I think my biggest issue with this book--that is, the one that aggravated me the most--was the POV(s).
I remember reading about your POV rule awhile back--two POVs per two-hundred pages, right?--and I never gave it much thought because I couldn't remember ever reading a book that I felt suffered from having too many POV characters.
And then I read this book, and suddenly I knew exactly what you were talking about.
It wasn't just how the book jumped around from one character to another, giving me POV whiplash and making the story feel almost schizophrenic. It was the way it would get to the point where it's just about to reveal something new about the plot--and then it jumps to someone else and we don't get back to the previous thread for another twenty pages, by which time we've forgotten all about it. It drove me absolutely bonkers. I know the author was probably trying to create tension this way, but she went way overboard and just made it tedious
( ... )
My official rule is one POV for every one hundred pages. So if the book has 300 pages, you can have three different POVs. You can also have less than that, but no more, unless it's a rare exception, like a prologue or epilogue, you know?
I look forward to your review! I feel so relieved a lot of people feel the same way about this book, because I never know if my thoughts on something will totally come out of left field. Shoot me your review once it's live! I won't be able to add it to mine until next week, but definitely send it my way.
Actually, you were harsher in your final rating than I was, but that is absolutely okay. In fact, I only gave Marr an extra star because I liked some of the creativity with the underground world of the dead
( ... )
"Oh, and am I the only one who thought that the contract between the town and Mr. Not-the-Devil was garbage?"
I am with you on this one. I spent the whole book ranting about how nonsensical it was for the villagers to have ever made that contract. I guess she sort of explained its origin later, but I thought the explanation was pretty weak.
I think the contract could've been legit, but we really don't get enough details to really understand it, and Byron and Rebekkah sure as hell don't question things enough. Granted, maybe the contract plays a bigger role in the overall story, but for now, it's pretty flimsy.
If I recall correctly, the gist of the explanation was that Charles tricked the villagers into it for his own purposes. It never really said how he tricked them, though. So yeah, I agree that it could have been legit, but it was kind of left up to the readers to imagine how making that contract could ever seem like a good idea.
This is an author where I just do not gel with, and I've felt this since WICKED LOVELY. I feel that her writing is very good but I never can connect to the characters or the plot.. Her YA is much loved though. It's too bad her venture into adult paranormal fell flat.
I think you and I are definitely in the same boat with our experiences reading Marr. And yeah... if this book had been YA, I think it would've been more compelling, you know?
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I'll say more later, but right now I need to sleep...
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I think my biggest issue with this book--that is, the one that aggravated me the most--was the POV(s).
I remember reading about your POV rule awhile back--two POVs per two-hundred pages, right?--and I never gave it much thought because I couldn't remember ever reading a book that I felt suffered from having too many POV characters.
And then I read this book, and suddenly I knew exactly what you were talking about.
It wasn't just how the book jumped around from one character to another, giving me POV whiplash and making the story feel almost schizophrenic. It was the way it would get to the point where it's just about to reveal something new about the plot--and then it jumps to someone else and we don't get back to the previous thread for another twenty pages, by which time we've forgotten all about it. It drove me absolutely bonkers. I know the author was probably trying to create tension this way, but she went way overboard and just made it tedious ( ... )
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I look forward to your review! I feel so relieved a lot of people feel the same way about this book, because I never know if my thoughts on something will totally come out of left field. Shoot me your review once it's live! I won't be able to add it to mine until next week, but definitely send it my way.
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I am with you on this one. I spent the whole book ranting about how nonsensical it was for the villagers to have ever made that contract. I guess she sort of explained its origin later, but I thought the explanation was pretty weak.
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