Saturday, February 22, 2014

Review: Til Death by Kate Evangelista

Title: Til Death
Author: Kate Evangelista
Series: Book One in the Fractured Souls Series
Published By: Entangled Teen (March 4, 2014)
Source: ARC Copy Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Fantasy
My Rating: 2.5 Stars

Book Description:
Sixteen-year old Selena Fallon is a dreamer. Not a day-dreamer, but an I-see-the-future kind of dreamer. Normally this is not a problem as she has gotten pretty good at keeping her weird card hidden from everyone in her small town. Except from her best friend Kyle and her grandparents, of course. But when Selena dreams of her own rather bloody death, things get a little too freaky even for her.

Enter Dillan Sloan. Selena has seen the new guy in a different dream, and he is even more droolworthy in person. Beyond the piercing blue eyes and tousled dark hair, there is something else that draws her to him. Something…electric. Unfortunately, Dillan makes it more than clear that he does not feel the same. They just met, so why would he act like he hates her?

When Dillan and Selena are forced together one weekend to work on a school project, Selena prepares to be ignored as usual. But when she stumbles across a few undead in the backyard, Dillan comes to her rescue and reveals a whole lot more. Not only is he part of a society that hunts otherworldly creatures…she is too. And she is being targeted by a force bigger and darker than anything she ever imagined. Despite her death dream, Selena is not going to give up easy, especially when she discovers that Dillan might not actually hate her after all.





I am not going to lie or even pretend that I didn't first pick this one up because the synopsis was intriguing (although it really is). I picked it up because the cover is simply gorgeous and so eye catching that I couldn't resist it. 

This had a really interesting storyline and I liked that it combined a paranormal element with a mythical one as well.

That creatures were real, that the supernatural was always lurking around every corner and no one was who them seemed to be.

And while I really did enjoy the storyline, I just wasn't in love with the characters.

I really wanted to like Dillan but the truth of the matter is, he was kind of an asshat. He had all those typical qualities we like in a bad boy but it came off as more harsh and uncaring than what I like to see. Where were his redeeming qualities that showed his heart of gold?

To be fair he did, in the end have some of those qualities but by then it was almost too little too late and I couldn't warm up to him after all the stuff he did said and showed and it just wasn't enough to win my heart and that just made me sad.

In short, I wasn't engaged with anything. I didn't care one way or another if Dillan and Selena ended up together, if they figured each other out or even if they saved the world (okay, the town). 

The only thing that kept me reading was that I needed to know what Selena was because I was a little curious about it but again, I found myself skimming the pages to see if I could find out and be done with it. 

I know, not very nice but there you have it.

This one just wasn't for me I think but does it show promise? I think it could to the right audience and I don't want to discourage anyone from giving this one a try because you just never know. Just because I didn't love it, doesn't mean you won't.




*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

15 comments:

  1. The cover sure is gorgeous! Too bad Dillan was an asshat!

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  2. I couldn't agree more about this one. I've read it just last night and yes the paranormal part of the book was truly great, but the characters annoyed me so much! Great review, Ali :)

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  3. The first thing I thought when looking at this post was my goodness what a gorgeous cover! The synopsis is interesting too..so yep I get why you picked it up and I love the sound of the paranormal/supernatural elements but when a book and it's characters don't engage you it just doesn't work. I am sorry this fell flat for you Ali!

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    1. It happens every now and then. It's the consequence I pay sometimes for being a cover whore. ;)

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  4. Well that is unfortunate when you cannot connect with the characters :( great honest review hon. I agree it might do good for other people out there.

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  5. Oh I hate it when the characters are so unlikable you really don't care what happens. And I hate the jerk guys if they don't show enough caring deep down almost right away. I'll skip this one, it would likely infuriate me.

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  6. I am reading a book right now with a totally unlikable MC so I know what you mean. She is an asshat :)

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  7. I usually like Kate Evangelista's books, but now I am glad I didn't request this one. I have so many other's to read and I am sure I would feel similar to the way you did. Thanks for your honest review.

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  8. Oh, that cover is gorgeous! And the blurb really sounds like something I would enjoy. I'm sorry the characters weren't more engaging for you. I've had a few lately where the story and world-building were great, but the characters- meh. Thanks for the honest review:)

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