I stumbled across this book while browsing at a small, independent bookstore when traveling in Michigan, and I picked it up on a whim having never heaI stumbled across this book while browsing at a small, independent bookstore when traveling in Michigan, and I picked it up on a whim having never heard of it prior to that. When I was younger, I used to be far more adventurous in purchasing books with no previous knowledge about the author, reviews, critical acclaim, or preconceived notions about that particular work. I found some all-time favorites using this method and stumbled across quite a few relatively unknown gems, and I'm trying to reintroduce more of this into my book buying habits in 2024! Unfortunately, I found the premise of this book a bit misleading, and it fell into many of the common domestic thriller tropes and pitfalls that I've grown tired of reading, resulting in a disappointing overall rating.
The book summary promises three couples traveling to a remote cabin in the woods for the weekend, and things take an unexpected turn. When the book begins, the first third of it takes place before any of the couples arrive at the cabin. The introductory chapters are a deluge of information dumping and superfluous details about each of the couples, their relationships, and backstories. Very little of this information becomes relevant later in the book, and it was boring to read about events that had transpired years previously and served as ongoing points of contention. I spent much of the initial portion of the book just waiting to arrive at the cabin, which took far longer than it should have. We painstakingly watched the planning of the trip, each couple traveling to reach the cabin, and by the time the weekend vacation at the cabin actually started, I was already exhausted and unimpressed by the book.
The plot tried to do too many things at the same time. There were too many storylines and loose ends that were introduced, yet never addressed again. Many of these never reached resolution by the conclusion of the book. There were far too many characters and narrators to keep track of. The sheer number of characters was overwhelming, unnecessary, and confusing, and the characters weren't original or distinguishable from one another. Rather than trying to include three couples on this weekend trip, I think the book would have benefitted from excluding 1-2 of the couples entirely (along with a large number of the background characters that didn't contribute much of substance to the book as a whole). We received very superficial insights into the plethora of characters that were trying to serve as the focal point of the book, and I felt no sympathy for or connection to these characters when things started going wrong. Repeated jumping around in the timeline also did this book no favors, further confusing matters and making it impossible to keep the characters or sequence of events straight. At a certain point, I gave up trying to sort out the timeline and differentiating between the characters, and this is FAR from ideal in a thriller.
The writing did not salvage this book, and I would argue that it was a further deterrent while reading. This book is clearly marketed toward adults, yet the writing felt cheesy, childish, and low-stakes, not matching the severity of the events that were unfolding. This disconnect was jarring and drew me out of the tale, making it difficult to stay engaged or continue reading. The intended twists and turns were foreseeable from miles away, and I think a reader who is brand-new to the thriller genre would have readily guessed many of these reveals chapters in advance. There were too many blatantly obvious hints, and these weren't well-disguised or scattered among red herrings.
The "thrilling" scenes were laughable at best - a bump in the night, a reflection that was simply a trick of the light, a jump scare that was quickly identified as something benign and unrelated to the overarching plot. I found no portion of this novel scary, chilling, or disturbing, and there are no scenes that I'll return to or think about moving forward. This book feels like a literary fiction or drama that was misleading marketed as a thriller, and I was understandably disappointed by this bait and switch. I didn't feel like I was reading the book that I had signed up for, and my impression of the book prior to reading was based solely on the plot summary printed on the back cover. I had no preconceived notions about this book or this author to skew my expectations, yet I still walked away unimpressed and feeling duped.
All in all, this book was a bit of a mess, and it wasn't the sort of trainwreck that you can't look away from. I repeatedly wanted to set this book down and stop reading it altogether. Add in a ridiculous, over-the-top plot that's not believable in the slightest, and I had no interest in continuing. Thriller books should have readers hanging on every word, unable to set it down and eager to continue reading until the last page, and this book was very far removed from that. Consequently, I would be very hesitant to read from Lisa Unger in the future, and I can't think of any circumstances in which I would recommend this book....more
In an effort to pick up more horror novellas in 2024, I decided to start with some of my favorite authors within the genre. After loving Bird Box by JIn an effort to pick up more horror novellas in 2024, I decided to start with some of my favorite authors within the genre. After loving Bird Box by Josh Malerman, this short story collection seemed like a natural starting point, and I was interested to see how well his horror would translate to shorter form content. Unfortunately, many of the elements of Bird Box that I enjoyed didn't make an appearance in these novellas, and I was left disappointed and wanting more.
