Andrew Seleznev Seleznev থেকে 40270 Carbonero el Mayor, Segovia, Spain
Let's just cut to the chase here....GAG...GAG...and GAG some more. But if you can't resist Nicholas Sparks and his saccharine sweet tear jerkers, this one will still fit the bill. Definitely a beach read or a lighter break between weightier books. My problem was being able to get past imagining the totally unlikable Miley Cyrus as the lead character of Ronnie since I made the mistake of watching the movie first. ***Mild Spoiler Alert*** That being said, I definitely had problems with the characterizations as well. Ronnie is written as good girl gone rebelliously bad BUT has a heart of gold, intense animal rights activism, and extremely high morals. She stays out past her curfew, refuses to play the piano, and wears dark makeup and unflattering clothes. Doesn't drink, do drugs, or sleep around. Uh huh, kinda sounds fine to me all things considered. Oh, but wait...besides being lazy and unmotivated, she also has a purple streak in her hair. B F D. Sounds kind of lame and hollow. Seems as though the author didn't really want to give her badness any depth because just when something potentially negative is revealed, like her shoplifting, she is redeemed by accepting full responsibility in court. Puhleeze. Also had problems with Will. Hot as hell, extremely wealthy, hard working, charitable, looking for a deep meaningful connection with the new bad girl but doesn't even try to disrespect her by getting in her pants. Rrrright. Lastly, Steve. Barely has contact with his kids for 3 of their most formative years but yet he acts as the parent of your wet freaking dreams when he finally reconnects with them over the Summer. Not even the demise of his marriage was his fault. Insert huge eye roll here. Marcus' evil personified character got old too. All the good people are simperingly good and all the bad people are irredeemably bad. Nicholas really laid on the black and white thickly here, no shades of gray to make anyone either real or interesting. The story line dragged until the end like the long hot days of Summer. The turn of events was excruciatingly predictable. The actual "Last Song" was like a sledge hammer to my head, wishing he would just get to it already so I could end the pain of knowing what was coming. And yet, I cried...like a baby...multiple times with tissues and everything. Even though I had already seen the movie. I disgust myself. But admire Sparks for being able to still do it to me with schmaltzy writing. And curse him too.
One-word summary? WOW. THE DEMON'S SURRENDER was everything I expected and more (and trust me, I had pretty high expectations after The Demon's Covenant). Sarah Rees Brennan is not afraid of taking her characters to very dark places, which just makes it all the more satisfying when they triumph – a heart-wrenchingly wonderful sort of book. And I was hooked from the very first chapter - my heart was in my mouth so many times and the twisty fast-moving plot (my internal commentary was along the lines of "Could it be? Nah! It is! Nooooo!") kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning. If I could have had anything more in SURRENDER, it would be more POVs (and more Jamie!), but that's really a reflection of the fact I fell in love with the story and the world and just wanted to know EVERYTHING and more. Alan and Nick and Mae and Jamie were as fantastic as they have been in previous books. As for Sin - I admit I had doubts about her as the main narrator initially - I'm not sure why I ever doubted now, she was the perfect narrator and I was cheering her on throughout. SURRENDER is, well, it's action-packed, full of feeling - you laugh and weep with the characters - and I closed the book feeling thoroughly satisfied. And as a bonus, it's set in London. What could be better?