Never, ever cry...
Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.
And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.
Can everything you love be washed away?
Jennifer's Review
My first take away was that the pace of the story was kinda slow. I am ok with it starting slow and picking up, but 3/4ths into the book and I was still like "I don't know anything".
The characters:
Eureka and her best friends, Cat and Brooks, and a mysterious boy, Ander.
We come into book from Ander's point of view. Ander as been watching over Eureka her whole life. The beginning scene is that Eureka and her mother are driving across the 7 mile bridge in Florida, where Ander's family plans to cause a wave so big it kills Eureka and her mom. They succeed in their mission of creating the wave but against his family's wishes Ander saves Eureka. Her mother, Diana dies. We then switch to about a year later where Eureka is broken by the tragedy.
Eureka - she's grief stricken and she should be so I was ok with her character.
Brooks -- was really starting to love this character, but then because we didn't get any insight into his thoughts and what was going on with him -- his character felt unfulfilled.
Cat - this character could of been soo much more but wasn't -- she had no depth.
Ander ---mysterious, but not enough scenes with him so that the reader could get to know him as much as we should. The scenes he was in were so confusing and all he seemed to do was stalk Eureka..but then didn't help her when she needed some actual help.
The Other characters: Rhoda (Eureka's step mother), Eureka's Dad, and her counselor - They are all portrayed in a bad light. Would of liked to see one of them be a positive influence.
Then there's the fantasy part of the story, that having to do with the lost city of Atlantis and Eureka's ties to that city. This is where the story becomes interesting, and why Eureka was not allowed to cry. I felt we should of gotten more information about his piece of the story and gotten it earlier. I loved this aspect of the story. I hope that in book #2 the pace picks up and we get more into this side of the story.
The issues I had is that after reading the book, I can't say that I really connected with any of the characters. I have no emotional ties to any of them. I was almost finished with the book and I felt like I still didn't KNOW anything (or enough) about the real plot.
That's not to say I don't want to continue reading this series, but I do hope that I'm able to connect more with characters and that the pace picks up in the sequels. The story has promise that's for sure.
About the Author, Lauren Kate:
Lauren Kate is the author of the FALLEN novels:
Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture, and Fallen in Love, as well as The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, her daughter, and her dog. She is currently at work on a new series, Teardrop.
I've been wanting to pick up this book for a while now but after seeing your review, I think I'll wait for a while. Too bad you couldn't connect with the characters but I can't wait to see what you think of the next books in the series. :)
ReplyDeleteLukewarm reception for this one, as fas as I can tell. I might just postpone reading it.
ReplyDeleteTeardrop is utterly unique and beautifully written. Can't wait for Book 2
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