Saturday, February 15, 2014

Kindle Quest 2014 - Hopeless

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get through all the books I've downloaded on my kindle that are just waiting to be read. So a couple of weeks ago I started reading Hopeless, which I downloaded for free. I had heard a lot about it, and the fact that it has over a thousand five star reviews on Amazon made me both jealous and curious.

I enjoyed the first part. I liked the author's voice and I thought she had some clever lines. I liked her descriptions and I also liked how she formatted the book, and the pacing. The chemistry between Sky and Holder was very intense and I could understand why readers responded so well.

Then I got into the second half. It started to get kind of dark, but I was still curious to find out what happens (and I was right in my predictions.) I don't mind that the story got really serious, but I do have a problem with how some of it was handled.

Because the last fourth bothered me. SPOILER ALERT: Don't keep reading if you don't want the story ruined for you.

Okay. First of all, Sky and Holder watch her father commit suicide, then go back to their hotel room and have amazing sex? Uhgg. That just didn't seem right. Second of all, Sky's father was a cop. It never occurred to him to find his long lost sister and see if she kidnapped his daughter? I don't buy that. And then there's Holder. He seemed just a little too perfect in his reactions. And I got very tired of all lines about people's eyes - the concern in their eyes, the sadness in their eyes, the pain in their eyes - I know Colleen Hoover can do better because she does at other points in this book. And I also got tired of hearing about how strong Sky is. Holder tells her that a lot, and she tells herself that, and then they make out some more and then there's more description of how breathtaking their love is.  And the scene at the end? Uhgg. I also don't buy that a four and six-year-old would have that kind of conversation, and besides, their parents wouldn't let them be up that late and alone at night anyway.

I don't usually write critical posts about other author's work. And honestly, I do respect Colleen Hoover and her success. I guess I just needed to rant a little, because I don't understand why so many people are in love with this book. Please don't judge me for it.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Bridgegate, Brawls, and a Black Eye

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog. To read about Lucy's opinions on Bridgegate and how she got a black eye, click here.