One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London: A Bitter Disappointment

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
Published: July 7th, 2020
Publisher: Dial Press
Tropes: Reality TV
Heat level: 🔥🔥
My rating: 2.5 stars
# of pages: 432
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration
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Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers--and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition--under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men--and herself--for a chance to live happily ever after.

I had high hopes for One to Watch - a fat Instagram-famous fashionista going on a reality dating show to find love? Sign me up! I was expecting something cute, funny, empowering, romantic, and feel-good. What I actually got was slammed in the face with a book full of fatphobia, making One to Watch incredibly difficult to read and often downright depressing.

I love when I can relate to a character, whether it’s because they’re fat or deal with mental illness or they’re nerdy or love to travel or whatever. If I can connect to a character because of common life experiences or interests, it makes it that much easier to love a book. In the case of One to Watch, my connection to Bea stirred up a lot of painful emotions. See, like Bea, I’m fat. I’ve always been fat. I’ve been made fun of, I’ve been bullied, I’ve been ridiculed, I’ve been judged. And like Bea, I’ve worried that no one will ever see past my size and love me for me. After so many rejections, both big and small, it becomes impossible to fathom that anyone would ever find you desirable or love you or be in a relationship with you. I’ve felt invisible for so long that it’s become a shield, and I saw that in Bea - her suspicion and mistrust and defensiveness around people, especially guys.

While on the one hand it was nice to see myself in Bea and to see the struggles many fat people face talked about with brutal honesty (emphasis on the 'brutal'), it was also too much at times. Bea couldn’t seem to catch a break. For most of the book, it seemed like her fears about how she was perceived and would never find love were completely founded. People treated her like shit. They judged and ridiculed her. So much of the book was Bea being relentlessly humiliated by fatphobic assholes and questioning her self-worth. At times it felt overwhelming seeing all my own fears and insecurities play out right before my eyes. 

All of this isn’t to say I didn’t like Bea, because I did. I could see myself being friends with her and I’d definitely love to get some fashion tips from her! I appreciated how strong and smart and real she was. The reality TV aspect of the book was interesting; I used to be obsessed with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, so I enjoyed reading about the fictionalized version of a show like that with all its ups and downs, the drama, and the dream dates. I didn’t connect to any of the guys, though, and didn’t think any of them were really right for Bea. With the premise of the book being a reality dating show, the guys’ motivations weren’t clear (were they there for fame? Did they want to use the show to advance their own careers? Did they want to get a spot on one of the franchise’s spin-off shows?) and we didn’t get to know any of them well enough to know whether they suited Bea long term. Her constant doubts about them didn’t help either because I found myself mistrustful of every single one of them, waiting for the moment when she would be humiliated yet again...which always, always happened.

Overall, this book was a miss for me. There were too few triumphs for Bea after so much pain, heartache, and humiliation. I was hoping for a book that would leave me feeling hopeful and happy, not depressed and disappointed. I would have loved to see Bea have more things work out in her favour, more circumstances where she was the winner instead of the loser. She was obviously a confident, self-assured woman, but we got to see very little of that because she was constantly put in crappy situations that often left her feeling like the butt of a bad joke.

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Wanderlust Wednesday Review: One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank

 
Check out my previous Wanderlust Wednesday posts

 

One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank
Series: Standalone
Published: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: Blink
272 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Acquired this book: Via NetGalley in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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Most teens dream of visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to make Sophie miserable.

Sophie could deal with all the pain and humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide her with a piano goes unfulfilled.

Still, no one is immune to Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it all.

I keep promising myself I’m going to cut back on the books I request for review, but when I saw the cover of One Paris Summer and read the synopsis, I had to make an exception. I love books with European settings, especially when they’re places I’ve been, like Paris. Unfortunately, while One Paris Summer started out okay and there were parts I enjoyed, I spent a good portion of the book feeling irritated and contemplating DNFing it.

What I did like: the complex family relationships. Blended families can be difficult, uncomfortable, and fraught with tension, and this one was all those things. I also appreciated Sophie’s passion for and commitment to her music. I know what it’s like to pour yourself into something, to use your grief and anger and hurt to fuel you, and I liked how well that came across whenever Sophie was talking about music or playing the piano. As for favourite characters, I liked Sophie well enough, but it was her stepmother, Eva, who was the standout character for me.

Other than those things...I’m left with all the things that irritated me. All the characters and situations were over-dramatized to the point where I was almost constantly rolling my eyes. I lost count of the number of times Sophie or her stepsister ‘stomped’ from the room. Half the book was spent with one or more characters throwing a hissy fit or overreacting. I liked Sophie’s brother at first, but then he turned into a jerk. It went beyond just being a protective brother - he overreacted to every situation and treated her like crap. I could go on, but I don’t want it to seem like I’m bashing the book because that’s not my intention at all. I probably should have set this book aside, but I kept reading in the hopes it would get better. There were a few nice moments toward the end but for me they almost felt too little too late after all the juvenile behavior and drama. I was also a bit disappointed with the lack of descriptions about Paris, especially toward the end. At first I could picture a lot of it and I knew exactly where things were, but then as the book went on the descriptions stopped and the book basically could have been set anywhere.

Unfortunately One Paris Summer wasn't for me. However, just because it disappointed me doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it. If you like books that deal with family issues, clandestine romances, and a passion for music, all wrapped up in a Parisian setting, give One Paris Summer a shot.

Have you read One Paris Summer? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Have you been to Paris? What would you do if you had a whole summer in Paris?

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Review: South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf

South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf
Series: Standalone
Published: April 1st, 2016
Publisher: Albert Whitman
256 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Acquired this book: Via NetGalley in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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What is Kaycee willing to risk for the sake of love?
And what will she risk for acceptance?

In Sunshine, Tennessee, the main event in town is Friday night football, the biggest party of the year is held in a field filled with pickup trucks, and church attendance is mandatory. For Kaycee Jean McCoy, life in Sunshine means dating guys she has no interest in, saying only “yes, ma’am” when the local bigots gossip at her mom’s cosmetics salon, and avoiding certain girls at all costs. Girls like Bren Dawson.

Unlike Kaycee, Bren doesn’t really conceal who she is. But as the cool, worldly new girl, nobody at school seems to give her any trouble. Maybe there’s no harm if Kaycee gets closer to her too, as long as she can keep that part of her life a secret, especially from her family and her best friend. But the more serious things get with Bren, the harder it is to hide from everyone else. Kaycee knows Sunshine has a darker side for people like her, and she’s risking everything for the chance to truly be herself.

I had really high hopes for South of Sunshine. I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover, and when I found out the book was f/f YA I was even more excited. I’ll read all the LGBTQ books I can get my hands on, and if it’s f/f, so much the better since the majority of LGBTQ, especially YA, seems to be m/m. Within the first couple chapters, I had issues and was worried about the direction the book was taking and that I’d be disappointed. Unfortunately, I was right about being disappointed. I ended up having very mixed feelings about South of Sunshine.

Sunshine, Tennessee hasn’t quite joined the rest of the 21st century in its way of thinking. It’s a small town full of racists, homophobes, and hypocrites. Most people seem to be pretty religious and take their ‘wholesome ideals’ from the Bible. Except those ideals make them fear and loathe anyone who’s even remotely different from them. It was quite sickening to read about, but was a definite eye-opener to the type of discrimination and bigotry that still exists in this world. This bigotry is what makes Kaycee hide her true self. She’s always known she was different, but in a town that hates ‘different’, she hides the side of her that likes girls, and unhappily dates boys instead. Until Bren comes to town. Bren is different in more ways than one, and she’s proud of who she is. She doesn’t hide the way Kaycee does, and she stirs up the feelings Kaycee has tried so hard for so long to hide.

My issues with the book mainly revolved around Kaycee. I sympathized with her problem of being afraid to come out. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a town - and even in a house, since her mother seemed like a bigot, too (although I did end up appreciating her mother’s eventual baby steps toward acceptance) - where you knew if you were your true self, you’d be shunned and possibly worse. But her behavior at times was appalling. For someone who was so worried about being judged, there was an awful lot of slut shaming, girl hate, and judgement from Kaycee. Like to the point where I found myself cringing and wanting to DNF the book on several occasions.

