3/5 stars
Balzer + Bray, 2013
384 pages
YA Contemporary
Scheduled to release December 31
Source: Received an e-ARC through the publisher at Edelweiss.
Warning: Blogger is cranky!
As I've shared, I've been having trouble focusing on reading and blogging. I hoped though that a cute YA contemporary would bring me back, perhaps this one. Unfortunately it was not to be. Though this book has promise, it fell far short of amazing to me.
My overwhelming impression was that I just. did. not. care. I didn't care about Wren and her averageness, I didn't care about Grayson's expulsion from his fancy prep school, I didn't care about his schemes with his friends, I didn't care about their relationship. Wren is so dull and for the most part we only see her interest in Grayson, not any other interests she might have (and her friends are sorely underdeveloped so we don't get much of a sense of her personality from hanging out with them.) Grayson has slightly more spark though it's of the bad boy sort, which isn't what I like.
So the characters were a bust. What about the plot? The big conflict revolves around some seriously sketchy stuff Grayson has done that he wants to hide from Wren. This leads to all sorts of drama with his best friend and Wren's ex-best friend in addition to a lot of crying and inability to communicate. I found Grayson's situation pushed the bounds of believability (he has done a lot of terrible things but with skill and panache). The plot didn't capture me either. To sum up, no-go on the characters as well as the plot. What does this mean? Perhaps still something to check out for YA contemporary fans but I would suggest you skip.
Cover: Points for accuracy: Grayson does wear a blazer with the suede patches (and I fully agree with Wren about how cute this is) and they seem to be in their own private world as they lean in for the kiss.
I just posted for my review for this too. While I liked the story (more so than not, though my finally several days after finishing it is pretty much nothing), I agree that it sounded promising but fell short of amazing. It was just missing SOMETHING.
ReplyDeleteYuppp definitely did not promise what I was expecting, forget amazing! and funny that we posted the review on the same day :) Yeah, and I get the cover– possibly the only thing I really liked.
ReplyDeleteThat is disappointing to hear! I think I will skip this one. I'm behind on my review books anyway. I started reading No One Else Can Have You (murder mystery set in Wisconsin) but it may end up being a DNF for me too because of the main character.
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this book much. (Though, that 3 star rating seems to be waaay to high :D) Anyway! I have this via Edelweiss.. but I think I'm going to skip on reading it. Sigh. As I do not think I would like it at all :\ Thank you for sharing your awesome and honest review. <3
ReplyDeleteI stopped reading this, which I hardly ever do with a book that I've requested.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you -- I could not find the energy to care about either of these characters. They both came off as woefully self-centered, plus in the part I read, Grayson seemed like a huge jerk and a person who lacked any remorse or sense of responsibility for the things he'd done. So sad and disappointed -- I was sure I was going to love this book…
Jen @ YA Romantics
I've been hearing the same thing from others so it's definitely not just you. It's too bad though. It's an adorable cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reviewing this one! I've got this one ordered and I think I'll just go ahead and cancel it right now. The general consensus seems to be it's the promise of less than average. Thank you for the very timely and honest review, and comments!
ReplyDeleteHow sad! The cover and the summary felt a bit promising. Sorry that you didn't like it and after reading your review I will skip reading this book too because it does not really seem that I might like it either. Thanks for the amazing review. The cover is cute though, right?
ReplyDelete- Gayatri @ Notorious Writer