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| What can I say about this cover that hasn't already been said? It's not my favourite out there, but it's still pretty good! |
I'll be straight with you. This book screams romance. Which wouldn't have interested me not so long ago, but my recent introduction and subsequent obsession with YA fiction means the hollering of true love affects the plotline in a good way. The romance is dark, and seductive, and sometimes even funny. It's the lifeblood of the book, and without it, the story wouldn't be the same.
The characters are easy to like, no matter how many times you tell yourself you shouldn't. Patch is, of course, incredible. It's taking everything I have not to write about him in block capitals. Even though there were times when I didn't like his decisions, or just didn't like him in general he kept me crawling back - and that's the true mark of Becca Fitzpatrick's prowess. Frustration seeps from every pore of the characters, and yet I continued to read it anyway. It took me a while longer to connect with Nora I couldn't help but see things in her that I enjoyed reading about, and I liked watching her develop. She changes throughout the book just as many of the other characters do, but you realize that these changes are significant at different stages and chapters - and character growth is one of the main things I look for in a book.
The battle between light and dark that rages between the pages seems realistic as it extends towards the characters, to you and back again. One of my favourite things about it is that even though it is, technically, of the paranormal genre, everything and everyone in it is so easy to imagine. You barely even have to think about conjuring up their images or hearing them speak. The romantic elements - which are, admittedly, a large percentage of the novel - are original and there are paragraphs I just wanted to read over and over. It's dark and tempting and well, should be perfect as a guilt-pleasure novel - except it's not a guilty pleasure because there's nothing to be guilty about. the writing is excellent, and the plot, with all its undercurrents and twists, does deserve credit. Which means - it's okay to enjoy this kind of book! HALLELUJAH!
However, as with any book it has its faults....
I did read it at the same time as I was racing through Fallen by Lauren Kate so the two stories and their similarities did have a minor tug of war with my heartstrings...(and every other part of me,) but overall it didn't really impact on my enjoyment of the novel because their differences were just enough to get me through.
I definitely think it's not one of those books you can re-read as many times as you want because the plot does eventually become too easy to remember and the story loses the element of excitement. There were certain parts of the book that didn't appeal to me or that I simply didn't like, but it's the same with everyone, and to be fair, you're never going to absolutely adore every single word in an entire book. From this review you may think I'm obsessed, but that's actually one of its downfalls - I wished I could be obsessed, but somehow, I just couldn't. Despite how great it is, there's just something missing that I can't put my finger on that stops me from all out shouting 'READ THIS BOOK! AND READ IT NOOOOWW!!' from the rooftops - although I wouldn't tell you not to read it, either. I just think that a lot of the book seems flat. not that it isn't exciting or thrilling - it's more like you can never get fully lost in the story; you're always too aware of the real world, which I think is a shame. However, any YA/YA romance reader will like this book - and might even help them warm up to the fantasy and paranormal genres to boot (although all three genres do in a way go hand in hand these days).
Rereadability: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5/5
Writing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
In five words: excellent, pure YA romance, brilliant.
Allie
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