imme_van_gorp's reviews
697 reviews

Oh, how creepy! 

The story follows a man who says he is being haunted by a ghost who keeps warning him before terrible tragedy strikes. The man is beside himself because the ghost appeared before him again, and he now fears danger is looming ahead. Yet, the man does not know how to stop the upcoming tragedy from happening, nor does he know what the danger entails. He is scared and wants to do something to help, but knows he is useless to do anything. He is terribly frustrated because why would the ghost warn him without telling him what he can do to prevent the tragedy? 
He confides his troubles to a complete stranger, who comes to the conclusion that the man’s senses must be betraying him, and that the ghost’s appearances and previous tragedies have to simply be a coincidence. Still, the stranger doesn’t want to outright call the man crazy, or expose his secret to others, especially since the man seems intelligent and controlled in all other aspects, so the stranger decides to let it be for the time being. However, the next night something happens that proofs the stranger wrong, and it certainly has dire consequences...

I think the reason this story worked so well for me is because I never figured out if the man’s loneliness made him see things that weren’t there, or if maybe he truly was being haunted by something supernatural. It all depends whether the end could be seen as a coincidence... Could it? I’m not sure.

Aww, this was actually super sweet and adorable. I didn’t expect to feel so much affection for this book, but I did. 

Stella and Michael had such a gentle romance with a true love connection. They were absolutely perfect for each other, and I love how they took everything slowly to make Stella feel more comfortable and safe. 
It felt so soft and nice. 
They were both very insecure and thought the other person was way too good for them, and somehow they failed to realize that they were absolutely perfect in the other’s eyes, and neither one would change a thing about each other, even if they could. They gave each other complete acceptance, which was exactly what they both needed, and it was lovely to see them come together. 

I do have to say that it got a little ridiculous at times when they were so blind to the other’s feelings; nobody can be that oblivious! It was so clear that they both fell in love and it was no longer “just an arrangement”, but their insecurities refused to let either of them accept that… 
I kind of understood why Stella was unsure considering it was Michael’s job to play a role and make women feel good, but what was his excuse for not recognizing her (very obvious) feelings for him??

That said, the thing that truly made me fall in love with this book was the heroine herself. Stella was utterly endearing, forever loyal and caring, always honest and direct, and so very kind. My heart broke for the insecurities she felt about being autistic, and I hated seeing her try to change to be “normal”. The fact that she thought she needed “lessons” to help her be better at sex and relationships was a little heartbreaking to see, but then again, it did lead her to Michael, so I guess it was a good thing in the end. She was just such a precious person, and seeing her finally find comfort and understanding and affection after being so lonely for so long truly made my heart feel so full. I genuinely loved seeing her get her happily ever after, and I fully believe she couldn’t have found someone better to do that with than Michael.

Well, what can I say? It’s not like I hadn’t been warned this book would be bad. I had. And those people were right. I should have listened.

But honestly though, it’s not like this book didn’t have potential. It definitely did. I think the premise truly was very cool and intriguing, and even the plot itself could have been good. But all of that potential was simply wasted on piss-poor execution. 

Firstly, the writing was very dull and lifeless; it didn’t have a hint of charm to it. The pacing was horrendous as well; there were way too many completely irrelevant and unnecessary descriptions, and nothing ever seemed to happen. It was super slow and boring. 

The characters were also insanely superficial and felt more empty than I could have ever thought possible. Their relationships all felt completely random and meaningless as well; nothing held even a hint of depth or intrigue. It was all so… worthless. useless. vain. insubstantial. vacant. boring. 

Speaking of relationships, there is also romance in this book, and even though it’s supposed to play a big part in the story, I didn’t actually feel any romance during the whole book. There’s supposedly a love triangle going on, but one of the guys was already in love with her from the beginning (because apparently he fell in love with her before the book even started, but we don’t get to know or understand that until the very end??), and the other one apparently fell in love with her throughout the book, but I never would have guessed, since he didn’t act like it whatsoever. This dude was not in love. He simply wasn’t. I don’t care if the book tells me he was, I don’t believe it. 

Thus, all in all, both of these stories had to be the worst romances I have read in a while, cus neither of them actually gave me any romance…

Last but not least, there’s a supremely predictable twist at the end where our main character gets betrayed, but I swear, you have to be the blindest person on the planet to have not seen that one coming. It was obvious from the beginning that a certain someone could not be trusted, so I definitely did not care for that reveal. It was all very anticlimactic and underwhelming.

Long story short, I still think this could have been a good fantasy book. But only if someone else had written it.

The plot here was definitely an improvement from the first book. It was much more hands-on; we actually got to see The Naturals in action rather than them just sitting in a house, babbling about how special they are. 

