Book: The Chemist by Stephenie MeyerGenre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆☆
It's been so long I can't even remember my normal method for doing book reviews! But let me just say, I finished a book LAST NIGHT and I'm already here to review it! I'm so excited!
So when I saw that my two Jenny/Jenni friends were going to read this book together as a sort of small impromptu read along, I jumped on board because that extra little "let's read this together" motivation I knew would help me.
And it really did.... and it was nice to complain about the stuff bothering me as I went!
So what was bothering me you might wonder. Well, wow. The beginning was rough because all it is, is this girl being OVER THE TOP paranoid about everyone trying to kill her. And much too much detailed description about the methods and means she is using to stay alive. I had to skim the detail. I mean building up that suspense is good, but I don't need to know every instrument and every kind of chemical she has stashed and every wire in her house and how it's placed, and etc etc etc.
Finally, around almost page 100 things started happening and we get to the story. I'm still not exactly sure why she fears for her life, but anyway, she, "the chemist", uses drugs to torture people. And she ends up getting a job that she hopes will end this whole running for her life gig. She is wary, but she is hopeful.
So she gets this new guy she needs to get info from (she's been told he plans to wipe out lots of people with his own biological warfare stint) and proceeds to torture him. This is where I was like, please. Are you kidding me? I don't want to read this!
But thankfully it didn't last long because, then she falls in love with him. BAM. Just like that! And then stuff happens then suddenly she not only has to save herself, but him also. And things get pretty crazy and intense from there.
Well, so that romance. I was totally expecting some good romance being as it was Stephenie Meyer and all. But yeah, for me, it was... not... um... shall we say... REAL enough... intense enough? I just wasn't feeling the sparks and the build up and the anticipation and I don't know how to describe it. It just seemed to happen too fast and too sudden. And while I'm okay with instalove/attraction I still like a little build up and anticipation. I didn't feel any of that.
But they grew on me and by the end I believed them, that they really were into each other.
The end was quite intense and breath holding. There were some details again that made my mind glaze over, but it wasn't too long and drawn out this time. So, yeah. It was good!
Bottom Line: After a bit of a slow start and despite the disappointing romance, I actually quite enjoyed this story and found myself engaged and turning pages just like the old days! And thanks to Jenni for gathering us together to read it!
Should we make bets on how long it will be before I review another book? Here's hoping not two months...
Yay! You finished a book! Sorry it was not a great book. I had issues with the romance too. It felt like it was just...there. No chemistry. Ha! Get it? Aw well. Better luck with your next read.
ReplyDeleteThis one did not work for me AT ALL. But I didn't have anyone to vent with while I was reading it — that probably would have helped
ReplyDeleteI had issues with the romance as well...it just sort of happened but I didn't feel any of it! I did actually enjoy some of the more detailed scenes with all her perimeter defenses etc and the action toward the end kept me hooked.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad this was a good experience for you. I wished I had finished before my surgery because I feel like my surgery made the ending a little anticlimactic because I wasn't as invested as I was when I first started reading it. Oh well.
ReplyDeletePS--I like the new blog header. You did get rid of your book club link at the top, though. Can I still access it through a URL?
DeleteNever mind. I found it under Books. Who would've thought, lol. ;)
DeleteJenni: Glad you found it. I didn't get rid of anything, just moved stuff around. All book links are found under the book thing now. I wish I could do drop down menus, but I don't have the patience to figure it out.
DeleteI'm glad you had fun reading this with friends! I've love to do more buddy reads like that :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I'm so happy you reviewed another book. I was worried it might never happen again :( Sorry you didn't love the book, but at least you didn't hate it. I have THE CHEMIST. I'll read it someday; I'm just not chomping at the bit. I've only heard very ho-hum things about it.
ReplyDelete