not only does this author have deep psychological issues, but he can't even write well. if you're going to be disgusting at least know how to write not only does this author have deep psychological issues, but he can't even write well. if you're going to be disgusting at least know how to write ...more
This rating pains me because the book had so much potential. I mean, a retelling of Lucifer's fall from Heaven already sounds like it'd be a good readThis rating pains me because the book had so much potential. I mean, a retelling of Lucifer's fall from Heaven already sounds like it'd be a good read. Lucifer being gay? Even better. Lucifer having a romantic relationship with Michael, an archangel and the one who cast him out of Heaven??? Sign me up.
Unfortunately, while the premise of Angels Before Man is 1000/10, the actual execution is... not.
My first issue was with the grammar and spelling. There are a few spelling mistakes littered throughout the novel as well as many questionable grammatical decisions. However, I was determined to overlook this, as the novel is self-published and did not have the luxury of professional editing.
The first 104-ish pages were honestly a slog. I had to force myself to keep going and, honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I took the book on my commutes when I didn't have internet, I may not have powered through. It was just that boring.
When introducing a story, you of course need to include some exposition. World building is expected and obviously highly encouraged. Too much world building is not. Angels Before Man was killing me with the exposition. Killing. Me. The first 100 or so pages are literally just the angels chilling and having a good time. Except when Lucifer cries and shakes like a chihuahua (he does that a lot) because he's so humble and nervous and, don't forget, modest. Which is weird because I'm pretty sure the idea of being ashamed about nakedness was only introduced to man, and only after Adam and Eve ate the apple, but I digress.
Every little thing in the book is described. It was reminiscent of those wattpad novels that tell you exactly what the main character is wearing at all times. Completely exhausting to read. I cannot tell you how little I cared about the fruit they were eating or their tunics.
Perhaps I could have borne this better if the characters were interesting. You'd think that a story about the literal devil would have intriguing characterization, but no. Not really. All of the angels sound exactly the same, except for our titular character-- but only because he's either crying or giggling manically.
Lucifer spends the first 60% of the book a sobbing mess over everything before, suddenly, a switch is turned and, oh, he's a sinner now. That's literally how it goes, no lie. No actual character development, either. Furthermore, why does Lucifer giggle so much after his personality switch?? That was just weird lol, I swear every second line was like "Lucifer giggled at the thought of [...]".
Speaking of his complete 180, the actual reason for him 'falling from grace' if you will is soooo messed up. I love a good blaspheme, but that was just way too much. Also, (view spoiler)[ the trope of having a literal villain origin because a character was sexually assaulted is so disrespectful, wrongfully overused, and just plain lazy. The fact that God, the literal LORD, is the one that rapes Lucifer does not sit right with me, and I am not even religious (despite being raised very Catholic). There are so many other interesting ways to illustrate the complexity that is God and his ways and making him a rapist is not one of them. There is also so much to be said about Lucifer's thought process leading up to and during the war in Heaven that was glossed over/not delved into because of this awful plot point. It's all very unsettling, and not in a good way. (hide spoiler)]
Because the characters are not fleshed out or interesting, the romance in this book suffered greatly. It's not even only that, though. We really just got no time with Lucifer and Michael. Lucifer is obsessed with Michael as soon as he hears his name (I'm not lying) and they don't meet face-to-face until about page 102. After that, their entire relationship is basically glossed over. We get a couple of scenes here and there, but we are told instead of shown that they've become best friends and inseparable. Yes, Lucifer thinks about Michael a lot, but we aren't shown why. Despite being inside of Lucifer's head for the first portion of the book, I couldn't feel his love.
I say we are only inside of Lucifer's head for a portion of the book, because it's kind of true. After Part III, which occurs a bit after the halfway point, the point-of-views randomly switch up. And it's not even like fanfiction, where you get a different point of view per chapter or even page. No, the point-of-views (POVs) randomly switched MID-PARAGRAPH. I swear some even changed mid-sentence. What was with that???
The writing, truthfully, left quite a bit to be desired. Besides the random POV switching, there was: Random lowercase sentences in the middle of paragraphs, odd and out of place poetry that took up multiple pages, and ' ' used to describe thoughts. But when I say used, I mean overused. It took me out of the story entirely. At some points, I couldn't wrap my head around what was being said and what was being thought-- or even who was doing the thinking! There are ways to showcase what a character is thinking without writing it so literally. I think that this was a huge problem; everything was too literal.