There was no clear unifying theme to explain the incorporation of these specific tales within the collection, and it was an interesting mixture of different approaches to horror. Some novellas focused on childhood fears and paranormal elements, whereas others incorporated graphic violence and body horror. I think this variation was a smart choice to maximize the horror audiences to which the novellas would appeal, and it was refreshing to read unique themes and terrifying components in each new tale.
Half The House, the first novella, focused on siblings tormenting one another at various ages, and the horror elements grew and evolved alongside the characters. The narration style was unique in this one, mirroring the wandering and nonsensical inner monologue of the children that were featured. While this narration matured alongside these protagonists, it was still disorienting and challenging to follow. The stream-of-consciousness writing style did not work for me, and I found it frustrating rather than insightful or realistic. There were also fairly large gaps in time from one scene to another, skipping years of these characters' lives, and these jumps in the timeline were jarring and difficult to adjust to, particularly within such a short tale. This story was far more of a character study than a truly terrifying horror book, and I was disappointed by the relative lack of horror scenes. There was too much dialogue and inaction at the expense of creepy or spooky elements, and I think this was an opportunity missed.
Argyle, the second short story, follows an older protagonist on his death bed who begins confessing an array of crimes to his loved ones, and it's unclear whether he actually committed these acts. No components of this tale were frightening - it read merely like a character recounting events that happened years prior with minimal connection to or investment in the narrative. Consequently, the prose read as very passive and removed from the events that were described. The ending was predictable, and I felt none of the suspense that I believe was intended to build throughout the tale. Instead, it was lackluster, boring, and disinteresting, and I would have preferred reading about the events happening in real time, rather than hearing them summarized years later in no great detail.
The third novella, Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer, had the most intriguing premise within the collection. It follows a pretentious couple that purchases the latest and greatest invention - a machine that cleans their entire house, while trapping both of them together in a tube for the hours that are required for completion of the cleaning cycle. When the first cleaning cycle begins, readers get a glimpse into their marriage as they dredge up some of their deepest, darkest secrets, and it reinforces the notion that appearances aren't always as they seem. Once again, nothing in this tale was particularly frightening or even chilling. I wouldn't have pegged this as a horror novella based solely on the content, as there was far too much of an emphasis on the characters and their relationships at the expense of any terrifying or chilling elements. It read like the couple was rehashing old arguments and points of contention, and there was nothing compelling to pique my interest during these circuitous and repetitive discussions.
The fourth short story was Jupiter Drop, and it called loosely upon science fiction elements to tell a tale of isolation, surrealism, and claustrophobia. There were no interesting or captivating moments in this tale, and I had no preference whether the protagonist made it out of the story alive. The narration style fell flat, along with the supposedly frightening elements. There was nothing redeeming in this novella, and I would have preferred if it had been excluded in its entirety.
The fifth and final novella, Egorov, follows a set of triplets in which one is murdered, and the two surviving siblings enact their revenge on the murderer. Once again, the horror was lackluster and surface-level at best, and I found much of the tale yawn-worthy and disinteresting. The ending in particular felt abrupt and rushed, and I found the conclusion unsatisfying. The relationships and characters weren't well developed, and it was difficult to connect with any of the featured characters.
Overall, this collection reinforced that short stories are not Josh Malerman's forte. His horror shines in longer, full-length novels, but his writing felt stunted, abbreviated, and lackluster in these novellas. He wasn't able to build suspense, emotion, or horror into these tales in such an abbreviated time period, and the stories themselves were bland and forgettable, often leaving the impression that they were incomplete and not yet polished. I would hesitate to assign any of these short stories a rating higher than two stars, and the vast majority were one star at best....more
I've taken a bit of a step back from the science fiction genre over the past several years, but I've been meaning to dive back into the genre and was I've taken a bit of a step back from the science fiction genre over the past several years, but I've been meaning to dive back into the genre and was excited when I heard that Paolini was releasing a new book with a first-contact with aliens premise. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was quickly brought to a screeching a halt.
