About the Book
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Authors:
- Syrie James
- Ryan M. James
Cover Story: It’s 1, 2, 3 Strikes You’re Out
BFF Charm: Entourage
Talky Talk: Motherboy XXX
Bonus Factor: Positivity, Subtlety
Relationship Status: You Certainly Have A Type
Cover Story: It’s 1, 2, 3 Strikes You’re Out
Angel wings! Fancy dress! Girl with her back to us! This is all kinds of heinous! Also, is anyone else inordinately freaked out by pictures of girls with long hair who have their back you? It’s almost as bad as those figurines people put in their gardens of the little children standing in a corner. Uuuggghhhheeebiejeebies!
Also, the tagline? “She should not exist. He should not love her.” Wah-wah.
The Deal
Claire Brennan has moved around a LOT, because her kind of hippie mother is kind of crazy and is always moving to a new location so she’ll stay “safe”. But Claire’s been attending Emerson Academy for two years now, and she has two BFFs and she wants to stay where she is and be a normal girl. And Yay! (?) she finally got her period! But then she starts sweating and feeling dizzy (girl, I feel you. And the cramps are no picnic, either.) and has A VISION. Of where her mother put a piece of paper. That leaves her all shaky-kneed. Which might not be SO weird, except later, she has another one, that predicts an event that is happening across town at that exact same moment.
Enter Alec, a new student from Scotland (swoon!). Boy meets girl, boy saves girl from an accident in a supernatural way, girl has theories about how said boy is supernatural… and that’s pretty much the end of the similarities between this story and the trope exploited by Meyer. But other stuff happens.
BFF Charm: Entourage
So Claire is fine. I mean, I don’t love her, but I think she’s a very nice girl, and I’d definitely want to be her friend if I met her at school. But. BUT, her two BFFs were so much fun! Much like Chloe King, Claire can’t keep what’s happening to her a secret, and her best friends are so supportive and awesome and don’t think she’s weird or crazy or scary. In fact, they scooby up and do all sorts of research and are understanding and pretty much the best kind of BFFs a girl could hope for. So I’d definitely hang out around them in hopes of joining the entourage.
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
This book doesn’t stray too far from the typical supernatural love story of late. It includes a really deep boy, a reluctant girl, and a sort-of love triangle where the third guy is truly nice. There are some sweet tingly moments, instalove, and a fair share of longing. One thing the swoon in this book does fall into is the recurrent theme where the boy, when looking longingly at the girl, is thinking about how the sunlight brings out the different shades of color in her hair, and how her eyes look like she’s an old soul. I mean, maybe I’m wrong, and there are boys out there who think those things? No, never mind. I’m not.
Talky Talk: Motherboy XXX
When I got this book in the mail, I looked at the title and read that it was a supernatural romance, written by a mother/son team. What what? My mind didn’t go to all sorts of awful middle-school level jokes. No it did not. But I couldn’t help but wonder if mother ever needed help zipping up her dress…
Jokes aside, this was a light, airy fantasy/adventure/romance that I went through like a box of Fiddle Faddle (HOW can there be 7, count them SEVEN servings per box?!!!) and it left me with that still slightly hungry feeling that Fiddle Faddle does, where I’d totally read the sequel if it were in front of me, but it’s probably a good thing it isn’t, because not only do I not want cavities, but hello thighs.
I am, however, going to continue to believe that only one of them wrote the romantic scenes, while the other one put their fingers in their ears and sang ‘lalala’, because my Yankee waspishness can’t handle anything else.
Bonus Factor: Positivity
Everybody in this story was SO. WELL. ADJUSTED. And that’s really awesome if you’ve been overwhelmed by angst in your YA lately. Instead of page after page of longing and sadness, it’s more like “ladadadida… oh! Ouch! This is a really terrible thing I’m going through! But life goes on! I guess I’ll go to homecoming…” It won’t knock your socks off with its depth, and there were moments when I asked the empty room, “Do teenagers really talk like that?” But still I enjoyed its straightforward charm.
Bonus Factor: Subtlety
So I’ve made it a habit not to read the back covers of the ARCs I receive, so I’ll be surprised by the books themselves as they unfold. Especially with fantasy, because there’s nothing worse than a big mystery in a book that was explained on the back cover. That said, I enjoyed how the authors didn’t blow their supernatural creature wad right at the beginning, letting me wonder for a while what it was going to be.
Relationship Status: You Certainly Have A Type
Much like Buster and his love for snapping turtles because of their leathery little snappy faces, I’m a sucker for an occasional fun supernatural adventure/romance. This one fit the bill.
FTC FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my review copy from Harper Teen. I received neither money nor cocktails for this review (damnit!). Forbidden is available now.