So much complexity that could have been used but was ultimately left untouched. Shallow character development. 100 pages of exposition that could have been used to build-up the romance. Odd writing choices. An abrupt ending. Too much giggling.
Overall, I am so disappointed. This book could have been great, but instead it was below average. I only give it 2 stars over 1 because... actually I don't know. I guess I think 1 is too low, reserved only for the books that enrage me or make me laugh. This one does neither. It just makes me sad.
I read this entire thing in the bookstore throughout the weeks as a joke. It is one of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life.
I will not I read this entire thing in the bookstore throughout the weeks as a joke. It is one of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life.
I will not be writing a full review, and it would be almost as long as this book. However, here are some of the reasons why this book is actually The Worst:
• The main character, Layla, is half gargoyle half demon. That's just stupid in itself. Plus, she's so ~unique~ and ~special~.
• Layla is literally so boring and also annoying.
• Layla is in love with a boy named Zayne, who is technically her adoptive brother. Yeah. On the topic of incest, (view spoiler)[her half brother had once tried to rape her. (hide spoiler)]
• The love interest is so incredibly gross/creepy but we are supposed to view it as romantic.
• There is a huge love triangle.
• The writing is horrible.
• The ending is such a cop-out and let-down.
I can't even continue this review. Just... do not read this book. Do not. ...more
This review contains unmarked SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.
I am INFURIATED. Hold on to your hats folks- I sure as hell am not playing nice this timThis review contains unmarked SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.
I am INFURIATED. Hold on to your hats folks- I sure as hell am not playing nice this time.
My review for this book is going to be formatted differently from my other ones. Instead of using subheadings, I'm just going to rant. Let's see how this goes...
When I picked this book up I figured that since the previous two were not the best, this one had to be better. I mean, everyone says that they'd cried while reading this, and that it's the best conclusion ever. I was ready to be wowed.
Spoiler: That, sadly, did not happen. Contrary to what you may believe, I really did want to enjoy this book. I had some hopes. If you've ever read one of my reviews for this series, my usual endings are along the lines of, "yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of this one, but I'm hoping that the series gets better from here on out !!!" I should have just DNF'd it.
Like I said, I'm going to be brutally honest in this review. I'm not the type of person to lie- I value honesty a ton; it's a vital trait to me. I cannot stand liars. I also cannot stand when people immediately judge others based on an opinion regarding something as trivial as a book. I would never judge you for liking this series, and so I can only hope that you will not judge me for disliking it. Moving on.
One of my main problems- perhaps the main problem- is the main character of this novel (ironic, right?), Miss Tessa Gray. I cannot stand her. Not only is she the most boring person on the face of the earth, oh no. She's the most boring person on the face of the earth, but we as readers are constantly forced to hear about how FREAKING SPECIAL she is. Not to mention that the other two main characters are hopelessly in love with her for reasons in which I cannot even begin to comprehend, so we have to listen to them lament about her 24/7.
I hate the word 'special snowflake', but I have to say that it describes Tessa perfectly. She seems to always be of importance, and when she isn't, she is forcing herself into random situations; as if she doesn't have enough 'screen-time'!! For example, very early on in the novel the Shadowhunters are alerted of a danger in the Lightwood home. They, of course, go to investigate. Perfectly reasonable. What is not perfectly reasonable, however, is that Tessa just has to tag along. I mean, a) She isn't a Shadowhunter, and they don't particularly need her abilities for anything, so why?? and b) When they arrived at the home both Jem and Will instructed Tessa to remain in the carriage, wishing to keep her out of harm's way and render her basically useless in the situation. WHAT EVEN WAS THE POINT OF LETTING HER COME ON YOUR LITTLE MISSION IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO STICK HER IN THE CARRIAGE 'FOR HER SAFETY'?? Just leave her at the Institute! This entire series already revolves around Tessa, we don't need more unnecessary scenes of her. Kill your darlings, Cassandra Clare. Kill your darlings.
Now, since the entire series had been telling me about how special Tessa was, and how mysterious, and how she was going to be used as some sort of secret weapon, naturally I was intrigued. I may not have liked Tessa, but I do love a good mystery. I was really curious as to how the main villain of the series (who I will get to in just a moment) was going to utilize Tessa for his own personal gain. We learn that Tessa is related to Starkweather, blah blah blah she's half Shadowhunter half Warlock. Honestly... we been knew. Mortmain eventually sends automans and Mrs. Black to kidnap Tessa and take her to his lair (yes, lair). Now, Mortmain hadn't been in the series since book one, so I was getting pretty antsy. He's supposed to be the main antagonist, right?