From page one of the book, I was underwhelmed by the needlessly meandering plot, one-dimensional characters, and unengaging writing style. The book starts off dull, slow, and monotonous, and it maintains all of these elements for the entirety of the narrative. The writing is bogged down by completely unnecessary detail and explanations that don’t add any substance to the plot or the world-building. This led to the book being several hundred pages longer than it needed to be. With that being said, there was little to no explanation of the scientific components of the book, which is one of my favorite features of the science fiction genre at large. The science that was present felt like it was approached in a very rudimentary and pejorative manner, and these sections read far younger than writing that was geared toward an adult audience. This also gave me impression that this is a fantasy book trying to masquerade as a science fiction book, which was NOT what I signed up for. Paring down the book to the bare-bones plot likely would’ve resulted in a 150-page novel, not the almost 900-page monstrosity that made it to publication. It felt like Paolini was aiming for some arbitrary page count while writing, regardless of the amount of meandering fluff that had to be included in the narrative to attain said page goal.
As a personal qualm, I generally don't enjoy dream sequences in books. And this felt like dream sequence after dream sequence after dream sequence, and each of these scenes was painful and pointless to a certain extent. Very few of these dream sequences were explained or revisited later in the tale, leading me to question their inclusion and purpose above and beyond beefing up the page count. They were frustratingly repetitive, confusion, and far too often, and each dream sequence abruptly yanked me out of the story and made it challenging to continue reading.
I also didn't connect with the attempts at humor that were infused throughout the book. These attempts were met with eye rolls, yawns, and picking up my phone rather than turning to the next page. The jokes often seemed noncongruent and discordant with the personality of the character speaking them, and this added another jarring element to the book that made it challenging to feel invested. The dialogue itself read as juvenile and downright painful at times, even during more serious or high action scenes. This felt very reminiscent of a middle grade or young adult author trying to transition to writing for adult audiences, but with quite a few awkward growing pains along the way. Much of the dialogue didn't feel polished or smooth, and I feel this may have improved with some additional editing and reworking.
Furthermore, the characters were about as dimensional as cardboard cutouts, and their personalities were essentially superimposable. If character names had been removed from the book altogether, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish one character from another. Additionally, these characters felt like recycled caricatures of figures that have been written about countless times, and I found no originality in Paolini’s take on these personas. They were boring, flat, and continued to make frustrating, inexplainable decisions throughout the entire book. There was nothing redeeming about these characters, and the concept of a character arc was nowhere to be found in this installment. I also had no emotional investment in the cast of characters. They were repeatedly exposed to dangerous, life-threatening scenarios, and I had no vested interest in the survival or painful demise of each of the characters. I wasn't buying into the supposedly high stakes, and this left me disinterested in the outcome of many of the intended high-stress and climactic scenes.
The appendices at the end of the book were an interesting inclusion, and I wish I had stumbled across these sooner. There was a helpful timeline of events leading up to the plot that occurs in the book itself, and this context would have been helpful before I sat down to read. However, I didn't stumble across this until I had already read the book in its entirety, and it was far less helpful at the conclusion of the book. I also wish that some of this timeline could have been woven into the book itself, embodying more of a showing rather than telling approach to the history and world-building.
In summary, I couldn’t motivate myself to care about the plot, characters, or world. While I enjoyed reading Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle growing up, I will be much more hesitant to pick up any of his new publications moving forward. I was hoping to see a huge jump in the quality of his writing, world-building, and characters over time, but this book didn't check any of those boxes. Perhaps if Paolini returns to the fantasy genre, I will be more inclined to pick up future publications. I found his foray into science fiction to be aggravating, uninspiring, and a bit of a disappointment overall.
