lexicat2410

[lexicat2410]

The Cellar

Spoilers

The Cellar by Natasha Preston is a good suspense book for people who want to start with the genre. I would, however, not recommend it to someone who has been reading the genre before, as it follows pretty basic tropes, making it basic to the experienced reader. It is about a girl called Summer who gets kidnapped by a man named Colin or Clover, depending on which perspective you are in. And gets held somewhere with three other girls (Rose, Poppy, and Violet) and gets renamed Lily. You see the trend It is told through alternating perspectives: Summer, Colin and Lewis (Summer's boyfriend). This book does cover heavy subjects such as kidnapping, rape, abuse, purity culture and murder, if you might be triggered by any of these subjects, perhaps step away from the book and pick up a different one. Keep yourself safe 😊. Don't read this if you like the book or are the author or her friends.

Pros:

1. The story had a promising premise: What would you do if you were locked in a basement with three other girls and expected to do domestic labour for your kidnapper, and would you give up on searching for someone after they had gone missing for a long period

2. The characters were mostly distinct and got their role as a character across to the audience. I liked that they weren't all on the same page and had varying levels of hope due to how long they had been imprisoned. My personal favourite was Poppy due to her attitude that she wouldn't be reckless but still has hopes and dreams of getting out.

3. The plot was engaging and kept me wondering what was going to happen, and it was overall a fun read. This book is good for beginner readers because of this fact. There is not much I can say here.

Cons

1. The rest of the cast, I did not say they were likeable, just that I understood their role in the story I'm just going to go over the people with a POV otherwise, this will go on forever:

Summer: This girl literally did nothing but cry and go in the shower, and she just cried about her boyfriend, not her family, just her boyfriend. This is understandable due to the situation she was put in, but from a story perspective, it got tiring fast, especially after 8 months. She had absolutely no character development at all, and after the experience, she WAS FINE there was little to no mention of PTSD. I do feel mostly sorry for her she just does nothing.

Clover: He had to be the most basic villain I have ever read catered to an age group over 10 I mean, he's a bit cliche. A man obsessed with women's purity because his Father cheated on his mother with a prostitute, so he now kills them so no more families can be ripped apart. I don't know whether we were supposed to feel sorry for him because, frankly, it seems that way I could just be reading it wrongly, and if Preston was trying to do that, she failed.

Lewis: This may be controversial, but the hate I have for this man is more than I have for the villain. I mean, he just seems like the kind of guy who doesn't let you have any guy friends and is the most insufferable human ever I mean, this guy thinks he is better than the police (which he is in this story, but that's due to a bad plot). I mean, he thinks that this guy who is helping with the search yet doesn't seem sorry enough took his girlfriend (which he did, but that is plot convenience) I mean, he broke into this guy's house. It had been 8 months I get that it was your girlfriend, but not everyone has to be devastated about the loss of someone they don't know, and then he has the audacity to when Summer is in the hospital to rush up there and expect her to want to see him straight away she just got kidnapped and raped by someone she should call the shots of who gets to see her. Yet he seemed like he would make her see him if she didn't want him to come due to her trauma with a man over the last 8 MONTHS. Maybe I'm overreacting, but this is my opinion.

2. Plot convenience: By the end of the book, it seemed like Preston did not think of a way to end the book, so she made everything well convenient. Realistically, how would Lewis, a random 18-year-old guy, be able to find Summer when the police couldn't use vibes alone? Now, I get it about the power of love and how desperation makes you do rash things, but it was just a sense that Colin did not feel sad about Summers's kidnapping, he probably met plenty of people in the search party who did not feel sad about her passing how is it only this guy, does he have spidey senses or something cause there is no possible way that would happen in real life. Also, the fact Summer doesn't have any PTSD after what is a traumatic experience is very convenient

Well, that was a rant, wasn't it, I need to read better books. During writing cons, my rating slipped from a five to a three, so this is worse the more you unpack it. Overall, it is a great premise that needed to be executed better, and the characters need some work (a lot in the case of Lewis) I mean no harm to the author I think this was her debut novel on Wattpad, no less, and some of her stories do get better personally I like The Lost which is a similar premise just executed better and the characters are heaps better.

[lexicat2410]

Someone is Always Watching

Spoilers

I feel Someone Is Always Watching has potential but did not follow through. It is about teenagers who live in a community full of scientists who are starting to realise that they are starting to have memories from the past. The book centres on one of these teenagers called Blythe, who is the good girl in her school, and suddenly her friend kills their principal. This book could have been better if the characters were more fleshed out.

Pro's: 1.The story was an interesting concept: What would happen if we could erase memories as well as question the morals of doing so? I think it would have been better if they focused more on the moral aspect of both sides, not just one. However, I understand that the book is biased as it is told from Blythe's perspective.

2. The character Blythe was the most fully fleshed out of all of them. Which makes sense as the story mostly follows her perspective. I could fully understand her motivations throughout the novel and appreciated her overall story arc. I do, however, feel that her relationship dynamics could have been displayed more.

Con's 1. The characters, even though I could understand the motivations of most, were not fully fleshed out. Making them unlikable.

Callum: Callum was the only one I could personally sympathise with, yet the other characters seemed to hate him the second he did something wrong. I also liked his backstory, though I think it could have been more fleshed out. Yet, I could understand his motives because if I heard that my partner was hanging out with a boy who had been a murderer and I did not know the context, I would also be worried. ALSO, HE WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE MURDER UNTIL HE WAS DEAD, AND BLYTHE WAS JUST LIKE WELL, ANY SYMPATHY, PLEASE. However, I might be misremembering Callum. BTW: The con is the other characters interacting with him.

Blythe: Blythe, to me, though I could understand her motivations, just fell flat, and she came off as a bit pathetic throughout the book. I also did not like her dislike of Callum. She was a good big sister I did understand where Sydney was concerned.

Devon: When I got about 50-60% through the book, I kinda figured he was the kidnapper. He was also annoying throughout the book, telling the characters that they acted privileged and were so stuck up because of it, even though he was brought up in the same environment. The hypocrisy was staggering. I did not get his motive. Showing the lack of character development.

Tucker: He was the love interest, and he seemed sweet enough I did not feel he was well fleshed out at all. He seemed to be normal I honestly don't know why his Dad hated him/was scared of him. He protected his sister. But what do I know? Honestly, he just needed his character to be fully fleshed out.

Tanya: Firstly, what is it with novels and writing twins with the same letter? Anyway, I could not relate to her at all she seemed emotionless and overly ruthless. She was at least protective. I don't like her arc.

Cassidy: I liked her I understood her actions or lack thereof. She, I felt, was more understandable than some of the main characters.

Sydney: Reminds me of my sister minus the pyrophobia.

Gabrielle: I don't have much to say she seems nice and a bit murderous.

2. Mystery: Ha. I bet you thought I could not rant any more, but I can. This book title advertises it as a mystery, yet there is almost no suspense. Now, I have read a lot of mystery books, and when I picked it up, judging by its title, I thought that the murder of a corporation of some kind was watching them, but that was not what happened. No one was watching them. I would classify this as a thriller. The main cover does not make sense.

3. Relationships: When I read a good book that involves a group of friends, I can usually say something about each pairing. In this book, the relationships were not that. I could connect people to Blythe, and they might have a few other connections, but that's pretty much it.

Overall, the book needed the characters to be better formed. I did not mind the plot overall as I took it as a time ten years from now, but if it was supposed to be based in the present, it is questionable. But the start was promising. Thank you for reading through my rant.

[lexicat2410]

The Songs You've Never Heard

Spoilers Below:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60542892-the-songs-you-ve-never-heard

The Songs You've Never Heard is amazing!!! When I first picked this up, I did not expect this story to be so sweet or explore the complexities of being a songwriter. The Songs You've Never Heard was told from the perspective of Meg McCarthy, who is the sister of Casper, who is a world-famous pop star and she is a social media influencer and a secret singer/songwriter. Meg meets Alana Howard, who also happens to be an amazing singer/songwriter. Together, they combine their skills to make a song that goes viral.

Pros: 1. The friendship between the girls. I love that when they become friend, they do not abandon or betray one another like in other books. They are so supportive of each other and such good friends, meaning that it is a believable friendship. Instead of the norm of someone doing something wrong, there is a misunderstanding, and they become friends again. "The lost girls are here, and we're ready to be heard."

2. I like how the book depicts the pressure of being a sibling to a pop star, as well as showing how family dynamics might change when you have a pop star sibling. "Sure, Dad. Let Casper keep being the King of the House, walking over all of us and showing zero respect."

3. I love the appreciation of pop songs. I just think it's nice that instead of dissing pop songs like in most books. This book shows an appreciation for the genre, highlights its qualities, and does not shame others for listening to pop music. 

Cons: The only thing I don't like is how they decide to redeem Casper after how he treated his sister as well as Alana. I did not think he deserved to be forgiven that quickly. 

Conclusion This book overall is so sweet. It is kind of a light read after reading more intense stuff, and it has a feel-good message towards the end.