He does not show up until page 341. He's absent for over a book and a half.
I was pretty annoyed with that, but willing to look past it if only because I really wanted to know what he was going to do with Tessa. This was it...
I was extremely let down. All of this because he wants her to change into his father? I get that this was needed and everything, as he needed some equation, but really? That's it? Come on.
But oh, my disappointment was not over yet!! No; Mortmain fucks off for a while after killing a village, leaving Tessa in her room (and Will when he shows up; again, I'm going to get to that) and then shows up just to die. He literally dies in the span of two pages. It was not only the dumbest thing I'd ever read in my life, but the most anti-climatic as well. Mortmain is built up to be some big bad, and then bites the dust in .2 seconds because Tessa suddenly realizes she can change into the angel that's been living in her clockwork necklace the entire time. Convenient? Perhaps...
Speaking of character building, this book does an awful job with it. Let's use Jessamine Lovelace as an example. In the previous two books she was, let's face it, a mega bitch. An obvious attempt to make Tessa look better by comparison (as most girls in this series are! Literally, Tatiana Lightwood, Benedict's daughter, watches her husband die at the hands of her father, and then immediately takes the time afterward to insult Tessa? Okay) but I've already discussed that, so I'll move on. She makes snide comments, acts as if she could not care less about the people who have basically raised her, and then betrays them. She's sent to Silent City for a brief spell and then in this book makes her return. Now, I've never hated Jessamine. Mostly I've just been annoyed due to her character being treated so poorly. I was pumped for her to come back, as I was 99.9% sure she'd get a great kind-of-redemption-arc and I am so here for those. Ha.
She literally shows up on page 200, anD THEN DIES ON PAGE 213. R EALLY. To say I was pissed would be an understatement. It's like CC thought we liked Tessa enough now, so she sent Jessamine away, then was like "oh shit I need to deal with that one... I know what to do! Let's kill her, and then make her come back at the very end as a ghost! Not only that, but why don’t we tie her to the Institute forever, making her guard the lifestyle that she spent her entire life trying to break free from!" Furthermore, during her death Will asks her where Mortmain is hiding. Jessamine says Idris, like she said previously. Will is basically like "okay no seriously where is he" and Jessamine simply laughs and says that he is "a terrible Welshman" then croaks. Turns out, Mortmain is hiding in some sort of mountain called Idris that's located in Wales? I don't know; close enough. Anyway, if Jessamine knew this, why didn't she come out and say it? What's with the damn riddles? She obviously knew Mortmain was in Wales, she essentially told Will as much, so why be vague about it? My guess is it was for shock factor, which is just lazy writing, I think.
The writing in this book is, of course, similar to the previous two. Too many similes are used and it gets tedious. Like; "They glowed green in the darkness, pale and acidic." Explain that one to me, please, because I still do not get it. Oh, also the 'colorless hair' thing makes a comeback. Just. Say. White.
What really got on my nerves this time, though, was the usage of nicknames. Now I have zero problem with characters using nicknames for others, of course. Using 'Tessa' instead of 'Theresa' is fine, especially because barely anyone calls Tessa by her full name. CC does something odd, though, and admittedly extremely annoying. She randomly inserts nicknames in passages that do not contain dialogue. It can get so confusing! The first time Cecily's nickname Cecy was used, it was in a regular ol' passage (ie. Will- or any other character for that matter- was not speaking to or about her) and I thought that it was a sort of spelling mistake. I'm not sure if I'm making much sense here, so I have procured an example: "[...] he released Jessie, and slid his arms under her, deadlifting her from the ground." It's fine if Jessamine is called Jessie in dialogue, but it is cringeworthy and confusing when randomly placed in some passages and not all. It's as if the author got too lazy to write out entire names every time certain characters did/said something.