There have been a surprising number of traditionally YA-authors releasing their debut adult novels within the past several months. I was intrigued wheThere have been a surprising number of traditionally YA-authors releasing their debut adult novels within the past several months. I was intrigued when I learned that Veronica Roth, one of my favorite authors from when I was in middle and high school, was going to be publishing an adult fantasy, but I was also somewhat apprehensive. The premise alone didn’t sound like anything special, and I wasn’t sure how adaptable her writing style would be for an adult audience. I was also mildly worried that there would be constant Divergent undertones and features that were more reminiscent of YA literature, but I decided to give this one a chance anyway.
One of my biggest complaints was the marketing of this book. Every article, author interview, and even the book summary repeatedly stress that this is Veronica Roth’s first foray into writing for an adult audience. But, after reading the book in its entirety, I completely disagree with its adult classification. The five protagonists are described to be in their thirties, but their decisions, behaviors, and speech suggest otherwise. Had there been no explicit references to age, I would have pegged all of these characters as teenagers who were no older than 16. Writing a book that centers on characters in their mid-thirties who can’t even act half their age DOESN’T earn it the classification as an adult novel. Throwing in the occasional curse word doesn’t either. If I pick up a book with “adult” practically stamped across the front cover, the expectation is that it will read like an adult book. Consequently, this misnomer was a large source of my frustration and disappointment while reading, making it a less than desirable experience. This comes across as primarily a marketing decision such that Roth and her writing could stay “relevant” with her original fanbase from the Divergent series.
The plot itself was lacking originality and riddled with tropes – the chosen one, the reluctant hero, a nondescript and mysterious “dark” one, and a final battle between good and evil. To make matters worse, the pacing was glacial, and I struggled to finish this one due to a disinterest in the plot and lack of connection to the characters. There were very few action-heavy scenes, and they were interspersed among a barrage of standing around, the occasional training session, and whining about how life wasn’t fair. Additionally, there was far too much telling rather than showing. Roth relied heavily on info-dumps to convey information, and these further interrupted the action and slowed down the pacing. This was likely a product of the book’s premise, in which the protagonists had defeated the Dark One a decade earlier and would casually reference information that they had learned or things that they had done years before. There was no sense of fear or danger in these recollections, which amounted to my general disinterest when reading about them.
To make matters worse, everything seemed a bit too convenient for the protagonists. For example, one of the characters is captured and imprisoned, yet manages to break out of their cell and escape within the span of an hour or two. No one catches them in the act or notices they’re missing within a reasonable span of time, despite the captors being described as incredibly powerful, intelligent, and almost all-knowing. Another example that readily comes to mind is the gullibility of all other characters in the book. Whenever it suits one of the protagonists’ needs, anything that they say will be unquestioningly accepted as fact by those around them, despite a very blatant lack of proof or evidence. One unverified source of information was sufficient to convince all of these individuals to completely overturn a conviction that they had previously held and firmly defended, which added yet another unrealistic layer to this book.
The third person narration certainly didn’t help the pacing, and the book certainly would’ve benefitted from first person narration. I felt little to no connection to each of the characters and had no preference about whether they made it out of the book alive. This disconnect from the characters contributed to my disinterest in the book overall, and it was difficult to feel invested in any of the storylines that were unfolding. First person narration certainly would have improved this and provided insights into each character’s opinions and rationales, potentially even evoking a little sympathy from readers.
The only redeeming component of the plot and pacing was the concluding twist, which added a shocking element to an otherwise bland narrative. I hadn’t foreseen it coming, although in retrospect, the groundwork leading up to this revelation was laid out very thoroughly. It was evident that this aspect of the book required significant planning to execute well, and I commend Roth for the time and effort that she dedicated to crafting this twist.
The fantasy components of the book were few and far between. There was a vaguely defined magic system that received minimal definition and expansion after it was first introduced. Based on the few details that readers received, there seemed to be no limit on the usage of magic. This is one of my biggest pet peeves within the genre – if there’s no need to conserve or use one’s magic strategically, the final “battle” should be initiated and concluded within the first 5 pages of the book. If there are no finite constraints on magic usage, a single powerful individual should be able to defeat their enemies in the blink of an eye, and it shouldn’t require a 400+ page book to recount this.