There’s sort of a gray area in YA, especially when you’re reading as an adult. I know I’m not the ‘intended audience’ for YA. I’ve been out of my teens for a long time, as have many other readers/lovers of YA, so we have the experience and possible wisdom that most teens are lacking for another few years at least. It’s hard being a teen and being ruled by hormones and emotions - I may be far out of my teens, but I do remember that clearly. That sense of urgency - done well - is part of what I love about YA. And because of that, I can usually understand mistakes and stupid or hormone-fueled decisions, especially when they’re part of a character’s growth. But in Kaycee’s case, there were a few things that really pissed me off. They were things I couldn’t excuse away with ‘but she’s only seventeen, this is part of her growth’. It seemed like a bit of stewing and an apology absolved her from her bad behavior and she didn’t really have to be responsible for her actions. I get that in this case, part of Kaycee’s behavior had to do with her being brought up in a stifling environment, surrounded by judgmental, hypocritical bigots, but at the same time, would I want my teenage nieces reading a book where slut-shaming and girl hate was sprinkled liberally throughout, and be led to think it was okay? NOPE. Some people would be able to take it for what it was - a lesson in the small-mindedness of some people and how some people are a product of their environment, but others might internalize it in a different way, and isn’t there enough hate out there? I don’t usually get so analytical when I read, but I did with this one, hence my mixed feelings.

So...Kaycee was an okay character and Bren was an okay character. Kaycee had a major case of instacrush that turned into instalove, but I felt like we didn’t get to learn much about Bren except she had a great hair and smelled like ocean and spice. There wasn’t a whole lot of actual romance so much as Kaycee thinking about Bren all the time. I enjoyed their romantic interactions, but wish there had been more of them and that Kaycee hadn’t spend the entire time analyzing her feelings for Bren and the possible consequences of those feelings. Van, Kaycee’s gay best friend, was my favourite character. He was the only one with any real personality, and at times I felt like I knew him better than I knew Kaycee. Kaycee was like Bren in a way - all we really learned about her was surface stuff. The entire plot centred on her being gay and coming out in a bigoted town, but we didn’t learn anything about her beyond that. I think this contributed to the plot dragging at times, especially since she had a lot of long inner monologues.

Overall, I was disappointed with South of Sunshine. I guess I should know better than to have really high hopes about books anymore, but I couldn’t help it. This book encompassed a lot of serious issues - coming out, homophobia, racism, religion - but the way it was dealt with left me with kind of an icky feeling. After so much tension and angst, the whole thing came together with rainbows and sunshine - literally. The pride-flag-waving part of me enjoyed the ending, and I appreciated that things ended on a happy note (especially since there are so many doomed f/f romances), but it felt rushed, plus slightly unbelievable.

All that being said, I always encourage people to try books for themselves. I know plenty of people who loved South of Sunshine, so if you’re curious about it and you’re looking for a coming out f/f book with a happy ending, South of Sunshine might be for you.

Have you read South of Sunshine? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? What's the last book you were really looking forward to but were disappointed by?

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Review: Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires, Book #2

Published: September 2nd, 2009

Publisher: NAL Trade

357 pages (paperback)

Genre: Adult paranormal/urban fantasy

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

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 {Read my review of Some Girls Bite}

You’d think headlines like that would have provoked the fine citizens of the Windy City to take up arms against us bloodsucking fiends. Instead, ten months later, we’re enjoying a celebrity status reserved for the Hollywood elite—fending off paparazzi only slightly less dangerous than cross and stake-wielding slayers. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Public isn’t exactly thrilled to be living side-by-side with the undead, but at least they haven’t stormed the castle yet.

But all that will change once they learn about the Raves—mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle and drink themselves silly. Most civilized vampires frown on this behavior, putting mere mortals at ease with their policy of asking a person’s consent before taking a big gulp of the red stuff. However, that doesn’t make good copy for a first time reporter looking to impress his high society family.