The murder mystery was actually very intriguing and I felt super curious from the very beginning about what truly happened. The resolution and reveals were good too; I didn’t feel disappointed or underwhelmed at any time.

Furthermore, I was also very intrigued to find out more about some of the characters’s histories. Especially Dean. That guy has been an enigma from the start, but his past was clearly very dark, disturbing and haunted. I was hooked on every little scrap we got about him. I honestly feel like he would have been a much more interesting main character than Cassie… His past, his coping mechanisms, his fear, his repressed anger, but also the way people around him seem to care so deeply about him and want to do anything to protect him; it’s all so much more complex and meaningful than anything Cassie has to offer as a main character.

Nonetheless, despite the positives this book had to offer I still can’t get past that horrendous love triangle. Seriously, the love triangle was still as stupid as ever. There was just zero reason for either boy to be obsessively in love with this random girl, but somehow they still are. It was also obvious from the start which of the two boys Cassie would choose, so it wasn’t particularly exciting to watch the development in that department.

Also, am I the only one who was actually insanely curious about the reason <i>why</i> Michael and Dean hated each other so much? Deep down they clearly did care about each other, but for some reason they chose to mask it by a lot of animosity and mistrust. Why? They’re both nice guys, so it’s not like either of them really had a reason to be enemies with the other based on principle, so something must have happened in the past. But what is it? Is it truly just that dumb reason Michael gave; about Dean repressing his anger? That would be such a silly reason to me… 

Sloane is probably the most likable person in the group to me. She’s the most socially inept but obviously has the best intentions. There’s nothing more endearing to me than a socially awkward genius trying to make sense of other people’s emotions through statistics and logic. She’s always trying to help and comfort, but just isn’t very skilled at doing it right.

I genuinely think all of the members of The Naturals are sweet people in their own way, but the only exception to that is Lia for me. She is just so freaking annoying and entitled. Her relationship with Dean and Michael are both so weird and I hate the way she takes all of her frustrations out on Cassie whenever something goes wrong with either of them, especially when it comes to Dean. Like, calm down, girl. That boy is not some sort of precious china doll you need to protect at all costs. Get a hobby or something and stop obsessing about a guy like your whole life depends on it. It’s even more embarrassing and pathetic since Dean clearly doesn’t care that much about her in return; he’s more interested in Cassie’s well-being and it’s painfully obvious. 
I’m not sure whether the book will ever try to make Michael and Lia a thing, but I sure hope not. Lia’s priority has always been Dean, and Michael deserves better. Just like it’s also obvious that Michael would never look twice at Lia if Cassie gave him a shot. Putting these two together in the end would thus be supremely unsatisfying.

Anyway, long story short, this was a very fun, engaging, suspenseful and mysterious story that managed to have me hooked from start to finish! The silly love triangle is dumb, but the plot itself was actually surprisingly good.

Was this book supposed to feel like pretentious drivel on steroids or has something gone seriously wrong?

The never-ending, supposedly insightful ramblings and literary quotes made my eye twitch uncontrollably, and the writing was very close to giving me a full-blown aneurysm. Furthermore, the portrayals of important and delicate subjects were all handled in rather distasteful and over-the-top kind of ways.
The characters in this book were also completely unbearable; every single “adult” needed to be slapped right into next week, and the hyper-active, mentally ill MMC somehow developed an insane obsession with the moody, bitchy FMC for no reason whatsoever. Of course, both MCs are represented as quirky and special and not like everyone else, but in reality they were just sad and lonely, and I personally don’t think that’s a feeling that should be romanticized or idolized.
Also, zero real conversations have actually been spoken in this whole entire book, but who cares, right?

I think reading this book could be best described with one single word: headache.

I know people are saying this is an exact copy of The Hunger Games, and really, I see you, I hear you, you’re kind of right. But… do I actually care, though? No. There’s a reason why The Hunger Games has become one of the most popular books in the world and that is because it is absolutely amazing. So the fact that this is a new version of that same type of story but then with a fantasy instead of dystopian setting and with a lot more romance? Yea, the unoriginality doesn’t actually bother me that much and I will eat it up regardless.

However, I did think the execution of it all was lacking, especially later on in the story. This book started out great and actually gripped me from the very beginning. I loved the premise of the book and the romantic dynamic was showing a lot of promise. Both of those things dwindled after a little while, though. The romance had delicious tension at the beginning with lots of banter, but it became very repetitive and stagnant after a while. Kai and Paedyn’s relationship didn’t change at all during the entire book, even though they did clearly grow closer, and I eventually found it a little boring. 

The plot and setting also didn’t live up to their potential for me: “The Trials” were always a bit underwhelming and the world-building pretty much just stopped growing. A lot of the plotlines didn’t actually go anywhere, and were abandoned before they ever even had a chance of beginning. Same thing with a lot of the characters; they were introduced, had a few scenes, but then were only mentioned again once in a blue moon without much significance. We didn’t get the chance to really grow close to anyone, not even to the people Pae and Kai claim to care about, such as Adena or Kitt or Jax.

Long story short, this book had me hooked at the start, but slowly lost me along the way. It wasn’t a very well-developed story and left a lot to be desired. Therefore, I feel like lots of potential was lost here.

I understand that the ending was meant to set up the next book with Kai (and Kitt) as enemies against Pae, but I’m struggling to feel sympathy for them. In my eyes, Paedyn has done absolutely nothing wrong. These boys have been carrying out a whole genocide against people like her, but now she’s supposed to feel guilty for helping those people fighting for their (and her own) life? While Kai and Kitt were just happily playing along with, and even participating in, this systematic killing of Pae’s people, she was just supposed to stand idly by and let it happen? How dare either of those boys even think about feeling betrayed by her; if anything, they should only feel ashamed for their own actions (or lack thereof). 

This story basically had one single message: capitalism is bad. 

The plot follows an Indian family who try to make a living by pearl-diving but when the husband finds a glorious, beautiful pearl that is worth a lot of money, it brings nothing but pain and suffering. The rich, evil men would do anything to steal this impoverished man’s new-found wealth, and they are willing to go to immense lengths to take the pearl from him. First, the Indian family tries to fight back, but in the end they realize they do not want to own this pearl. They do not want to become wealthy. Not if it would make them dark and evil like all the other rich men. They would rather remain amongst their fellow poor people forever. 

It could have been an okay story in theory, but I found the execution of it a little boring and even a bit simple. I also thought there are some problems with its message since it seems to suggests poor people should never try to move up in the world. I find that a little disheartening and discouraging, right? 
Anyway, the writing was very descriptive and drawn-out, and I just didn’t feel connected to it. The characters also felt rather flat and didn’t come to live for me. Overall, I just wasn’t gripped by this story and the book left me feeling underwhelmed.

Oh, this was quite a big twist to what a lot of these books have been like so far. It felt truly very different somehow, and I’m pretty sure it was all because of the difference in who had the upper-hand in the relationship.

I can honestly and wholeheartedly say that Michael was a much better love interest than any of the heroes who came before him in this series. He truly worshipped Francesca and he was insanely in love with her. This man had been pining for her for years, obsessing over every little thing she did or said, yearning for the barest touch or slightest hint of attention. He seemed to think she hung the moon and the stars and never treated her in any way that would suggest he did not.

However, he did try his hardest to never let her discover his amorous feelings towards her, but not for any silly reason; Francesca used to be married to his cousin, a man he considered his brother and very best friend, so naturally Michael felt immense guilt for the way he felt towards the man’s wife. Especially since his feelings towards Francesca had started long before her first husband, his best friend, had died… It made sense why Michael would be wary of trying to “steal” Frannie after the poor man’s death, even more so since Francesca never gave him the impression she felt the same.
And the reason he never got that impression was probably because she genuinely didn’t feel the same. In a shocking twist of events; the heroine was not pining for the hero all this time too. Not only had she fully loved her first husband with all her heart when he was alive, but even after his death, she genuinely only ever saw Michael as a close friend and it took a lot of time for her to see him in a romantic light. Actually, I would go as far as to say that it took her too long. Frannie did want to remarry, and I didn’t quite understand why she refused Michael’s proposal the first time, let alone the hundreds of times he asked her afterwards, and especially after he opened up to her and told her how he has loved her for years! Like, girl, what more do you want?? 
Anyway, like I said, this book was clearly much different.

Wow. Okay. I don't even know where to start. This whole book frustrated me beyond relief and I'm terribly disappointed by it.

First of all, I think it's important to realise that this was not really Gibsie and Claire's book. It was only Gibsie's. Yes, we get Claire's POV as well, but the whole focus of this book is Gibsie's trauma and his way of dealing (or, more so, not dealing) with it. If you're looking for a grand romance here, you will be at the wrong address. The focus is never their relationship; we don’t actually get to see them do cute things together (like we saw from them in the previous books) or anything remotely meaningful. I thought this book would have beautiful relationship development with delicious pining and angst, but also a truly deep friendship that will finally turn into something more.
But no. Instead, it was mostly just Claire screaming “FUCK ME ALREADY!” and Gibsie screaming “NO, I CAN’T” which, of course, led to Claire huffing and puffing about not getting any sex, but then she simply forgets about it the next day, and the whole thing stars all over again. From the very beginning of the book they are basically already in a relationship, just without the physical intimacy due to Gibsie’s past trauma. It was perfectly valid for Gibsie not to want to take that step yet, and his only mistake was not being open and honest to Claire about why. If he had talked to her, there would have been no issues between them whatsoever. As it was, they were simply in a relationship without actually calling it one, and sometimes had a little tiff, but then always made up without even talking it out.
Furthermore, I was completely missing the undying-love, soulmate connection I was expecting from these two. I didn’t really feel their chemistry anymore and Gibsie never fought for her. He treated her like a princess when they were friends, don’t get me wrong, but whenever it was clear that she wanted more and he might lose her if he didn’t step up, he just did… nothing. He was not pro-active, and he was not the whipped boy I was promised.
All in all, this was just not a great romance. I think it’s important to realise that before reading it because you can lower your expectations in that regard.

Now, what is this book then, if not an actual romance? Well, mostly I think it was a trauma book. There is only one single thing this book actually focuses on and that is Gibsie’s inability to overcome his trauma. It did break my heart to see this sweet, innocent boy be so haunted by his past, especially since he refused to let anyone be affected by his own hurt. He always shouldered his trauma without complaint and he would rather die than inconvenience anyone with his pain. He was such a strong, kindhearted person and it shattered my soul to see him deal with it all on his own, while never letting the smile leave his face. He tried to stay a happy, positive person, even though he went through so much horror, and I can’t even imagine the bravery and perseverance someone must have to be able to do that. He was an angel.

Which, to be honest, only made it more sad that nobody ever stood up for him. There was not a single person who had his back, not a single person who was always in his corner, nobody. His friends and his mother needed to learn that he was raped as a little boy by his step-brother to finally take a stand against the people who have been hurting him for years. But, honestly, I really feel like he didn’t need to have a tragic past to deserve love and to deserve to be defended. He should have gotten that regardless. But no. They weren’t there for him then. Nobody was.
Considering Gibsie is the very best friend in the world to all the people around him, it made me very sad to see him not get that same energy back. He would have never stood for it if anyone bullied his friends the way he got bullied by Lizzie, but all of his friends just let it slide. Nobody called her out, nobody acknowledged the abuse he suffered each day by that monster. And no, it didn’t matter whether Lizzie was right or not. Even if Mark had raped Caoimhe, Lizzie still had zero right to put that blame on an innocent, traumatized boy who had nothing to do with it and who had already tragically lost his father and baby sister. Besides, I guess we all know Lizzie never cared about rape in the first place, and she just wanted a punching bag for her horrible attitude, because after the truth came out, she didn’t even apologize. Even worse, she still treated Gibsie like the enemy. Lizzie is the one who doesn’t believe rape victims, and she’s the one who would bully one. She’s the type of person she claims to hate.

Which, kind of brings me to my final, and most aggrivating point: There was nothing worse in this book than suffering through the scenes where that demon from hell, Lizzie Young, appeared on the page. She’s truly such a vile, disgusting person and it physically made me sick to see her get away with all the things she says and does. She’s a nasty bully who takes all of her issues out on the innocent people around her. She can manipulate and guilt-trip all she wants, but any reasonable person knows she had zero excuses for the way she behaved, none whatsoever, and I really wanted her to suffer the consequences of her actions for once.
I can’t, for the life of me, understand why anyone put up with her. She deserves to be alone and friendless, and it keeps pissing me off that that’s not happening right now. She needs to be called out, but nobody ever does. Why not? I guess it’s because all the girls are scared of the cruel words she would hurl their way, while all the guys are too busy getting a boner over her. Seriously, she’s the definition of pretty privilege, because she would not get away with any of the things she does if she didn’t have her beauty (especially since that’s the only thing she has going for her). I genuinely hate her. 

All in all, this book was just very frustrating to read for me. Not only was it written like a Wattpad story, it was also incredibly aggravating to see Gibsie get zero recognition during the whole book. The fact that nobody noticed or cared about that boy’s suffering was just beyond upsetting, and every time he got abused by that bully Lizzie without anyone standing up for him just had my blood boiling. Long story short, this was far from a pleasant read. All it did was make me angry. And in the moments I wasn’t angry, I actually felt a bit bored. Because, like I said, I also did not get the beautiful romance I was promised. Far from it.

This was bad. And so boring. I don’t even want to write a review for it, because I simply don’t have the energy left to complain about this series. It’s definitely time to throw in the towel. 
There have been good installments, but the enjoyment has just completely dried up and almost all the characters and relationships have turned insufferable. Not to mention, the plot is so repetitive and mind-numbingly tedious, I can’t help but skim most of it. 
I wish this series had ended ages ago, because the authors have ruined everything by dragging it out too long. Dom and Seth’s relationship was thrown to pieces a while ago, and Griff and Mark shouldn’t have gotten this second book.