Okay, now for the main focus of the story (come on, we all know it's true): The Love Triangle(tm). I've seen so many people say that they hate all love triangles except for this one. I have to disagree. I hate all love triangles, especially this one. The Will/Tessa/Jem romance caused me so. much. pain. Not because I was 'Team Wessa' or 'Team Jessa'. Not even because I ship Jem/Will (though, okay, I admit that's part of it). It's because it was just plain annoying, and frankly unfair for everyone involved, especially Jem!! Also, I was about to scream, as the three characters had been reduced to whiners who wouldn't stop crying about their love for [insert character here]. Tessa is engaged to Jem for a good portion of this book, and yet she gets jealous at the thought of Will with another girl, and can't stop staring at him. Granted she expresses love for Jem too, but come on. At one point in the book, Will believes Jem to be dead, and tells Tessa just as much. She has a good cry, and then proceeds to have sex with Will a few hours later. I was floored. Okay, not only are they LITERALLY IMPRISONED AND AT THE MERCY OF MORTMAIN during this scene (Tessa was fcking kidnapped!!!) but Jem just (presumably) died!! I just... I couldn't then, and I still can't.
I also found the end to be such a cop out. She gets both of them, and never has to make a real choice throughout not only this book, but the entire series. Fate is basically like, "okay have this guy, now this guy, oh, now this guy again!" Furthermore, I love how Jem just casually mentions that he's found a cure and we never get specifics. It's all so convenient.
The Jem/Tessa and Jem/Will pairings were not the only ones that bothered me either. Something I noticed whilst reading is that CC makes her romances so obvious. Case in point; as soon as Gideon and Sophie interacted, I knew they'd be a thing. Same with Gabriel and Cecily. Where's my natural build-up? Also, I really hated how we randomly learn that being a Shadowhunter has been Sophie's biggest dream when we've never gotten that sense before in any of the books. We're told it's her dream as soon as Gideon becomes a serious romantic candidate, as Shadowhunters cannot marry non-Shadowhunters. Again, how convenient. (Not to mention that I don't like either of these ships, especially Gabriel/Cecily. That's more of a personal preference, though, so I digress).
Putting aside the romance, there were also little things throughout that rubbed me the wrong way. A major thing that really stuck out to me as being problematic occurred on page 286. This is in Sophie's POV: "One of the girls in the town where Sophie had grown up had died of consumption, and Sophie recalled how they had all talked of the way the disease has made her more beautiful before it killed her- made her pale and slender, and flushed her face with a hectic rosy glow." Immediately after this Sophie thinks that Jem, with his disease, looks like that, as "he had that fever in his cheeks now". Really? We're romanticizing diseases now? Mkay. Also, on page 48 there are about four sentences written on the wall in blood. I know I'm kind of being nitpicky now, but there is absolutely no way in hell you could write that much using blood.
Now that I've essentially tore this book to shreds, let's talk about the stuff I do like!
Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood. I'm a sucker for sibling relationships, and these two are no exception. I absolutely cherished every scene they had together. I love love love just how much they adore each other. Furthermore, Gabriel is one of the characters in this series that I genuinely like. I've mentioned this before, but he is kind of Regulus Black-y, and it's great. I loved seeing his growth. He has one of the best (if not the only good) character arcs in the entire series.
Jem and Will! I'm not Will's biggest fan, not at all. However, I do ship them. A lot. Every time they said goodbye to each other (they thought they were going to be apart often, okay) I was almost in tears. I may greatly dislike this book, but I will not lie and say that I was not affected by it. Jem and Will really made me feel things. It was awful, but refreshing. It's nice, in an odd way, to get so emotionally attached to a pair of fictional characters. I'm sure most of you can relate, Heronstairs shippers or not.
So, in conclusion: - I am bitter - I cannot write well formulated reviews - I feel like I wasted my time reading this entire serious as the ending was such a cop-out, but on the other hand, what else do I really have to do with my life - Gabriel Lightwood and Jem Carstairs are the best characters - Jem/Will and Gabriel/Gideon, while not romantic, are the best relationships in this series - This is the longest review I have ever written and I hate myself
I do want to read Cassandra Clare's next series, as not only do I love punishing myself, but my friend whom I love and trust told me that it's way better than this one. Plus, I've seen a few posts online and now I totally ship Kit/Ty. I can't believe I've been sucked into another Clare ship... God help me....more
I love Selina Kyle. Like, I'm basically in love with her. She's literally my role modesELINA SWEETIE I AM SO SORRY
I HATE THIS
Okay. Let me explain.
I love Selina Kyle. Like, I'm basically in love with her. She's literally my role model- rich, smart, strong, a woman who built herself up from nothing. Who doesn't want to be her? She's essentially my favorite character in DC comics, and one of my all-time favorites ever. I've read countless comics of hers, and have watched every one of her appearances on television. I've even watched game-plays with her in them. I am dedicated.
So even though this book is written by Sarah J. Maas, an author whom I just dislike on principle, I had to pick it up. I just had to. I thought to myself, you know, maybe you'll be happily surprised. Maybe it won't be so bad.
