There's been a lot of reading going on around here! I did have to set aside my for-fun reading a few times to work on SUMMER HAIKUS but, in general, my kindle has been getting a workout!
First up, THE SELECTION, THE ELITE, and THE ONE. Yes, I read this whole series in about a week. I'm pretty sure each one of these can't be more than 80k words a piece, so I easily read one and went right to the next.
I enjoyed this series well enough. I wouldn't call it my favorite of all time or anything, despite how fast I read it. It's purely romance, which is fine in most regards, but these books tease you with a dystopian world that they never fully explain or explore. It is basically all America Singer (yes, that's the heroine's real name) in the castle, falling in and out of semi-love with the prince. They barely go anywhere else or do anything more than have tea or interrupted conversations.
And that's the one huge pet peeve I'm going to say about this series: the majority of tension is ratcheted up by interrupting conversations. Maxon is JUST ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING, and then a guard runs up and interrupts him. ALL THE TIME. Each time I could feel that we were finally getting somewhere, I would say, “Don't get your hopes up, Stephanie. They'll be interrupted in a moment.” And it would happen EVERY SINGLE TIME. It got to be very frustrating so I started speed reading to get to the end.
There was also a love triangle, which honestly I wish I had known about ahead of time, because I just don't do love triangles.
But I still enjoyed it, so I recommend them if you like straight-up romance and don't mind love triangles.
I still have to read the Elite and the One. I had that issue with the Selection that while its marketed as dystopia romance, it’s more romance with only a light focus on the dystopia. I am glad I knew that before I started reading. Those interrupted conversations sound like they would really get on my nerves eventually, in the first book it doesn’t happen to often as far as I remember.
I have heard of Neal Schusterman his series, but I don’t think it’s for me. I am currently reading Second Chance Summer by Jil Shavis, an adult contemporary romance. And Freya’s Inferno, which is a paranormal romance/ urban fantasy book. Both are enjoyable.
I thought I would be fine without learning the background of the dystopian society but since it was used as a heavy plot point, I found it frustrating we weren’t given more. That, with the love triangle and constant interruptions, took some of the shine away for me. I don’t think I’ll read any more of the books.
The Neal Shusterman series is really great. A lot of thought was given into human existence, what it means to be human, can we have a soul if we’re in parts, etc. I really like all the philosophical questions along with the story. And there are hints of romance too. I’m hoping to continue on when I’m done with this one.
I’m reading something new on my Kindle now but I’ll save that for another post. :)
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