Done Been DNFed: Indelible by Dawn Metcalf

This is one of those times when I wish I wasn't in the minority. Have you checked goodreads lately? There are very few people that don't like this book. And I never wanted to be one of those people; I so badly wanted to love Indelible by Dawn Metcalf. I was promised intriguing world-building, a solid romance, a dark story. A likable heroine. But, by the point in which I could take no more (73 percent of the way in), Joy was driving me bonkers and the world-building was confusing me to the point of boredom.

I will say that people have something when they talk about Joy and Ink. They radiate this mutual uncertainty—about each other, about the romantic attraction layering slowly between them. And it's sweet and honest and enjoyable. I loved those 'exploring' scenes everyone's been swooning over, and for a while it was enough to suck me back into the book. But, once I came to the point where I realized I was reading this book solely for the scenes between them, practically skipping right over the other bits which only served to confuse me more, it quickly became apparent that I did not want to read this book.

I suppose the plot and world-building are supposed to be intentionally puzzling, because you're thrust into this world right along with Joy and with all the finesse of a rap song (ok, there are some good ones out there). But for every inch deeper into it, things are two inches behind in explanation. Perhaps that's supposed to attract me more but I wasn't overly impressed with what was shown to begin with. And aside from Joy and Ink, I was awfully disappointed with the cast. Inq, unfortunately, just drew a WTF what? from me half of the time and the other part of the time I was just indifferent. Joy's best friend, who I assume is supposed to be the medal-winning friend is actually kind of irritating, though not quite as much as Joy herself.

To be fair to Joy, she didn't have to do very much to get me annoyed. I liked that she had the makings of a backbone after a while, but seriously every time she spoke she got me cranky. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was, but she just didn't do it for me.

Would I recommend this to people? No. But that doesn't mean I don't think there are some people who're going to love it. There will be—goodreads is one indicator. Alas, I'm just not one of those people.

Paperback / 384 pgs / July 30th 2013 / Harlequin Teen / Goodreads / $9.99

I received an e-galley of this from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley.

Reaction to.... The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
I’m never too old for big faced ladies on a cover, even if she doesn’t look THAT Asian (or not at all, really, so boo), but there was something chilling and dark about THE IMMORTAL RULES , while still giving off enough emotion to be intriguing with the stone-cold face carrying a dripping tear around—which is the perfect way to portray Allison, Asian or no. With THE ETERNITY CURE it’s a little bit like chocolate cake for the eyes, with it’s beautiful design and it’s bold yet simple color scheme, BUT as you’re devouring it you don’t stop to think of what’s inside. So while this cover satisfies my superficial and immediate needs, if I’d walked past this cover in a bookstore I wouldn’t have a clue about what this is supposed to be about. While I’m not sure that’s a good thing, I know that I’d still stop and read the dust jacket because it IS eye-catching. So, ultimately, it’s a well-done for you, Harlequin Teen.

SUMMARY: Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

I swear, consistency and I are old friends and we hang out as often as possible, but I can’t be consistent if I HAVEN’T EVEN FINISHED A BOOK. Working is no party, my friends, as I’m sure many of you know, so, yes, I’d try to go home to THE ETERNITY CURE and get going on it but then my worn body would give out EVERY SINGLE TIME. Now, I know why grownups are so miserable: they CAN’T EVEN read.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
Stepping away from her fantastical, decidedly light-in-comparison world of the Nevernever, last year Julie Kagawa spun an entirely new realm for us, one filled with darkness, where, by the time we crack open the cover, the last of the bright spots are rapidly going out. The world that has been left behind after the spread of the deadly, mutating Red Lung virus is one of ash, blood, broken minds, and hopeless souls. It is the picture of a ravaged humanity, where people have been mostly reduced to their most basic and most imperative of functions: survival. As heart-breaking, tragic, raw, and blunt as that. Trust, happiness, and affection are forgotten things, like books and reading. In THE IMMORTAL RULES, we navigated through this world with Allison the Fringer at the helm, then experienced the horror of being the vulnerable passenger as the imminent collision that would change everything hurtled closer.

Allie the Vampire might as well be a separate entity all together. Living from in the shoes of a genuine monster has forced her to grow at a speed that’s as unnatural as the fangs that protrude when Hunger arises. And from beginning to the end of THE IMMORTAL RULES, Allie learns what it is to bond, love, and befriend. But happiness can’t last for long, not in this dilapidated world and not for a vampire.