Yeah..... I was wrong.
This book reads as though SJM skimmed Selina's wikipedia page and was like, "all right. Let's write this thing!" Seriously. I'm so offended that Selina's name is attached to this novel, I want to scream. She's so OOC it's unbearable. I had to have alcohol on hand just to finish this book. I'm not kidding.
So, I'll break this down.
SELINA KYLE AKA CATWOMAN AKA SHE REALLY DOESN'T EVEN MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN THIS BOOK ONLY HER NAME IS USED
[image] My beautiful mother. She deserves so much better.... sigh....
As I said above, Selina CAME. FROM. NOTHING. She rose up herself. She did everything all on her own. Selina was forced into prostitution when she was young and left orphaned, making a name for herself by learning how to fight and steal. (view spoiler)[In the book, she joins the League of Assassins (something I'll talk about soon) and they train her in everything. Yeah she was a decent fighter beforehand, but they teach her everything else. (hide spoiler)] This totally takes away from who Selina is; it leaves me seething. Selina learned everything herself! She's a loner, that's her thing. SJM does not understand Selina. At all.
Selina does have a sister in comics, but they're estranged. This book really plays Maggie up, as she is Selina's entire driving force. Selina does everything for Maggie, which completely destroys her whole independent loner thing that she's had going on in the comics since, oh, forever. Selina wouldn't even steal in the beginning of the novel because she "didn't want to risk jail" like,,, did SJM just make up her own OC or Selina isn't even called Catwoman because she's a cat burglar in this!!! It's because some people were mean to her and called her 'kitty' or 'kitten' and she decided to reclaim the name sjknsdjkfn stopppppppp
To add insult to injury, Selina uses an alias when she comes to Gotham City for the second time. Okay, that's reasonable. However, the alias she uses is Holly Vanderhees. And she dyes her hair blonde.
Holly.... blonde hair....hmmmm, who does that remind me of?
[image] Oh yeah.
Holly Robinson. Basically Catwoman II, temporarily. I see what SJM did, and I hate it.
Guess what? Holly is a canon lesbian. And she's completely erased from this universe just so Selina can have a clever alias to use. I'm not impressed. Far from it. Holly is always being done so dirty and I am so, so, so sick and tired of it. This isn't funny.
Oh, and guess what else is erased? Selina's bisexuality. SJM can pretend that she cares about LGBT representation all she wants, but her actions show otherwise. So she added in two married men who had maybe a page of 'screen-time'. Wow. (Yes, Ivy and Harley are not straight in this, but their rep is so bad it's almost laughable. Hold on; I'm getting there).
Back to Selina's character.
She has this helmet that is way too Iron-Man-esque for my liking that just tells her everything she needs to know. I've no idea why this is even included. Furthermore, she's so perfect it's annoying. I love Selina because she is imperfect. Not in this book, though. She's the best at everything and basically unbeatable. Perfect characters are boring, and Selina isn't some Mary-Sue. She has so much depth that SJM just completely failed to grasp and it makes me very upset.
(view spoiler)[And that ending!!! WHAT IS THAT...Selina basically becomes a superhero-Luke Fox AKA Batwing's partner, nonetheless-and vows to keep crime off of the streets???? I am sooooo done (hide spoiler)]
PAMELA ISLEY AKA POISON IVY AKA DARE I SAY SHE'S DONE WORSE THAN SELINA IS
[image] The best villain ever. My Queen. Why did they do this to you? Why??
I don't know who's characterization is worse; Selina's or Ivy's. Seriously. Ivy is that bad. I'll try to explain this sans-spoilers.
At one point, both Ivy and Selina want to steal a painting. They bicker about it, and Selina ends up grabbing the painting. Which, like....come on. I love Selina more than Ivy (though not by too much, as Ivy is another one of my all-time favorites) but Ivy could beat Selina in a fight so easily. [image] [image] [image] She's tied up Selina before, and she sure as hell will do it again. She can even control people!!!
That isn't even my biggest gripe with the scene.
So Selina and Ivy nearly get caught, and they both make a run for it. They're running, and they see the superhero Batwing. What does Ivy do upon noticing him? She runs off. AS IF IVY WOULD RUN OFF ? SHE COULD FCK HIM UP SO EASILY!!
