How do you review a book that you are really torn on? Eternal Eden by Nicole Williams has me perplexed. The beginning of this young adult book is not unlike most others out there. Good looking, mysterious, seemingly perfect guy shows up and sweeps 'normal' girl off of her feet. The problem with this standard setup is that I just couldn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters, Bryn and William. Bryn was yelling at him when she first met him and then all of a sudden willing to die to hear his voice again. Hmmm... In addition to that, the main character Bryn seemed to have continually contradicting descriptions put on her by the author. First Bryn is described as normal and somewhat introverted. Next she is described as somewhat dark because of her past. She is also explained to be average in the looks department and yet she seems to capture the attention of all the great looking guys around her. Add to this that she doesn't have much of a personality in the beginning and it is easy to understand why I was ready to end this book before it even got into the real plot.
Nevertheless, I decided to stick with this book because it was only .99 for the Kindle on Amazon.com and figured it had to get better. The supernatural element was revealed- immortality. Not all that interesting considering how much fun an author could have with that idea. I'd say that about half way through the book, the plot got a little better but by no means was the reader ever really surprised by what was happening. The end seemed to be where Williams really shined and set up a sequel quite nicely.
Here is where I am torn, how can I recommend a book that was only interesting for about 25% of the total book? I can't. But I will give the sequel a chance and then let everyone know if trudging through the initial book is worth the trouble. I suppose part of me wants to give this new author a chance and see if the problems were just a part of being a first time author. Again, feel free to check it out but come back this summer for a review of her second book when it comes out and I'll let you know then if I can get behind this series. Thanks for reading! :)
~Amanda~
Hmm... I agree with your review of this book, but I still loved it. Yes, at first it was hard to see the chemistry of these two, but as it went on I couldn't help but continue turning the page. I agree that the ending was really well written, and set up nice for a sequal. I am looking forward to book 2, and have a feeling it may be better than the first.
ReplyDelete