With a new mission and a new course set ahead, Allie is on the hunt for her sire, a man whom she attaches the most complicated of bonds—strictly familial, I’m afraid—and whose sanity and existence is in peril even for an immortal as old and powerful as he. Taking place less than a year after THE IMMORTAL RULES, Allie’s quest hasn’t gone as intended, and will continue it’s downward spiral in THE ETERNITY CURE.

WHERE WE GO:
I remember some people mentioning that THE IMMORTAL RULES was a little slow at the starting line, and I know I didn’t have that problem. I discovered that, annoyingly, this time around with THE ETERNITY CURE. But, true to Kagawa’s talent it picks up well and pretty quickly, and that initial slow start almost serves a purpose. Like any thrill ride of life, where you think you’ve got it in the bag because it’s appearance is deceiving, the illusion is what builds the terror or the anxiety. In this case, I don’t think I would’ve been quite so wound-up if it hadn’t been for that sly opening.

You’d think that after THE IMMORTAL RULES, where we traveled from within the Inner Wall and the Fringe inside a vampire city, the outside toward a camp of remaining humans in search of a rumored haven, I’d’ve seen it all. But, one thing Kagawa is really good at doing is creating a new landscape within an already existing one. From Old D. C.—where poor Abe is barely hanging on—inside a White House under new management to the underground web of sewers leading to the heart of the Rabids nest and beneath the Fringe where the mole men are said to lurk, there are far darker places to tread.

WHO WE ARE WITH:
Allie hasn’t undergone a shocking and unexpected metamorphosis since last we were with her. She’s still the same cold, expressionless badass katana wielder capable of many dark deeds and is only willing to leash the blood-sucking monster within her to a point, toeing the line that meets with her own standards. She is accepting of her new nature, what she is and isn’t capable of doing, but she’s chosen the kind of monster she has become, as Kanin would say, and I would say one that could even be termed honorable, if nothing else. With a strong, stubborn will and a katana strapped to her back, I firmly believe there isn’t much this girl can’t take on.

‘Cept maybe Jackal, the once and future raider king. I didn’t get any awesomeness vibes from him in THE IMMORTAL RULES, but man, was my doubt foiled! THIS DUDE.



If Puck were in a vampire book, where he was a malicious, unrepentant raider king who is cunning and mostly evil and slightly more witty, he would be Jackal. Don’t let me unintentionally deceive you: Puck and Jackal are not one in the same. AT ALL. But, oh, I do love good parallels. At first, his attempts at being annoyingly arrogant and witty were actually annoying, because I kind of thought here comes this typical character set up to be the comic relief or whatever. But, that quickly went away when I realized how wrong I was.


Yes, I’d always suspected this but…

Unfortunately, as often as they gave me happy chills and other cheerfully dirty thoughts, I wasn’t feeling the romance between Zeke and Allison as much. Some of the actual scenes, were, as I kind of hinted, pretty sexay and feels-ridden, but mostly they felt out of place and thrown together oddly. Whenever there was an affectionate quip or public kiss , whatever the case, I was never fully into it because I kept thinking something like, uh, guys, her Sire is RIGHT THERE, Jackal is RIGHT THERE, and ALSO: THERE ARE DEADLY THINGS EVERYWHERE. So not the bloody time. Not the time. Cool the pants fire.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. Running Into Jackal
2. Infiltrating A Nest Of Rabids… With Jackal
3. Finding The Mole Men… With Jackal
4. Running Into Zeke… With Jackal
5. Oh! And, Uh, Jackal
6. THE ENDING so fucked up, Julie

I’ve gotta stop promising I’ll not do the whole “THE ENDING!” following –Insert Wavy Hand Gestures As An Attempt At Eerieness And Drama- because I’m a liar. But, seriously, even as I saw it coming, I still couldn’t contain the shock and awe… and anticipation. Mostly, because yes I’m looking forward to more badassery on Jackal’s part, but also because I imagine that The Forever Song is going to have some PRETTY EPIC STUFF involved. Not to mention that a certain psychotic vamp has once again been thwarted by our Allison Sekemoto (if his limb deduction is any indication).



And I’m SURE his vengeance will create a catastrophic quake in Allison’s world.

Hardback / 446 pgs / April 30th 2013 / Harlequin Teen / Goodreads / $16.99

I received an e-galley of this book from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley.