I don't often go all ranty in my reviews. In fact, when I really didn't enjoy a book I often don't bother reviewing it on the blog. I'll add a few lines on Goodreads and move on. But I got kind of carried away with this one and I figured why not just go ahead and share it.
So, L.J. Shen is one of the authors I've seen around for a long time and kept meaning to try. I know her Sinners of Saint series is popular (I see Vicious talked about a lot) so maybe I just started with the wrong book. Or not. Because even though Blood to Dust has a high average rating on Goodreads (3.93) it just was not for me. I spent most of the book in various states of:
And when I'd finished the whole cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs book and went to Goodreads, to find others to vent with and talk about the level of crazy, all I found was one five star review after another. And all I could think was:
So allow me to get all ranty and share my rather disjointed thoughts on Blood to Dust. And, uh... enjoy.
by L.J. Shen
Published: July 17, 2016
Genres: Dark Romance, Contemporary
Bound, blindfolded and bruised, I'm tied in his basement, waiting for the men who stripped me from clothes and humanity to collect his debt to them. Me.
His name is Nate and I should hate him, but I don't.
I'm not supposed to know his real name, even worse, I'm not supposed to care. He is nothing to me but means to an end. The plan is simple: break free, collect the pieces of my broken soul, kill the bastards and run away.
His name is Nathaniel Thomas Vela, and I've never seen his face, though I hear that it's beautiful.
Behind the rugged and handsome exterior, there's a quiet murderer, a killer who thinks guns are for pussies and ends people with his bare hands.
His name doesn't matter, neither does his face, but what does matter is my heart. And right now, sadly, it's his.
M Y T H O U G H T S
As
soon as I finished this one I logged on to Goodreads to find some reviews that
mirrored my thoughts. Some others who spent much of the book rolling their eyes
and thinking, "You've got to be kidding me." So color me surprised when
instead I found one five-star review after another filled with heaps of praise.
Uh, okay, I guess it's just me?
This was my first by Shen so maybe this kind of over-the-top, check the believability at the door is just her style. But it apparently isn't mine because I couldn't get past all the inconsistencies and wtf-ness of it all.
The female main character came from an upper-class, wealthy family and was now a badass, drug dealing, in your face, killer. Uh, how did that happen exactly? How did she learn the drug trade and become versed in weaponry, street smarts, and strategy? Was there an online course she took that wasn't mentioned?
All I really knew about the male main character was that he was from the wrong side of the tracks and wasn't long out of prison. For protecting his mother from the abusive father, of course. Oh, and he was totally not interested in women since he got out of prison... until he meets up with our girl, Prescott, of course. Not that he ever called her Prescott. These two had more nicknames for each other than I could keep track of. I should have turned it into a drinking game: Another nickname? Take a shot!
The bad guys were almost cartoonish and the violence was so over-the-top graphic that it was just too much. There was rough sex, graphic violence, plot holes, character decisions/actions that made zero sense... I just keep coming back to the same phrase: over-the-top. The whole crazy mess was over-the-top.
I'm all for dark romance. I don't mind some violence. I'll even give some leeway on plot because it's fiction. But when it's this messy, this ludicrous, and this OTT, I just can't. I think it's safe to say this was my first - and last - by Shen.
This was my first by Shen so maybe this kind of over-the-top, check the believability at the door is just her style. But it apparently isn't mine because I couldn't get past all the inconsistencies and wtf-ness of it all.
The female main character came from an upper-class, wealthy family and was now a badass, drug dealing, in your face, killer. Uh, how did that happen exactly? How did she learn the drug trade and become versed in weaponry, street smarts, and strategy? Was there an online course she took that wasn't mentioned?
All I really knew about the male main character was that he was from the wrong side of the tracks and wasn't long out of prison. For protecting his mother from the abusive father, of course. Oh, and he was totally not interested in women since he got out of prison... until he meets up with our girl, Prescott, of course. Not that he ever called her Prescott. These two had more nicknames for each other than I could keep track of. I should have turned it into a drinking game: Another nickname? Take a shot!
The bad guys were almost cartoonish and the violence was so over-the-top graphic that it was just too much. There was rough sex, graphic violence, plot holes, character decisions/actions that made zero sense... I just keep coming back to the same phrase: over-the-top. The whole crazy mess was over-the-top.
I'm all for dark romance. I don't mind some violence. I'll even give some leeway on plot because it's fiction. But when it's this messy, this ludicrous, and this OTT, I just can't. I think it's safe to say this was my first - and last - by Shen.
WHAT'S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ THAT WAS JUST TOO OVER-THE-TOP?