So now my “master,” the centuries old, yet gorgeously well-preserved Ethan Sullivan, wants me to reconnect with my own upper class family and act as liaison between humans and vampires—and keep the more unsavory aspects of our existence out of the media. But someone doesn’t want people and vamps to play nicey-nice—someone with an ancient grudge.

I loved Some Girls Bite, the first book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. I thought it was original, funny, and action-packed, and I was eager to see where the series went. I never thought this would be a series that would suffer from second book syndrome, but it was. Friday Night Bites was…meh. It was slow (it took me almost two weeks to read) and lacked so many of the things that made Some Girls Bite so fantastic. I wanted to love this book so badly, but it really fell short.

There wasn’t a whole lot of development in Friday Night Bites. There were some issues with Merit and Mallory’s friendship, and Merit learned a little bit about her vampire side, but it all felt kind of superficial. It could have been fleshed out more and added to the plot, but it felt like it was thrown in halfheartedly, and as a result I was bored and found it hard to get invested in the characters. The romances were also really disappointing. Merit got nowhere with Ethan (who I felt we could have learned a bit more about), and I was beginning to like where things were going with Morgan until he turned into a possessive, jealous, untrusting jerk...mind you, I guess Merit was leading him on, but still. The way he started treating her just didn't sit right with me. At this point I don’t know who Merit should end up with, nor do I particularly care because nothing made me care in this book. 

I found Merit hard to like at times, when I absolutely adored her in Some Girls Bite and thought she was this strong, kickass heroine who was easy to admire and respect. Where did that girl go? I only saw very small glimpses of her in Friday Night Bites.

The plot - what there was of it - was fairly interesting, although similar to the first book. I’m curious to learn more about the Breckinridges, and see how Merit fits back into her family now that she’s a vampire.

Overall, I found Friday Night Bites to be a big disappointment. It lacked in action, romance, and character development, and left me unable to connect with the characters or the story. However, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Merit and the gang just yet. Because I loved Some Girls Bite so much, I’m hopeful that Friday Night Bites was just a bump in the road and that the series will pick up. I feel like this series has a lot of potential, and I’m looking forward to reading the third book and hopefully falling back in love with the Chicagoland Vampires.

2.5 stars

Have you read Friday Night Bites or any of the other Chicagoland Vampires series? What did you think?

 

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Review: Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino

Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino

Series: Standalone

Published: April 14th, 2013

Publisher: Formerly self-published, now published with Atria Books

331 pages (ebook)

Genre: Contemporary new adult

Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Mia Kelly is a twenty-five-year-old walking Gap ad who thinks she has life figured out when her father’s sudden death uproots her from slow-paced Ann Arbor to New York City’s bustling East Village. There she discovers her father’s spirit for life and the legacy he left behind with the help of an old café, a few eccentric friends, and one charming musician.

Will Ryan is good-looking, poetic, spontaneous, and on the brink of fame when he meets Mia, his new landlord, muse, and personal heartbreaker.

A story of self-discovery and friendship, Sweet Thing shines light on the power of loving and letting go.

I have really mixed feelings about Sweet Thing. The synopsis piqued my interest, as did the gorgeous cover (which was changed when the book was picked up by a publisher). Between that and the fact that reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, I went in with high hopes. While I liked the story itself, I hate to say that I had some pretty big issues with it.

My main issue was Mia. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a main character more than I disliked Mia. In the prologue and the first chapter, she seemed like this strong, capable girl who had her act together, but from there, she completely fell apart. She was fickle and judgmental, she made (mostly wrong) assumptions about nearly everyone, but especially Will, she constantly jumped to conclusions, and she spent a great deal of time feeling sorry for herself.

The relationship between Will and Mia made me angry more often than not because of Mia’s attitude. She lead him on and was forever giving him mixed signals. She didn’t want him but didn’t want anyone else to have him and would get jealous if he so much as looked at another girl. She claimed Will was her best friend, but she didn’t seem to know him at all, or know that her ridiculous, judgmental assumptions about him were wrong.

