Rejects of 2011 (nine months late)

I think I actually read more awesomeness and less suckiness in 2011 than in previous years.  Or perhaps it’s because I simply wouldn’t finish the truly bad books and forgot to write them down.  I also decided to be an adult and read a lot more non-YA books.   But I digress, here’s a quick rundown of my Rejects of 2011 (Picks of 2011 to come later).

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles.  Have you ever read a book and thought it to be awesome, then read a sequel and think, Was this written by a ghost writer?   That’s how I felt here.  RtP was the follow-up to Leaving Paradise, which I dug.  LP was nicely written, entertaining and all-in-all a pretty darn good read.  RtP was…not.  Filled with overused and lame clichés, the writing style left something to be desired.  Like interest.  Plot.  Character development.  So needless to say, it sucked.  A lot.

Another Faust by Daniel Nayeri.  Maybe I’m just not too bright.  Or maybe because when I’m bored with a book, I tend to skim a lot.  But I didn’t understand what was going on half the time.  I believe me, I reread parts more than once just trying to figure out what the heck was happening.  I found this book to be confusing and boring.  I’m not sure if it was confusing and thus I lost interest and was bored.  Or if I was bored so I wasn’t reading carefully and thus became confused.  Chicken or the egg.   You can read it and decide, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Crossed by Ally Condie.  This was another sequel to a decent book that fell short.  Really short.  The book’s predecessor, Matched, created an engaging dystopian universe in which society and governing figures dictate what you will do and who you will marry.  And of course the heroine doesn't want to marry the perfect boy society has deemed for her.  She wants the bad boy.  While slow at times, the interaction between the characters was enough to keep you going.  This was not the case for Crossed.  Ever seen those Comcast commercials with the tortoises?  They’d like this book because it was simply that slow.  I eventually gave up after the heroine had been traipsing after her love in a desert for half the book.  Because you know what happens when you’re reading about someone walking through a desert for days on end?  Nothing.

JaReview: Torment

Lauren Kate perpetuates her boring display of Love-Pow in this sequel to Fallen. Maybe if I was a tiny bit emotional invested in this couple, Luce and Daniel, I’d find Torment a little more entertaining. But the fact is Luce and Daniel bore me. It’s been two books, spanning 948 pages and I still don't see why Luce is so in love with Daniel. Or even what it was about her that made Daniel willing to fall. Luce says on occasion that Daniel makes her feel “like home,” but seriously, what does that even mean? Where’s the evidence, the basis for this epic relationship beyond a feeling she has deep within her…soul.

This book reminded me of New Moon. In order to keep the delicate damsel safe, the hero is absent most of the book, leaving the damsel wallowing in a pit of heartbreaking angst and despair. At least in this book, Edward, I mean Daniel, doesn't only appear in lame visions, he actually breaks the rules and shows up a couple times. But unlike the brief encounters of Bella and hallucination-Edward, most of what Luce and Daniel do in their precious, forbidden time is argue. She’s whiny and wants to know what’s going on, he’s secretive and remains annoyingly stoic. Then they fight and he flies off, leaving her in torn between annoyance at him and desperate longing (even though we’re still wondering what she sees in him).

In Torment, which really was a perfect title as that’s what I felt whilst reading this, we see brief glimpses of Luce’s past lives. Not enough to paint a cohesive picture or answer any questions, but more to further enforce that sense of – what the heck. These glimpses only seem to draw out the storyline, rather than enhance it. The short sequences of her past are conveniently cut off before we get to any substance. I suspect that it’s done on purpose, you know to promote anticipation. But if there isn’t anything else in the story to build on, it’s just the author toying with you, it becomes redundant and annoying.

Even if I was a Luce and Daniel shipper, which really is just a few carefully rearranged letters away from Dunce, this latest story would definitely tick me off. Assuming that you blindly buy into the fact that Luce and Daniels love just is, no particular reason other than they’re just meant to be, then why would you introduce a love triangle? Their relationship is shaky at best. How are we supposed to believe in this undeniable, defying centuries and past lives, love story, when she runs into the arms of the first decent, normal boy to bat his baby blues at her? Sure she says she feels conflicted but it’s just downright flighty. What happen to that epic love she feels deep down in her bones?

Oh wait. We need a love triangle because one, this book is part of a series and it just won’t do to have them live happily ever after in book one. And two, the mystery of her past isn’t enough to carry the series.

I will concede that Kate introduces interesting side characters. Luce has a new roommate, Shelby, who’s standoffish, rude and bitchy. She’s a lot like Arraine, which was a bit repetitive. And her initial abruptness and coldness towards Luce switches to accepting besty annoyingly fast. Then there’s Miles, a watered down Nephilim, who’s supposed to have weak powers, but is conveniently very helpful in critical parts of the book.

And of course we can’t forget the mysterious Outcast plot. Apparently there’s more baddies out to get Luce and one of them had access to her supposed safe haven. Even though the so-called angels couldn’t tell who the kid was, given the overly obvious descriptions of the perpetrator, the reader should spot it a mile away. It makes me seriously doubt the plausibility of these angels’ powers.

All in all, this sequel to Kate’s Fallen series has turned me off from the entire angel genre. The storyline had potential. But it falls short because of character inconsistencies, convenient plot holes and lots of poetic waxing without reason. Me thinks Sarah Dessen is spoiling me because now I actually require build-up, reason and experience before I root for a couple.

Never Again. Ever.

{NIN} Review: Linger

Linger is the sequel to Maggie Stiefvater's novel, Shiver. Sam has been cured of his werewolvism and can now look forward to a future with Grace. As the snow melts and winter slowly turns to spring, Sam waits to see who of his wolf pack family will return to human form... or if none will return at all. Grace is looking forward to a future with Sam but hiding a secret that threatens to take her away from him forever. Isabel is dealing with the guilt of her brother's death on her conscience and is mysteriously, magnetically drawn to newly turned werewolf Cole, who is full of his own dark secrets.

Told between alternating views of Grace, Sam, Isabel, and Cole, the novel unfolds as all four deal with the tragedy and heartbreak that the future holds for each of them.

Linger, like its predecessor, moved excrutiatingly slow for most of the novel. I was seriously bored and struggled to read through it. The most annoying part was Sam and Grace pitching and mooning at each other the whole entire time. I never really understood why Sam and Grace were so in love from the very first book since all she did was stare longingly into some wolf's eyes for most of her life, or why Sam was so obsessed with her. I realize it had to do with her getting bitten when she was younger but never changing, but really, that's the only reason?

The saving characters of this novel was definitely Isabel and Cole. Although Isabel has her own issues to deal with and secrets to hide, she at least was not paralyzed by fear or guilt or whatever it is that affected Sam and Grace. Cole started out as a selfish bastard seeking to run away from his past, but his evolvement and coming to turns with his own internal demons was fascinating and somewhat touching to see.

In the entire book, it only got really interesting in like the last 3 chapters. But I seriously don't know if I will read the last book in the series because the novels have moved so slowly, and Sam and Grace don't really do it for me.