny scale it’s pretty high but again, it kinda fitted in with the whole brooding vampire versus dastardly dragon vibe. I’ve literally just worked out what made the high levels of yearning semi-acceptable to me! Like right now as I am typing! It felt like gothic literature! Yay me for finally figuring out why I wasn’t getting annoyed that my yearn-o-meter was clanging away in the background. Gothic literature is filled with tortured souls who are in various states of despair due to love and loss and there's oodles of...you guessed it...yearning! The setting is super gothic too. A castle type place in a cold and remote area.
Gothic literature vibes aside, an aspect I didn’t like that seems to be prevalent in YA fiction is the notion of characters in the book having such intense and all consuming connections with their love interests. I’m not sure if it is setting up particularly healthy relationships or very realistic expectations for real life relationships. I’ll use a couple of quotes to illustrate my point.
“something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in her”
Ummmm...two brokes don’t make a right, people. Codependency anyone?
“Just looking at him feels perilous. Standing next to him feels like walking a 100ft high rope without a net. And wanting him the way I do, wanting him feels like opening a vein just to see myself bleed.”
Ummmm….I have no words.
So my final star rating reflects the lack of monster showdowns and whilst I LOOOOOVE gothic literature, orgasmic blood sucking just isn’t my thing.
Look, just go into this book with the right expectations. Set your expectations to 'unoriginal story with cliched hot redhead who turns out to be a "sLook, just go into this book with the right expectations. Set your expectations to 'unoriginal story with cliched hot redhead who turns out to be a "speshul" teenage girl' and then you will enjoy it. There are lots of good action scenes against some gnarly demons. I enjoyed her back story about being the reincarnation of an ancient warrior that helps angels in their battle against evil. That's pretty cool right? So if you want a fun, light read then just sit back, quiet the inner literary critic, and read. If not then I look forward to your long and scathing review. Please add some of the dialogue into your diatribe. e.g. "And every time you die, a little piece of me dies with you.”
and
“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life." I exhaled after holding my breath for what felt like forever. "That's pretty heavy, Will."
*wipes tears away* that's the good stuff right there....more
CW: (view spoiler)[attempted sexual assault, quite a bit of violence, and heavy issues such as medical experUPDATE 22/02/2021 - content warnings added
CW: (view spoiler)[attempted sexual assault, quite a bit of violence, and heavy issues such as medical experiments on kids, drug addiction, suicide and euthanasia. (hide spoiler)]
Well I enjoyed the TV series more.
There is a whole story arc in the book that they never pursued in the TV series. For good reason. It was way too yearny and quite frankly boring. I just didn't care about Glass (really?) and the sad sap she was crushing on. I was literally willing the ship to plummet to the woefully described world beneath. I say world but really I mean island. That's right. The 100 landed on an episode of Love Island. If you enjoy books about teens tent hopping on school camp then you will enjoy this....more
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