As for Will, I liked him well enough. He was a different kind of male lead, which I liked. He was comfortable with himself and who he was, and he didn’t make excuses or apologies for his actions. He was affectionate and exuberant and spontaneous, and while I didn’t fall for him, I could see how some girls would. I didn’t understand what he saw in Mia, but I liked how loyal and patient he was while she didn’t know what the hell she wanted. 

About 90% of the way through the book, something magical happened. I stopped hating Mia. She finally got her shit together, pulled her head out of her ass, and stopped being a whiny, self-destructive girl. I won’t say it was too little too late, because she did mostly redeem herself, and I absolutely loved the ending, her song, and the epilogue. Loved. It saved the book in my opinion.

One thing I did love about Sweet Thing was the setting. I love books set in New York City, and I enjoyed getting to see bits of the city, the café, and Mia and Will’s apartment. The music aspect of the book was great, and I really enjoyed that. I also liked that there was quite a bit of humour to offset the serious, dramatic, and often-emotional aspects of the book.

I really don’t know how to sum up this review. It’s hard to like a book when you hate the main character. The fact that Mia redeemed herself and that the ending was good enough that it actually made me tear up says a lot, but it wasn’t enough to completely redeem the book for me. However, I will say that I enjoyed Carlino’s writing style, and I won’t hesitate to read books from her in the future, even though I didn’t love Sweet Thing. I also wouldn’t hesitate to tell people to give this one a shot, because I seem to be in the minority with my feelings, and I know many people have loved this book, so hopefully you will too!

2.5 stars

 

 

The first cover is the original cover; I liked its simplicity, and once you read the book, you realize it was really fitting. The second cover is beautiful and I love it. It's so completely different from the first, but it's unique and I like how everything ties together. The third cover is the new cover that the book got when Atria Books picked it up, and...I really don't like it. The first two were so fitting and this one is just...meh. It could be about almost any book. I do appreciate that it's different from other NA covers which tend to be all the same, but I think it's a shame they had to change it from something great to something so generic.

 Have you read Sweet Thing? What did you think? What do you think of the cover changes? Which one's you're favourite?

 

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Review: Take Me Now by Faith Sullivan

Take Me Now by Faith Sullivan

Series: Take Me Now, #1

Published: July 16th, 2013

Publisher: Self-published

156 pages (ebook)

Genre: Contemporary new adult

Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

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How do you survive the internship from hell?

Don't fall in love.

Ivy thought being a reporter-in-training at the Independent Gazette would be her dream summer job. Little did she know, interviewing Eric, a landscaper with a heart of gold, would derail her plans. It turns out Ivy's boss, Lauren, has been eying his chiseled physique for quite some time.
But at twenty-four, Eric already has a tragic past, one that he is still reeling from. Even though his ordeal turned him into some sort of local celebrity, it's been a while since he's shared his bed with anyone. When he comes to Ivy's rescue out of the blue, it's not long before the two of them start seeing each other behind Lauren's back. When they get caught, Ivy's journey toward a college degree is jeopardized and her relationship with Eric is severely put to the test.

Career versus love? In the end, a shocking turn of events provides Ivy with a revelation she never saw coming.

 

I wanted to like this book. I really did. So many people have been turning their noses up at New Adult, but I’ve been a big (and vocal) supporter of it. Unfortunately, Take Me Now was not a favourite.

Because I hate writing negative reviews (but as both a book blogger and an author myself, I believe in being completely honest even when the truth is hard), I want to start with what I did like about Take Me Now. The writing itself was good. The concept behind the story was good. It had a really strong opening that drew me in and made me curious. The book evoked emotion in me - rage at the characters who deserved it (and sometimes those who didn’t, just because of their actions), sympathy (for Eric especially), and I thought the characters' emotions - love, anger, confusion, jealousy, etc - really came across well.

What I didn’t like: the characters were way too dramatic. They overreacted to everything and created a ton of drama, but there were few actual consequences to their actions. I didn’t feel the romance; it was what I would consider instalove - Ivy and Eric became so obsessed with each other but they didn’t actually know anything about each other or spend that much time together. I despised Lauren, Will, and Ryan, and wished more than once that Ivy would grow a backbone and tell them all to go fly a kite in the middle of traffic during a lightning storm. I kept hoping I’d connect to Ivy and Eric, but I never did. Their behaviour and actions and poor decision-making skills often prevented me from even liking either of them, so it made it hard to connect with them.

Even though I didn’t enjoy Take Me Now, I always encourage people to try books for themselves. Just because it’s not a new favourite of mine doesn’t mean it won’t be a new favourite of yours. If you enjoy contemporary new adult with a lot of angst and drama (hey, it’s some people’s cup of tea!), I say give this one a shot. I enjoyed Sullivan’s writing enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another of her books in the future and hope for better results. 

2.5 stars

 Have you read Take Me Now? What did you think?

 

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Book Review: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Series: Watersong Book #1

Published: August 7th, 2012

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

309 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Young adult paranormal/urban fantasy/mythology

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs.  She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door.  He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back.  Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever.  She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove.  They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price.  And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

I’ll be honest - the beautiful cover of Wake is what initially drew me to the book. I didn’t know much about the book before I read it, but I’d seen dozens of other bloggers talking about it, so I was curious.

Unfortunately - and I really do hate to say this - the cover was one of the only things I liked about Wake.

I didn’t really like Gemma or Harper, nor was I able to connect with them. I didn’t feel like there was much depth to them, and neither of them really developed as characters. Gemma’s love of the water was pretty much the only thing that defined her, and Harper’s domineering personality was a bit much to take at times. At one point Gemma called her sister ‘a bossy, know-it-all control freak’ and that pretty much sums it up.

Daniel was pretty much the only character I liked, and that was really only because he had more personality than any of the others. Alex was okay, but I got tired of hearing about how he’d gone from a geek to a total hottie practically overnight without anyone noticing, as if he wasn’t worth noticing until he became hot.

The pacing of the book was really slow, and I thought Hocking probably could have written one really good book instead of breaking this into a trilogy. Not much happened in Wake - in fact, it felt like the book was mostly made up of dialogue, and I found myself skimming a lot. What little there was about siren mythology was interesting, but I wish it had been expanded upon.

Overall, Wake just didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t able to connect with the characters or the story, and I felt like I waited most of the book for something - anything - to happen. If you enjoy stories about mermaids/sirens or mythology, this book might be for you. 

2.5 stars

Have you read Wake? What did you think? Do you enjoy books that weave in elements of mythology?

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Book Review: Cicada by Belle Whittington

Cicada by Belle Whittington

Series: Cicada, Book #1

Published: September 13th, 2011

Publisher: Self-published

113 pages (ebook)

Genre: Young adult science fiction

Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Summertime for Blair Reynolds and her friends had always been carefree and fun... until the summer they happened upon something that was not human. As they band together in a fight for their lives, Blair's true love becomes something more than human. Something unnatural. And their survival depends entirely upon their ability to keep a secret.

I liked the concept for Cicada. This was my first alien book, and I thought the idea behind it was interesting. Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired.

Cicada was a short book - only 113 pages in e-format - but it took me almost a month to read, because I had so much trouble getting into it. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and didn’t feel that any of them really grew or had any depth. The dialogue was often stiff and unnatural, and while swearing doesn’t bother me, it, too, felt unnatural - like it was thrown in for the sake of making the characters appear stressed or as if they were acting out of character. I also found the story quite repetitive - Blaire’s thoughts, especially.

A lot of questions were raised surrounding the aliens, the death of Blaire’s dad and brother, and what was going on with her other brother and her love interest Everett, but I didn’t feel like any of the questions were actually answered. Instead of answers, there were just more questions. The book ended really abruptly, and although I realize this is a trilogy, it felt like an odd ending, and I’m - unfortunately - not really curious enough to read the next book to see what happens.

As always, if this book sounds like something you'd be interested in, I encourage you to give it a try and see what you think. I know people who have enjoyed it, and just because I wasn't one of them doesn't mean I don't hope you will be. ;-)

2.5 stars

Have you read Cicada? What did you think? Have you read any other alien books?

 

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