Furthermore, the romance was painful and unfounded to the point of being laughable. The complete lack of communication between the characters involved was reminiscent of far too many YA romances, and the characters’ childish and overly idealistic mindsets left me cringing. The only thing that could have made this worse would have been the introduction of a love triangle – I’m not holding my breath on this one, as I’m sure there will be plenty of time for one to be incorporated in later books in the series.
Overall, this book fell very flat for me. I was looking forward to reading a compelling adult fantasy from one of my favorite authors as I was growing up, but I was thoroughly. unimpressed by the characterization, world building, plot, and fantastical elements. There was nothing that compelled me to keep reading this one, and it was a struggle to complete in its entirety. I think it goes without saying that I won’t be continuing on with this series, and I’ll be hesitant to pick up any of Roth’s future books.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
This has to be one of the most bizarre books that I’ve ever read. The narrative bordered on downright nonsensical, I couldn’t recount any dDNF at 45%.
This has to be one of the most bizarre books that I’ve ever read. The narrative bordered on downright nonsensical, I couldn’t recount any distinct plot points if my life depended upon it, and the characters were also head-scratching enigmas. All in all, I have no idea what in the world transpired in the 100 pages that I read.
The writing style further added to the overwhelming confusion that was this book. It seemed like the author was attempting to create a horror-meets-literary-fiction mashup, and it fell miserably flat. Perhaps there was even a bit of historical fiction mixed in? I found myself rereading the same paragraph three or four times and still not comprehending what was taking place in the narrative. I shouldn’t have to work that hard to merely understand a horror book, and it made reading this feel like a chore with minimal to no payoff.
I don’t even know that I would classify this one in the horror genre. It felt more like a meandering, delusional, and frustratingly circuitous fairytale than a chilling narrative that made me scared to turn off the lights. I never felt truly scared while reading this, which usually doesn’t bode well when it comes to a “horror” book. I have a feeling I would have remained disappointed about the lack of horrifying elements had I continued further in the book.
I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation that a published book contains a plot that can readily be followed. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in this book, and it was one of the prevailing factors that caused me to put this one down. I simply didn’t care while reading this one. This was my first attempt at reading a Laird Hunt book, and I think I’ll be staying away from his works in the future....more
I desperately wanted to enjoy this one, especially after I fell in love with The Book Thief, but it was underwhelming and disappointing. Instead of thI desperately wanted to enjoy this one, especially after I fell in love with The Book Thief, but it was underwhelming and disappointing. Instead of the lyrical writing that was one of my favorite components of The Book Thief, the writing style in Bridge of Clay was painful, forced, and ridiculously ornate. Rambling, over-embellished sentences made it challenging to slog through this book, and I was constantly rereading entire chapters in an attempt to understand the narrative. There was too much of an emphasis on lyrical, metaphorical writing that the narrative was unnecessarily convoluted, confusing, and wandering. Perhaps this writing style went directly over my head, but I wasn't able to appreciate the literary spin and instead found it frustrating and longwinded with few redeeming qualities.
Nonsensical and non-chronological narration didn't improve matters, and I struggled to discern the few plot points that were present within the book. The transitions between the past and present scenes were jarring, uninteresting, and introduced a feeling of disconnection between the two timelines. I didn't feel invested in either timeline, and I was never upset about leaving behind one timeline to switch to the other. This book was far from plot-based, which tends to be my preference while reading. It was far too meandering, slow, and whimsical, rather than action-driven and attention-grabbing. The plot itself felt incredibly dragged out, and there was nothing that warranted this book reaching almost 500 pages.
Bridge of Clay contained very little substance, in addition to a cast of flat, bland characters that I couldn't differentiate from one another. For a book that didn't heavily emphasize the plot, I would have expected more of a character study and development of complex family relationships, but this also fell flat. The characters seemed relatively static throughout the book, and I didn't feel invested in any of the relationships that were portrayed. I didn't connect with scenes that were intended to be emotional, and I think these scenes were supposed to pack far more of a punch than they actually did. This led to the entire book reading as bland with slow, unvaried pacing and seemingly low stakes for each of the characters. It was impossible to root for these characters when I couldn't even connect with them at a surface level.
While there were very few components of this book that I found tolerable, I enjoyed the (rather well-done and well-researched) references to the horse racing industry as well as the emotional, touching ending. Nevertheless, these aspects alone weren't enough to salvage my abysmal opinion on the book, and this experience has made me very reluctant to pick up any of Zusak's future publications (please, no more metaphors!). In short: I wasn't sold on the writing, the plot, or the characters and repeatedly considered DNFing this one. 450+ pages is daunting when so many crucial factors completely miss the mark. This book didn't highlight any of the same features that I loved in The Book Thief, which set me up for disappointment throughout the reading process. There were few parallels that I could draw between the two works, and I'm not sure that I would have recognized these were written by the same author if I had been unaware at the start of this one....more
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love me a Gone Girl-esque thriller in which the solution is buriedI received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love me a Gone Girl-esque thriller in which the solution is buried beneath a tangled web of secrets, lies, and unanswered questions. I get an even bigger kick out of trying to figure out the solution, despite my terrible track record with respect to accuracy. STILL, it’s exciting to see how horribly incorrect my entirely plausible predictions are.
My primary complaint with Girl in Snow was the convoluted conclusion, which presented a minor, relatively unmentioned character as the mysterious, unidentified aggressor. Based upon the occasional, one sentence references to this character that would crop up approximately every 75 pages, I would’ve never associated him with the crime. He was merely a nondescript bystander with zero description, characterization, or character development, and he struck me as merely a filler character. While obscurity in thrillers can be a good thing, it didn’t work in this novel’s favor. There was too little reference to this character throughout the book, and an incredibly weak explanation of his motives and rationale for committing the crime was presented within the last twenty pages of the book. He was mentioned considerably more frequently in those last twenty pages than in the preceding 350 pages collectively. That being said, he made for an implausible criminal with a nonexistent backstory and a questionable, hole-riddled motive. It wasn’t exactly the exciting, firework laden ending that I was anticipating.
I was taken aback by the prevalence of adolescent angst rather than more mature themes that I would expect from novels marketed to adult audiences. Two of the three narrators were high school students, and they contributed more of a coming of age aspect to the novel that was reminiscent of the young adult genre. While they dealt with issues such as grief and loss, they also battled with a subset of stereotypical teenage insecurities and issues associated with beginning high school and finding a niche. Needless to say, reading from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old presented an undesirable dichotomy between the adult novel I was expecting and the seemingly young adult narrative with which I was presented.
I was further misled in my belief that this would be a fast-paced, plot-driven book with an abundance of exciting twists and turns to throw off readers. It was quite the opposite, instead reflecting heavily on each of the narrators and their personal mental and physical challenges as they struggled to comprehend what had transpired. Character-driven, contemporary reminiscent novels bore me to tears, and this one had a particularly depressing tone as each of the characters elected to wallow in self pity and utter despair for the entirety of the book. I’m not an emotional person, and I consequently don’t enjoy or have an appreciation for emotion laden reads. I much prefer action driven novels in which the characters put aside their emotions to focus on tackling the issues at hand.
Girl in Snow, unfortunately, was severely lacking a premise, and a very minimal component of the novel actually centered around Lucinda’s death. I thought her untimely demise was supposed to be the central focus of the book??? References to the ongoing investigation into her murder were scarce, and her storyline was readily abandoned in favor of the confused, emotional reactions of each of the narrators. For a small town, it’s inhabitants seemed incredibly nonchalant about a cold-blooded murder, and there seemed to be no incentive to identify the killer.
I adored Kukafka’s writing style - it flowed seamlessly from one scene to the next and possessed an excellent balance between dialogue and description-heavy paragraphs. Furthermore, she excellently sewed together multiple intertwining narratives. I’m generally not a huge fan of books that are told from multiple perspectives, but in this case, they enhanced rather than detracted from the book. Each narrator had a distinct, unique voice which eliminated confusion, and their stories were expertly intertwined, conveying the same events from very different angles.
Overall, Girl in Snow was missing several integral components of an adult thriller, and I was disappointed by the confusing and poorly crafted conclusion. The novel was deceptively slow-paced, and none of the characters seemed particularly alarmed that a murderer was still on the loose. Instead, they frustratingly spent chapters upon chapters dredging up a slew of emotional reactions and recalling old memories rather than acting. I was searching for a heart-pounding read that kept me up until 3am, but unfortunately, Girl in Snow fell fairly short of my expectations.
I was shocked when Me Before You blew me away. I had finally stumbled across a five-star read in one of my least favorite gWatch my video review here.
I was shocked when Me Before You blew me away. I had finally stumbled across a five-star read in one of my least favorite genres. After that unexpected turn of events, picking up After You was a no-brainer. I was also incredibly curious as to how the characters would rebound and the plot would unfold following the tear-wrenching conclusion of Me Before You. Unfortunately, my excitement was almost immediately dashed. What I predicted would be a guaranteed page turner was quickly transformed into a disappointing let-down which I had to force myself to finish.
Me Before You and After You feature many of the same characters, but the similarities between the two stop there. After You lacks the witty dialogue and charming relationship that characterized Me Before You. Instead, these are replaced by a helpless, broken protagonist who refuses to help herself and a mediocre, half-hearted relationship that pales in comparison to that between Will and Lou. I sorely missed their unique dynamic and light-hearted banter. Lou’s new romantic interest is a forgettable, stereotypical romance novel character, as well as a sorry substitute for her former lover. To compound matters, their relationship felt incredibly forced and there was no evident chemistry between them. One of the most eloquent and emotional aspects of Me Before You was converted into one of the largest detriments of After You.
Me Before You was a rare character-driven novel that I enjoyed, and I was readily connected with the protagonist. Instead of portraying the bubbly, enthusiastic Louisa Clark that I had come to love, After You depicted her as a shell of her former self. All of her character development in Me Before You was unceremoniously tossed out the window. Instead of continuing to grow following the conclusion of Me Before You, she regressed to her meek, pre-Will self, which she embodied for the entirety of this second installment. After watching her character transformation in Me Before You, it was both heartbreaking and frustrating to see her so static and helpless. Her refusal to learn or grow from her past experiences was equally aggravating, and she did very little to help her own cause.
I can’t stand the portrayal of children and teenagers in literature, and Lily was no exception. Her classic absentee parents and rebellious behavior grew old very quickly. For an individual who wanted something from Lou, she was incredibly ungrateful and inconsiderate. Lou fed into this pattern of behavior by serving as a docile doormat, doing nothing to intervene or put an end to Lily’s behavior. Furthermore, the sub-plot surrounding Lily felt far from authentic. Despite serving as one of the only notable events in the entire novel, it came across as an outlandish, out-of-the-blue concoction that Moyes incorporated purely for shock value.
All in all, I had trouble identifying the true purpose of the novel. It lacked a compelling plot as well as character building, consisting of a few unimportant and seemingly disjointed sub-plots. These diversions added little to the characters or their stories and came across as filler. I was particularly disenfranchised with being beaten over the head with feminism by Lou’s mother.
One of the only redeeming qualities for this book was the beautiful, flawless writing, which elevated my otherwise one-star rating to two stars. Jojo Moyes is an incredibly talented author and has a way of weaving raw emotion into her works. While I’m uncertain if I’ll continue on with this series, I’m eager to read some of Moyes’ other publications.
Undoubtedly, the overwhelming success and public acclaim of Me Before You was a challenging act to follow. I wanted to fall in love with After You just as I had with the first installment, but it fell considerably short of my expectations. While this book in no way tarnished my opinion of Me Before You, I wish I hadn’t continued on with the series. Me Before You was a phenomenal standalone and should have remained as such....more