Later on Ivy begs Selina to team-up with her. What the hell???? Ivy really does not need Selina, and would never ever ever ever ever beg someone to work with her. Ever. Selina, during this conversation, ends up mentioning the Joker. She talks about potentially releasing him from Arkham, and Ivy's hands literally start trembling, an indication that she's scared of the Joker.
Poison Ivy? Scared of the Joker's pasty ass? Please! She wants to beat him to a pulp so badly, she's up there with Jason Todd!!!! If she saw him she'd ruin him!
Furthermore, Ivy isn't some save-the-world environmentalist like she's made out to be here! She loves plants and she'd die for them, yes. However, she would (and has) also kill a man for them. She thinks they're better than people. She doesn't want to save the world so that people can live in peace or whatever. She has zero (0) qualms about killing. Meanwhile, on page 170 Ivy was like "Harley!! Don't kill people!!" and I wanted to scream.
(view spoiler)[At the end Ivy just brushes Selina's betrayal off and is like "i know you used harley and i to save your sister selina but it's ok!!!! i get it :)" LIKE WHAT IVY WOULD KILL HER DEADASS (hide spoiler)]
Ivy is so meek in this novel. She's entirely weakened. It's maddening.
HARLEY AND IVY'S RELATIONSHIP
[image]
In comics, they're one of my main OTPs. Harley is basically the only human that Ivy cares about and vice-versa. They're adorable and I'd give my life for them. I'm so glad that they're canon, it makes my heart so happy.
In this book, though.... yikes.
Yes, both Ivy and Harley are LGBT. However, the rep is extremely poor. Ivy is in love with Harley, who doesn't realize this and simply just wants to hook-up. Harley is caught up on the Joker and Ivy refuses to talk about it. Ivy is constantly seen giving Harley sad glances and Selina "pities her". This is the extent of their 'relationship' in this novel. No cute moments, no real WLW romance. Just Ivy pining and Harley brushing her off. It infuriates me so much that I can barely talk about it. Let's move on before I lose my mind.
TALIA AL GHUL / THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS
Okay, so Selina gets arrested, Talia randomly shows up and recruits her to the league. It's really never explained how or why Talia decides to recruit Selina. I don't get it; like, number one, the League doesn't belong to Talia anyway. Her father, Ra's al Ghul, is the leader. Even if she was, why on earth would she be recruiting some random 17 year old girl from the street???? It makes no sense and frankly, it's dumb.
Talia has only trained two people: Jason Todd and Damian Wayne. She trains Jason as a sort of peace-offering to Bruce, AKA for her own personal gain. She trains Damian because he is her son, and honestly even his training serves a purpose for her. That's all. Talia would train Selina over her dead body. They despise each other in comics, and so I don't see why Talia was even used for this story. Selina was never apart of the League and doesn't need to be! Like I've stressed, she did everything ON HER OWN. Putting both Talia and the League in the story hinders her development and just makes Selina a shallow character. It's awful.
I literally started laughing in the doctor's waiting room when I read that Talia recruited Selina at the police station. That's how ridiculous the arc is.
LUKE FOX/THE ROMANCE
I have absolutely nothing against Luke Fox. He's a decent character, even in this. However, who came up with the idea to pair him and Selina up? I just want to talk...
Not only am I a huge Batman/Catwoman shipper, but they are like one of the most popular comic ships ever. I don't understand why they weren't a thing in this. I just don't. Luke and Selina felt so fake. I absolutely hated it. The romance also did not further the plot in any way, and really only served to sexualize Selina.
Also, Luke has PTSD in this book. He can't handle fireworks going off (completely understandable) but decides to put on a suit and fight criminals in the night??????? So unrealistic I could die. Like...what..........
SJM also uses Luke's POV to discuss the issues he faces as a black man and how black people are targeted by the police. I completely agree, and think that this narrative needs to be spoken about as much as possible. However, this is not Sarah J. Maas' story to tell. She is white. As I am. Neither her nor I have any right to write about police brutality as if we know what it's like, as if we've experienced it. No right at all.
EVERYTHING ELSE
Take a shot every time SJM uses a "-". Or maybe don't, as you'd probably die from alcohol poisoning. The writing in this book is mediocre, bordering on bad. Everything is so convenient for Selina, too. For example, on page 144 Selina is getting attacked (view spoiler)[by an assassin from the League (hide spoiler)] and, "had three heartbeats to unsheathe the twin short swords artfully hidden in the back of her suit." These swords were never mentioned before but suddenly Selina has them and is able to use them in order to win the fight......okay.......... Sorry, but I don't see why SJM is such a popular author. Maybe her other books are more well written than this, I'm not sure. Judging by this book, though, I do not get the hype. I probably never will.
