Jenna

Ok this is so cute

DNF @ 26%

If this book still hasn't interested me after 109 pages, I don't think it's going to happen. The writing is fucking awful, and I'm reading the edited version. The constant and simplistic inner monologue of every character made me want to bang my head against the wall.



The fact that they were in both italics and quotation marks irritated me to no end. When the characters were speaking aloud, the dialogue was a weird mix of fantasy-appropriate (“Madam, you will kindly refrain from barging into my council, yelling like a common fishwife”) and modern speech (“Yeah”, “I'm on it”).

It seemed like a new made up fantasy name was introduced in every paragraph of the book. I appreciate the effort to build a complex world in which the story takes place, but it just didn't work.

The plot didn't interest me, and the behavior of the characters was so unrealistic that it was eyeroll-worthy. Even if they were being devious, as I assume Anaxantis was, it didn't make sense that his brother would be so easily fooled. I'm pretty sure I know where the story is going, but I can't be bothered to continue and find out if I'm right.

Boring AF, too much of the plot was not believable/didn't even make sense, too much unnecessary filler. Also, I'm all for a slow burn, but nothing was even lit in this book. Apparently I have to slog through book 2 just for a kiss, and I'm not sure I can do it. Can someone please give me a hint of whether it's worth it to read the other 2 books? Does it get more interesting?

2.5 stars (Infected: 2 stars, Prey: 3 stars)

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. The plot failed to pull me in, and I frequently got bored, having to take breaks to read other books whenever I'd finish a chapter or two. It's hard to nail down exactly what the problem was, but I know at least part of it is that it felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story without any background or development. It took me a while to figure out how the virus worked, how it was spread and what virus children were. When virus children were first mentioned, there was absolutely no explanation about what that meant, and it wasn't til much later that it was explained. Granted, I was sick while reading this so it's possible that my inability to concentrate played a part here. I'm still sick so hopefully this review isn't too incoherent.

I like to watch a relationship develop, but Roan and Paris were already in a long-term relationship in the beginning of this book, so it was difficult for me to feel the connection between them when I had no background to go on. I didn't feel that their interactions adequately expressed the depth of their relationship, therefore I couldn't feel too attached to them. Over the course of the book, I did eventually learn their back story and began to feel that connection, but it was too long in coming. I'm hoping the next book will focus more on the significant personal implications of the virus in Roan and Paris' relationship. I'd already purchased Bloodlines so I do plan to read it eventually, just not right away.

2.5 stars

The writing is pretty elementary, but that makes it a quick read, and I found myself curious about what would happen.