Tris & Izzie - Mette Ivie Harrison
Synopsis: Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend[LL1] with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre?
But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed, years ago, by an enormous, evil serpent that’s still around—and it knows Izzie is out there
Oh man. I hate giving bad reviews. I mean, every time I have to write one it takes me ages because I end up tring to go back over the book looking for anything positive I can say to counter my negative comments on the book. I end up staring at my wall, making coffee, heck, right now I'm even considering grading papers. Anything to avoid this: I did not like this book.
I'm going to be honest, because I said I'd give honest reviews, and say I think this book missed it's mark. The modern day telling of Tristan and Isolde got me so excited. I love that story and the possibilites are wonderful. I was disappointed from page one and I kept hoping for redemption, but it never came.
I didn't care for Izzie, I found her very shallow and not very intelligent. Even her sudden love for Tris didn't feel real, and it should, it's meant to be a classic love story. She didn't even know him, he hadn't said more than three words to her before she was throwing around the "L" word. Then there's this whole plot story with Izzie's best friend and her boyfriend that just felt overly dramatic and unreal.
Furthermore, the narration was juvenile. The plotline is reliant on magic - Izzie's mom is a witch and her dad had some kind of elemental power. Yet, none of this "magic" is explained. It's refered to in terms and potions, but no real description of what this meant or where this magic comes from - how they came to be a part of a magical community. And the villain. I won't tell you about the villain in case you do read it and want to be suprised - I was suprised. And not in a good way. The villain had no real substance - even the power driving him had little substance. He felt like he was meant to be the pawn of an evil entity, but not the villain himself.
Now that I've got that all out, I have to draw back a bit. It could be entirely possible that this is one book that is beyond my reach because it's not meant for my age group. I'm curious (as I always am when I dislike a novel) what others found enjoyable about this particular book. Please, let me know your thoughts. I just really think this book wasn't for me and I was entirely disappointed.
Tris & Izzie - Mette Ivie Harrison
Synopsis: Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend[LL1] with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre?
But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed, years ago, by an enormous, evil serpent that’s still around—and it knows Izzie is out there
Oh man. I hate giving bad reviews. I mean, every time I have to write one it takes me ages because I end up tring to go back over the book looking for anything positive I can say to counter my negative comments on the book. I end up staring at my wall, making coffee, heck, right now I'm even considering grading papers. Anything to avoid this: I did not like this book.
I'm going to be honest, because I said I'd give honest reviews, and say I think this book missed it's mark. The modern day telling of Tristan and Isolde got me so excited. I love that story and the possibilites are wonderful. I was disappointed from page one and I kept hoping for redemption, but it never came.
I didn't care for Izzie, I found her very shallow and not very intelligent. Even her sudden love for Tris didn't feel real, and it should, it's meant to be a classic love story. She didn't even know him, he hadn't said more than three words to her before she was throwing around the "L" word. Then there's this whole plot story with Izzie's best friend and her boyfriend that just felt overly dramatic and unreal.
Furthermore, the narration was juvenile. The plotline is reliant on magic - Izzie's mom is a witch and her dad had some kind of elemental power. Yet, none of this "magic" is explained. It's refered to in terms and potions, but no real description of what this meant or where this magic comes from - how they came to be a part of a magical community. And the villain. I won't tell you about the villain in case you do read it and want to be suprised - I was suprised. And not in a good way. The villain had no real substance - even the power driving him had little substance. He felt like he was meant to be the pawn of an evil entity, but not the villain himself.
Now that I've got that all out, I have to draw back a bit. It could be entirely possible that this is one book that is beyond my reach because it's not meant for my age group. I'm curious (as I always am when I dislike a novel) what others found enjoyable about this particular book. Please, let me know your thoughts. I just really think this book wasn't for me and I was entirely disappointed.