I also had to read the line "Selina purred" as well as the head of Selina's og girl-gang (AS IF SHE WOULD EVER BE IN A GANG) being referred to as the 'alpha' and it made me want to die.
TL;DR: Don't waste your money. Read a comic instead. I recommend Batman: Hush....more
Because this wasn't the worst book I've ever read necessarily. Still, though... oh boy. I'll just get right into it.
I have nothing against 1.5 stars.
Because this wasn't the worst book I've ever read necessarily. Still, though... oh boy. I'll just get right into it.
I have nothing against David Levithan. Truly. I am actually a huge fan of his one novel, Two Boys Kissing, and I highly enjoy some of his other works. My dislike for this novel will not put me off from his others, because he does have a way with words. The one good thing I can say about this book is that the writing was beautiful. Levithan's prose is amazing- it's poetry. I absolutely love it.
Now for Every Day.
The premise was very interesting to me. It's what made me want to watch the film, which is why I picked up the book. I prefer to read the book before I watch the adaptation, if possible. In this case, it was certainly possible. I saw this book at the store and bought it immediately. David Levithan had never let me down before, why shouldn't I read another one of his works? Yeah, well...
While the premise was interesting, I believe it was executed very poorly. Yes, 'A'- a person who does not identify with a specific gender or gender identity- wakes up in a different body every day. However, they conveniently always wake up near the same place, in the same region. Levithan tries to explain this in a small section by saying that since 'A' is in this region now, every body they inhabit will be of people who live in this region as well. It didn't really make much sense to me, and there was no science or reason behind it. It was just, 'here's what happens! Don't question it, because I can't really give you an answer! Just go with it'! I'm not a huge fan of just going with it, especially when it comes to novels like this one. Many people consider this book to be part science-fiction, and to them I ask: how? I genuinely want to know, because all I saw while reading this was a contemporary (cheesy) YA romance that did not hold my attention whatsoever. We as readers do not get much insight into what it's like for 'A' to go from body to body every day, or how it affects the lives of everyone around them. No, the book mostly focuses on the romance- on the girl.
Rhiannon. That is the name of the girl in which 'A' falls head-over-heels completely in love with. Normally, I would have no problem with that. I mean, I love reading about cute romances in novels. However, this one felt much too insta-lovey. Don't believe me? I have receipts.
We, along with 'A', first meet Rhiannon on page four. Immediately 'A' feels a connection, or, something.
Her name is Rhiannon. And for a moment- just the slightest beat- I think that, yes, this is the right name for her. I don't know why. I don't know her. But it feels right. (pg. 4). (At least 'A' admits here that they don't know her...)
So, yeah, the connection or whatever happened a bit too quickly. It was nothing too major, though. I was definitely willing to let it slide. Then, page 22 happened.
What is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such a small measure of time contain such an enormity? (pg. 22).
That's right folks! 'A' is talking about being in love with Rhiannon 22 pages into the novel, 18 pages after they've met her, and in less than a day of knowing her! And oh, it doesn't end there!
I fell in love once, or at least until today I thought I had. (pg. 25).
By page 43, I was growing annoyed every time Rhiannon was brought up by 'A'. Which was nearly every page...
There are so many more instances I could pull up (it's ridiculous to me) but let's move on to the object of 'A''s affection: Rhiannon.
She is so... how do I say this? Bland. Basically a complete Mary Sue. Not only does 'A' barely know her, but we don't, either. Rhiannon is pretty, she's kind, she's... that's it. That's really all I can say about her as far as 'A' sees her. Her only flaw (in 'A''s eyes, but we'll get to that) is that she was dating Justin for so long, since he was such an asshole. I'd be more willing to accept 'A''s insta-love if I could feel some of it myself, but no. Rhiannon is truly nothing special. There is, in my opinion, no true depth to her. She's nearly perfect in any way. It drives me up the wall.
Speaking of one-dimensional characters, Justin (Rhiannon's boyfriend) is another example. He is a complete asshole, and that is it. For a moment there I thought that we'd get more to him, but no. I'll mark my explanation as a spoiler because I'll be explaining a specific section of the novel. (view spoiler)[The scene where 'A' is in a really attractive girl's body and they- along with Rhiannon- kind of set Justin up to see if he'd flirt with the girl. Justin didn't flirt, and actually rejected 'A''s advances. I was super surprised, and excited to finally be getting somewhere with Justin. But, as usual, I was let down. A made up an excuse for Justin not cheating, saying that Justin "felt like it was a trick", and that's all we as readers got. (hide spoiler)]
Onto our main character: 'A'. I'm not sure if this opinion is unpopular or not, but I don't like them at all. They do not interest me (even though they really should!) and they strike me as extremely problematic. For majority of the novel, they don't even take Rhiannon's feelings into consideration. Exhibit A:
"But we can't be together. You realize that, don't you?" "No. I don't realize that." (pg. 153).
Rhiannon was clearly saying that they can't be together-she had valid reasons!!!- but 'A' would not accept this. Furthermore, there are multiple times in which 'A' randomly shows up at Rhiannon's school and basically corners her. It's extremely invasive. She didn't answer 'A''s email and so they just go right to her! Rhiannon wasn't upset, but still, what if she had been? I know I would be. That made me extremely uncomfortable.
There is another instance where 'A' emails Rhiannon to let her know that they're coming to see her. They say this:
I don't give her time to reply, or to say no.
I just... wow. Real cute.
Previously I said that Rhiannon had no flaws in the eyes of 'A'. I'm going to discuss that now. Again, I don't know if this is unpopular, but I found Rhiannon to be pretty homophobic. Not just because she seemed less affectionate when 'A' was in a girl's body ('A''s words, here, not mine), although that bothered me as well. No, there was one scene in particular that striked me as being very problematic regarding Rhiannon. This isn't a huge spoiler or anything, so I'm not going to label it as such. If you want to skip it, however, just continue after this next paragraph:
There is a scene on page 157 where 'A' talks about being in a boy's body and liking another boy. Rhiannon has kind of an odd reaction to this and asks, "Oh- so you were a boy?" 'A' confirms, and asks, "Does that matter?" Rhiannon responds with, "No. I guess not." Yet 'A' can "tell that it does." Yikes.
Not only that, but (view spoiler)[Rhiannon cheats on Justin with 'A'! Multiple times! They kiss and everything! I don't know why 'A' is so okay with this, or why he still viewed Rhiannon as such an angel and tried to get us to view her as such too. (hide spoiler)]
There are a few more things that I really want to mention, one of them being the issue of consent. I was really bothered by this novel because it's mentioned (view spoiler)[and shown (hide spoiler)] that 'A' kisses people in other people's bodies. However, since they are not in control, the people who belong (is that the right word? I don't know) in the bodies that 'A' is in cannot consent to the kisses, or to other actions that A preforms- and believe me, they do a lot of selfish things in that novel 'for the sake of love'.
Furthermore, there is a chapter near the end of the novel that was just so fatphobic, I don't even know where to begin. (view spoiler)[Rhiannon won't get too close to 'A' while he is in a bigger person's body, and even says that she can't see 'A' inside of the body because they're so fat. I was floored, and honestly disgusted. (hide spoiler)] There is one line in particular that really got me. This was said once 'A' wakes up in yet another body:
I feel guilty about how relieved I am to be a normal size the next morning.
A normal size??? What??? What constitutes as a normal size to them? That's just awful.
Last thing: the ending. I found it to be just bad. I won't go that much into it, as it would be a major spoiler, but... wow. (view spoiler)[Not that I really wanted 'A' and Rhiannon together. I just found it dumb that 'A' basically threw another guy at her and was like "yeah he's nice have him! Okay bye!!!!" (hide spoiler)]
Contrary to what you're probably thinking, there were a few things that I liked about this novel. The chapter in which the girl is suicidal was accurate, I believe. (view spoiler)[ I really like how the girl's father wasn't just written off, and he is shown to still really care about his daughter. (hide spoiler)] I really hope that it inspires others to get help. Also, I'm glad that the depression didn't dissolve for 'A' as soon as Rhiannon came into the room. Love can't cure mental illness, and I'm grateful to this novel for not perpetuating the myth that it does.
Furthermore, I did find the scene in which 'A' finds out how the boy who's body he is inhabiting- Hugo- got together with his boyfriend, Austin. I found it to be extremely cute- I was smiling so much (page 144, if anyone wants to just read that small scene!). I'm glad that the book wasn't entirely straight (not that I expected it to be, with David Levithan writing it).
Hopefully the movie is better that the book. I can't believe I just said that. Just goes to prove how little I liked this book, I guess. ...more
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