July 29, 2011

Elixir by Hilary Duff



Blurb:

Clea Raymond is a talented photojournalist and the daughter of high-profile parents. Usually she’s in total control of her camera, but after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and handsome young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.
 
When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

 
My Thoughts:

Look at the corner of my bedroom and you'll see this book in timeout.

Why?

Well, there are multiple reasons. The ending is the number one reason why it is sitting over there looking all kinds of pathetic.

The cover pulled me in, and at first the book was going great. We meet the main character, the dilemma, and all of the stuff, but then some problems started to pop up.

First off, what really ticks me off, is all of the typos. It wasn't excessive but there were enough there to make me want to circle them, give the notes off to the author and have it corrected. Yes, I know, it's the editor inside of me. But dang.

You know what's really funny? I finished the book with the whole WTF moment still screaming in my ear then I flipped to the acknowledgement page and see that not only did the lovely Hilary Duff didn't have just one editor. She had TWO editors, and yes, I'm about to put their names out there. Hold on . . .

*gets book from corner and flips to the acknowledgement page*

Emily Meehan and her assistant Julia Maguire.

Not only did she have those two editors but she also had a writer named Elise Allen who I suspect either helped her out alot by writing it or became her mentor. And probably edited it too.

I feel sorta bad for Elise Allen to have her name on this book too, but oh well.

So let's gets down to the basics.

Characters: The characters were believable. I could identify with Clea, and I loved Rayna, her best friend. But the whole push of Ben on Clea, I didn't like that at all. It's realistic, don't get wrong but I just don't like that everybody is speaking about soul mates and they are what? In their teen years, I think. And Rayna is constantly saying she meets "the one". Why is it so important to meet a soulmate?

Why should a girl care about the man of her life?

Don't get me wrong. Soulmates are important. If I ever find my soulmate, I will count myself lucky but it's not the center of my life to find a man. I can live without one.

Maybe it's the genre which Twilight started that love is now becoming a thing to search for instead of a career. It just seems so silly. I mean, why search for the one in high school? The chances are slim at best. So yeah, Idk.

I certainly wouldn't want my daughter searching for the one instead of finding herself. Seeking love and verification of yourself is just a path that leads to dependence and I don't want my daughter letting her self-esteem to be determined by men or society standards for that matter.

Sorry to get all preachy, but that's just my thoughts about that.

Um, other then that, I really didn't have a problem with the characters.

Dialogue: Realistic. No corny laughter from me. But I am laughing at Shiver again. *giggle* I saw it in the store at BAM. Gosh, I think I'm starting to get a reputation there since I visit there so much. Anyway, anyway . . . Getting away from the topic at hand.

Setting: I really liked how we practically travelled all around the world. Not really all over the world, but still I liked seeing the different places and its impact on her life. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at that. She did a really good job though at describing the vibe of the places too, btw.

Plot: Now here's where things get a bit hazy.

Like I said, the beginning and middle were fine. And the plot points were hit. Until we start with the falling action and the resolution.

To put it bluntly: There is no resolution. It ends on a cliffhanger.

I understand that this book is going to be a series. Obviously but there are plenty of examples of better ways to do it. I'll just take into account the easiest: Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries.

That particular series is ten books long but in every book there was obviously a problem and it was solved but she also left a lot of deeper issues unsolved until the end of the book. Not that you didn't feel like it wasn't resolved but there was like the romance parts that weren't always resolved.

But the main point: Meg Cabot finished every book with a resolution to the main problem.

Hilary Duff did not.

She left the story in the middle of the climax. She didn't resolve any of the problems in the book. She did answer a lot of questions about Sage and the Elixir, but she didn't tackle the problem.

And I'm not saying I want a happily ever after ending. But I do want an ending not a, "Tune in next week to see what happens!" corny end line. I wanted some more answers and some more . . . Something.

The main three problems of the book that were presented were not solved.

And I'm not surprised, but it still disappointed me. The reviewers were right. It's a definite wtf ending.

I read some reviews way before I even saw the book on discount and I remember some reviewer saying that the ending wasn't good. But I thought, hey maybe they were wrong.

Uh, no, they weren't. They were spot on.

Not because it was written weird, or because it wasn't carried out right, it just didn't finish the problem. It's just leaving a puzzle still half done.


So let's get straight to the point: Would I recommend this book?

I wouldn't. I will tell you why: You'll be disappointed in it. Even if you ignore the typos, you will still be disappointed with the ending. You'll want it to be done, and get the ending it deserves. The only way to find this out is by getting the second book and I'm not sure when it'll be released. I think it's this year, so maybe you'll get it and get the ending. But I wouldn't waste your time. Really.

Read Hush, Hush. That's a good book and guess what?

Crescendo was on sale today!!

*clicks heels together!*

Anyway, yeah. Read Hush, Hush instead. You'll thank me later.

