I am not going to trash this novel because of it's classic cliche YA theme. Usually if i stumble upon a story that is juvenile i just pass it off as bI am not going to trash this novel because of it's classic cliche YA theme. Usually if i stumble upon a story that is juvenile i just pass it off as bubblegum high school drama and leave it at that. Suffice to say, this is a book written by young girlies, for young girlies.
This book however has two things that annoyed me to hell. Portrayal of the lead female character Elle and the actual writing, witch was atrocious.
I'll elaborate. Both men and women tend to be misunderstood and underestimated because of their age, but they are far more capable and intelligent then we give them credit for. Emphasis on the capable.
Elle walks trough school being bullied to that extreme extent that it made no sense. I understand that high school can be very traumatic for some people, especially if you have been bullied. The author wanted to portray emotional turmoil and the feelings of isolation, but with the choices Elle made she didn't do her any favors. Even a kitten, young, inexperienced, uncoordinated has some claws to protect itself. The characters were overblown in their aggression, and Elle just stood there taking it all. It was actually Nero who first stood up for her and she beamed at him like a silly calf, never thinking to do that herself, she was so 'afraid' of any type of confrontation. The author shot and missed the target. This was a young woman, but she didn't behave as such, she was more of an infant that needed coddling. The naivete displayed by Elle was so great it was as dangerous as it was impossible. She would have known more about life simply by watching TV, let alone human interaction. I cringed to see just how pitiful and pathetic Elle was. It annoyed me, it upset me. She was worse then a beaten dog, and i can't say that endeared her to me. For a seventeen year old girl she had a shriveled soul and the intelligence of a child.
The amount of effort the author invested into making her lead need saving surpassed the classic maiden in distress cliche. Now i don't mind a bit of maiden in distress, i am a romantic to the bone, but when the maiden is that weak that she needs help to breathe, i don't like the maiden. I would rather feed her to the dragon. [image] I truly believe that a little backbone wouldn't hurt this story, but in fact improve it. Women presented as slobbering idiots that forget themselves as soon as a guy bats his eyelashes grate on my nerves. Also when they are such imbeciles that they need a guy to find their self worth. Especially in high school. In fact a kindergarten child has more self esteem and shows more common sense. This isn't a historical romance where women swoon and have no rights, it's the 21st century. The message i got from experiencing Elle's character was a disturbing one; justification of abuse for the sake of popularity, and romanticizing self interest because let's face it, Nero is just looking after his own hide.
About the writing....The author manages to transport us back in time, when indeed we sat in class trying to write an essay. In my head i keep hearing the professor saying, be careful! When writing in third person, make sure that you don't use the name so often when starting a sentence, and most of all don't string them together.
Small example:
Elle knew she needed help, and if anyone in this school could protect Chloe, it was Nero and his crew. Sorry, Chloe. Elle sat down beside Chloe. “You better not be lying to me, Nero.” Elle knew he had heard her; he nodded, not only for her, but for his crew to come over. Elle whispered to Chloe, “It’s going to be okay. I haven’t let anyone in here hurt you, have I?” And she hadn’t. Elle did whatever it took to make sure no one laid a finger on her. Yes, that meant Elle got the short end of the stick in here, but Chloe got the shortest end of the shittiest stick outside of here. Elle gave Chloe a smile when she finally answered, shaking her head no. Elle could see the signal Nero gave the young blond one to sit beside Chloe.
And then, and then, and then, and then......
Bad form, that showed just how much the author was struggling to find the adequate words to convey her story.
I have mixed feelings about this book. In the first third or so, i loved how Casey stuck to her characters. Bee was a strong MC, and from it be[image]
I have mixed feelings about this book. In the first third or so, i loved how Casey stuck to her characters. Bee was a strong MC, and from it being a contemporary romance it read like a breath of fresh air. I loved how her characters stay true to their colors, and are not easily led astray. Dedication to beliefs, good or bad give the characters grit. Then it turned sour. The very same thing that got me hooked, annoyed me to the point where i reached the end of the book, i really didn't give a shit about it, the characters or what happens next.
The relationship between Bee and Dominic was explosive, but not in a good way, rather in an dysfunctional way. There was a point at the beginning where i felt for Bee so much and wondered if Dominic needed to be under some medication. She was a girl in her own world, and he came storming in her face and simply didn't leave her alone, but kept backing her in a corner. I felt her frustration and knew she was going to come to a point where she would explode.
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The first few times Bee lashed out i understood her need for it. He wouldn't listen, he wouldn't back off, she couldn't have a moment to herself or go anywhere to get away from him. I would have punched the fucker too. But as the story progresses you see her lashing out at the smallest provocation. It came to a point where she BUSTED HER HAND PUNCHING HIM IN THE HEAD. That was just one of the incidents of her slapping, kicking, punching, shoving, and throwing things.
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The cover of this novel is wrong. It should be Bronagh on there with her hands wrapped up. I have no idea who on this planet would stand by and laugh while a member of their family was constantly abused, like the Slater boys did. Perhaps they were amused that their brother was so taken by an ill bred bitch.
Don't get me wrong Dominic wasn't a poor baby either. There was a lot of this as well.
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My point: ~Individuals who choose physical aggression to start, or settle an argument, are those individuals who are intellectually incapable to suitably express their emotions verbally.~
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My respect for our leading lady slowly diminished with every bitch fit she threw. Her temper tantrums slowly chipped away at the depth of character originally created by the author. It slowly ate at me, for more then a good half of the novel, until it finally hit me. Bronagh is an asshole.
She was an asshole, her boyfriend was an asshole, and their immature shaite made me NOT CARE for the story.
I didn't know what to expect when i started this novel, half of my friends loved it, half of them hated it. But as it is i was intrigued. So i got it.I didn't know what to expect when i started this novel, half of my friends loved it, half of them hated it. But as it is i was intrigued. So i got it.
My reaction??? [image]
Dear Ms. Richardson,
The quill is, indeed, mightier then the sword. I say put it the hell down before you kill us all.
It's safe to say that Angela Richardson got one thing right. The name of the novel. Everything else was a massive mess of such unbelievable gibberish, that I honestly couldn't believe she had the balls calling it a novel.
Let's start at the beginning shall we?
We meet Norah, the 'heroine' of this disaster, who just switched to a new college, and has a 'dark secret'. The 'dark secret' has to do with the life of crime her family leads. How do i know this if i gave up reading it so early? The answer is simple. Trough the authors thinly veiled clues, that are so creatively inserted they might as well have a massive neon sign over them pointing down and flashing "Lookie here!!!"
Nora the Heroine is also an artist.. see, she paints, see.... with her naked body, see....
Now i have an idea that the author wanted us to envision something like this.... [image]
But courtesy to her talented writing the image i got in my head was something more like this... [image]
If you read the book you would understand that the guy holding the fish is actually Clint... what can i say???? They shared an important moment together.
Moving on.
Norah likes her BFF Josh, and is pretty certain he wants her back. He is going to an important party, the very last trial before he gets accepted into a super secret society called the Lappell or something. I don't know if i even spelled it correctly nor do i care. But Josh has a very specific task for the evening. Bring a virgin, and make sure that she isn't a virgin at the end of the night. (There is something extremely stupid in regards to all this, just hold on, we are getting there) Josh being the gentleman he is doesn't want Norah to go. But Norah has a better idea, let's hear it from the author's mouth:
“Josh always did have a hard time resisting my excessive pleading when I wanted something.” The excessive pleading??? It's called whining and bitching.
So he caves in, due to her using her feminine charms, and they get to the party. Josh, being a best friend and love interest that he is, tries to warn her what is expected of her just before they walk into the mansion. They are greeted by the young owner of the place named Clint. Instantly good ole Josh the heart throb is forgotten as her loins tighten in the presence of blond, rich Adonis here. Clint manages to get her away for about 5 minutes, and Norah being the clever, clever girl that she is picks up on the 'strange' vibe and shoots off to find Josh banging another woman (who happens to be blond and slutty-don't you just hate when that happens?), and storms off into the night.
Norah then proceeds to give Josh the cold shoulder for a while, giving her the opportunity to connect with Clint, who happens to walk in her life after one of her passionate painting sessions. Naturally he is hooked on her uniqueness, and amazing awesomeness.
Norah and Clint connect, flirt, and kiss eventually, but then he gives her a cold shoulder for a while. A perfect opening for Josh to come back. Now i don't know about you, but i would be very upset if a man i liked and knew he liked me back, took me to a party where i was supposed to trade in my virginity for his betterment in life. Not just that, he was supposed to be a long time friend and confidante. But hell no, she shrugs it off as being a small mistake, everyone makes them, right, and agrees to go to ANOTHER PARTY WITH THE SAME PEOPLE TO HELP HIM OUT YET AGAIN, BECAUSE ORIGINALLY HE FILED HIS ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE SHE STILL HAD HER CHERRY!!!????????
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A very special thank you goes out tho the author for allowing us to come close, and truly appreciate the sheer magnitude of stupidity needed in the creation of the character of Norah. On behalf of those with a brain and an ounce of self respect, I say: Good job!
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She, our Norah, being the super-intelligent, amazing, talented, irreplaceable, beacon of virtuous femininity nails the challenge without batting a perfectly made up eyelash, and off goes Josh riding into the night to complete his assignment. And lo and behold she is left with Clint! *gasp*
So what else is there to do when you are spending your evening being glamorous, and rubbing shoulders with the world's most rich and powerful who happen to be a part of a secret society? Go swimming in your underwear, of course!!!!!
And now we come to the stupid part of it all, the one i've mentioned before.....They get caught BY CLINT'S MOTHER!!! I mean hold the f*ck up, just back it up!! Are you trying to tell me that his mommy is in on the super secret society parties, that are so secret in fact that everything that goes around on them becomes instant college gossip in a blink of an eye? And is discussed by one and all? No way!
But wait!
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The deflowering party was in Clint's house too.... Was his mommy there as well??? And if she was, what on earth was she doing??? I can't imagine. Can you?
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Long story even longer, somewhere half way trough this garbage we get introduced to Samuel, yet another guy that seems to pop out of nowhere and is in fact Norah's ex fiancee, who is so important to her, she never gave him a thought. Sure she mentioned some exes in her incoherent babble but not by name.
So now there are three, THREE guys after her! And how could they resist? Norah is so talented, she sells out almost all her paintings, so smart she gets to the bottom of every mystery, so awesome and unique she is one of the rare women just invited to the Lappell, in fact they are so desperate to have her, she doesn't even need to go trough initiation, and so beautiful she stops men's hearts from beating and apparently their brains from working too. I just gave up at that point....more
It really wouldn't be air for me to give this book any official rating because i didn't finish it. In fact I didn't even get far.
I have read many of TIt really wouldn't be air for me to give this book any official rating because i didn't finish it. In fact I didn't even get far.
I have read many of Tijan's novels and came to the conclusion that the main emotional focus for this author is ANGST. As much as possible, whenever possible. After the first novel i must admit that i was intrigued, but after the fifth i was annoyed.
Carter Reed is slightly different as far as i could tell but still i found that i couldn't focus on the story. Why? It would appear that Tijan couldn't resist the trend of sexual submission, and even though cleverly written it's problem is that it is just currently overused. Honestly i came only so far before I gave up.
The leading lady killed a guy and is asking for help, he asks her 'What did you do?' and moves closer, she gets instantly wet from his proximity. Then she gets disgusted with herself and tries to leave. He says 'Stop' and she instantly does, and gets even wetter. Then comes the inner monologue...'How come he has this affect on me?' That is the power of Carter Reed.
Tijan knows how to work the emotional roller coaster, but this was just so godamned cliche. I am honestly fed up with the saturation of BDSM in contemporary romances lately, and maybe that is the reason i look at this novel with a frown. So it didn't seem fair to give it a rating....more
By chapter two i knew i would hate this book, by chapter five i wanted to throw my reader against the wall.
This story was so over the top it might as By chapter two i knew i would hate this book, by chapter five i wanted to throw my reader against the wall.
This story was so over the top it might as well been pulled out the authors ass then written.
This is a revised version of my original review. I just had to come back to it, it was bugging me THAT MUCH.
My original review was a rant of just a few key points of the novel that I had issues with. But now a few days and conversations later I am ready to properly explain why I hated this book so much.
I would usually start at the beginning and work my way on but there is one paragraph that I would like to quote.
“Chase shrugged. “He’s not just in charge of the key cards, he’s student body president. He makes sure that access is limited for each student. Take for example, a kid from North Korea going to school here. You think they’re going to get along with a South Korean? Or better yet, some ritzy American kid?” “Um… no?” Everyone laughed. Phoenix shook his head. “That’s a hell no, New Girl.”
Well done van Dyken... Now for those of you that haven't yet read this book this paragraph refers to Nixon, our leading man in the novel. He is a student that is student body president and somehow manages to teach a class as well. That is nothing to get worked up about, but however the fact that he is in charge of all of the administration, gets to decide who lives where, who eats when and how much is. Another example : “He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue key card and dangled it in front of me. “Say thank you.” “For what?” I would not cry. I would not cry! “Allowing you to eat, of course.” “What?” “I’m not finished talking,” he said smoothly. “This key card gains you access into the elevator only once a week. It also gains you access into the cafeteria, twice a day. Not three times. We don’t want you gaining weight. Use it wisely and if you impress me with your ability to follow directions. I may just up your freedom. Until then…” He shrugged and cleared his throat. “Move aside.”
I shall return to Nixon shortly right after the Korea disaster. Now this is a school right? And in this school you might find children that are the sons and daughters of diplomats and politicians but that is just it. They are, and to quote van Dyken herself -KIDS!!!! Van Dyken angled to prove just how exclusive this place is by adding bits of real life to it, with absolutely no research what so ever. But just in case I wasn't overreacting because of fictional characters I decided to ask for the opinion of my very real, very South Korean colleague. After the initial 'the b*tch said what?' look, she greeted that particular nugget with two middle fingers raised and a bunch of profanities I chose not to repeat. Long story short, that paragraph made as much sense as saying you can't have a Catholic in the same room as a Muslim. I bet she got the idea watching the evening news one night when North Korea was mentioned. The author wanted to imprint the exclusivity and the importance of her characters but had not thought of how to achieve it that she shot off the first thing that came to mind, and not even bothering to think on how little sense it all made. If she did, she would realise just how unbelievable ranting about some random kid making school cafeteria seating schedule for the benefit of all mankind and world peace really is, or how offensive it would be to label people based on their nationalities alone. That last one by the way......is a big NO-NO.
Now the rest of it...Jesus, where even to begin?
Lets just stick to Trace and Nixon.
Trace, as the author wants us to believe is an innocent as flowers little farm girl. So innocent that she refers to hair curlers as “weird rod thingy”. I would even believe it if she wouldn't refer to the guys in the next chapter as GQ models or “having nothing on Tommy Hilfiger”. So she knows about models and fashion, but has never heard of hair curlers? Right, another believable and thought- trough moment there. Secondly she gets nothing but abuse but she never has any real emotions involved. Her emotional response is about a sentence long. She gets drugged with a date rape drug and dumped in some random guys bed and she just gets up and gets on with her day? Huh?
That is not cool. That is not how any woman on this planet would feel and most certainly that is NOT OK! She is not a naïve little farm girl-she is a moron.
Nixon is the biggest fail in this book. With him the author went for all or nothing and would up with a smelly carcass achieved by an overkill of her vivid imagination. He looks and acts like a GOD, he speaks ten languages, he is single-handedly responsible for the peace between the kids in school therefore in the world by his very politically correct lunch seating arranging skills. He is student body president and a teacher. I mean Superman move the phuck over, we got Nixon in the house.His real traits however are as sad as can be. He is self obsessed and an abusive asshole.
This book is a disaster. The author gave it an honest try but failed in every aspect that counts. She did no research whatsoever and it shows. If it's not a cliché upon a cliché then its absolute and utter nonsense. The conversation between the characters was so immature, the alleged humor was so childish and forced it was like reading a kid's first attempt at writing an essay. Why did i still go trough it? Let's just say that this particular novel was like a bizarre accident, you know what your eyes are seeing is horrific but you just cannot seem to be able to look away.
There are more things about this book that just don't add up but it's just not worth the mentioning. Suffice to say that the sheer amount of idiocies in these pages are enough to make the experience of reading them painful. They flow trough your mind like salted sandpaper on a burn.
Congrats van Dyken, you just made to the top of my I won't read that sh*t list.
What a waste of money this was. I could have had my fave coffee at Starbucks instead.... damn...more
Ivie dan Glokta
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