7 comments:

  1. Indeed!thank you so much for posting..well at least it was discounted when you bought it. I was really curious about it as well since it's written by Hilary Duff and all it's really quite a shame when editors failed to correct typos and truly very frustrating for the part of the reader.I hope you got your crescendo I'm looking forward reading hush,hush and loads of books this summer XD

    I'm a new follower feel free to drop by
    http://kimyunalesca.blogspot.com/

    And I cordially invite you to my First Interview with the Author of the book The Talking Palm~Esther Jno-Charles

    http://kimyunalesca.blogspot.com/2011/07/author-interview-esther-jno-charles.html

    Take care and have a fantastic summer ^_^

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  2. When I first saw your post on Bookblogs, I too was drawn in by the book cover. The title also grabbed me. But, after reading your review, if I read the book at all, it will be borrowed from the library! So, Thank You!!

    On another note.... I was encouraged by the length of your review! I am a Newbie Reviewer, and have posted only two reviews. I started my Blog about a month ago. My Blog is not just about reviews, so I have more than two posts!!

    I tried to cut and trim my reviews - but there was nothing I wanted to remove! It was all relevant! (to me!). I would definitely appreciate a few words of wisdom from you, if you have time to check out my Blog. Realizing this is a bit of an imposition, please feel free to ignore this request!!

    Thank you, Larissa, for considering this request.

    I will definitely be following your Blog!

    Patricia
    http://thejoyofthewrittenword.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello all and thanks for commenting on my blog!
    Love to see some new and famalair faces here!

    @kimyunalesca-Hey girl! Thanks for stopping by. I do need to start stopping by your blog too. I can't wait to see what you've been up to.

    It's so uber disappointing when you buy a book from a famous author, and seeing all the potential opportunity they have and waste it. Drives me effing insane. Here's Hilary Duff with the best of the best in the traditional publishing world and her book still ends up with typos and wtf endings. Not only that but doesn't solve some minor questions. Ug.

    It's a VERY good thing I got it on discount. At least the book cover was worth the cost. Other then that. Eh.

    Do you even have to ask about Crescendo!? I saw it, eeeeked! then grabbed it with a grin. Of course I bought it! And I'll probably review it. If that's possible to review a book in a series. :S Hmm . . .
    Either way, it's in my grasp to read asap!

    @Patricia-I love the design of your blog. It's so pretty I could stare at it all day. The one thing I noticed with yoru book reviews is the lack of mentioning what type of book it is you are reviewing. That would help me out a lot since then I could pick up by the labels if it is a book review I would be interested in reading.

    Another thing I would do is give it a star rating or some kind of other rating system. I ask if I would trully recommend this book to someone. And why I would or not. So I usually describe why or why I didn't like it. I think that's the best review you could give someone: Give a reason why. Don't just say: I liked it! Give reasons. I liked it because . . . XYZ. I hated it because . . . XYZ.

    I like to break it down into a science. Characters, Plot, Dialogue, Setting, and something else I'm missing but I can't think . . Oh yeah: The ending. I think those are the essentials. I really do. Maybe it's the English teacher in me, but that's how I do it.

    And trust me when I say, I think my book reviews veer off course too much. I give WAY too many references, but since they are funny and quirky, I keep them. Do whatever you feel is best for your book reviews.

    Now that I have stayed up past my bedtime, it's time for me to head on to bed. Thanks again for stopping by and for giving me such lovely compliments and for beocming followers! I heart you! TTYL!

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  4. Hi, Larissa -

    Thank you for the feedback on my blog! You gave more than I expected, which is wonderful.

    I will definitely start incorporating your suggestions - as best I can. What you describe in the way of structure is almost like the Scientific Method - which I know quite well. Your ideas really get my brain moving! And I like your list of Labels. Lots of ideas!

    Thank you, again, Larissa, and yes, it is time for my beauty sleep, too!

    Patricia

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  5. Hey Patricia! Nice to see you back!

    No problem! I'm glad I was helpful.

    Oh good! Lol, I never thought of my method like the scientific method, but I love the idea. I sucked at science but now I am conquering it and never have to see it ever again in my entire life. Yippee! And yes, lavels helps me a lot to determine if I will read it or not. Like if you labeled your book, nonfiction, I probably wouldn't read the reviews. But for people who would love nonfic they would read it, and stray away from the fiction books. Win win. I'm so glad I got your ideas moving! *sniff sniff* Makes me so proud when people learn.

    Not a problem! Come back any time with a problem! :) I love solving them, just not my writing problems, lol. That's a whole different issue there. Oh, make sure you get your beauty sleep. I know I did.

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  6. Very good review and thanks for the thoughts about that book, Larissa. I am new follower from bookblogs. Hope you can visit me too.
    Anna del C. Dye
    Author of "The Silent Warrior Trilogy"
    http://www.annadelc.com

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  7. Thank you Anna for becoming a follower of my blog! I love your blog, btw. It has a lot of good advice. I'll keep your websites as one of my favs. Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete