silver doves

(slightly spoilerish)

Read on 17/07/17

Published 4th April 2017

388 pages

Standalone

The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet. Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush. Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter. And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately. (Goodreads)

I have heard great things about this book, and while I did enjoy certain aspects of it, I did have issues with a few things.

So, the gist of this book is that Bailey, who is not very good with people, preferring to watch films in her spare time decides to move to California to live with her father. The thing is, the boy she has been chatting to online on this movie forum also lives in town ... which is part of the reason she decides to move interstate. While working at a local museum, she meets Porter who is at first irritating. Eventually, they get talking, start hanging out and sparks fly etc. And in the midst of all this, Bailey tries to track down her online friend. Of course, there is more to the novel - the backstory to our characters, the buildup to their romance, some conflicts and so on.

There were a few things that I did not like -

> Porter’s attitude at the beginning REALLY got on my nerves. He was such an ass, prickly and generally unlikable. Just the way he treated Bailey was not something I was a fan of: he basically embarrassed her in front of a crowd and was not even apologetic about it.

> The final ‘obstacle’ where Porter finds out Bailey is Mink, the girl he has been talking to online for the past 3 months or so was very poorly executed. The whole debacle was dragged on for too long and the reveal came too late in the story. I might have appreciated it more if either had found out maybe halfway through. Porter’s reaction was so immature and uncalled for that I considered dropping the book there and then. I decided against dnfing just because I was so close to the end. He found out that Bailey is Mink and gave her the silent treatment for a few days. When she tried to ask him what was the matter, what she did wrong, he cut her off, didn’t answer her calls/texts and ignored her at work. What? That was such a dick move. Then he turned around and said forget about it, not bothering to enlighten the poor girl about what had gone down even though she insisted to know what was the problem. I just can’t. I mean, in the middle bits of the book I found Porter sweet and attentive and everything I would want in a partner but when we were so close to the end of the book, and he did a 180 ... I was so dissatisfied.

> Last thing, I found the last chapter completely irrelevant and random. I did not see a point to it. I understood that it was supposed to be a conclusion to the whole story, touching on how Bailey becomes a bit more social and Porter getting back into surfing but it just did not sound right. It didn’t flow with the rest of the story and it was poor attempt at wrapping things up.

I admit that I am not much a contemporary reader and so I am hard to please in this department. While it may seem that I really dislike this book, I did enjoy everything else.

Overall, a light and quick read.

Read from 16/07/17 to 17/07/17

Published 6th June 2017

373 pages

First in the Song of Current series

Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself. From debut author Sarah Tolcser comes an immersive and romantic fantasy set along the waterways of a magical world with a headstrong heroine determined to make her mark. (Goodreads)

What a hidden gem. 

> Great start - We jump into the conflict immediately from page one.

> I love the writing, it is simple yet captivating. Tolcser has a magical-sort quality to her voice that brings the world she creates to life. It is difficult to pinpoint what exactly she does, but believe me she’s got it on point.

> There is something real about the characters.

Tarquin is a pompous ass in the beginning, but begins to soften and come off his pedestal as the story unfolds.

And Caro? She is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Our female protagonist is headstrong and bold, which is everything I ever want in a novel. There is something about Caro that makes her relatable - she isn’t infallible. All her life she is told that the gift to speak to the god in the river runs in her family but she has yet to hear even a whisper from this deity. She tries and tries to reach out to the river god, and every time she is greeted with only silence and I feel her desperation and fear as if they are my own.

> The romance is juuuuust right. It isn’t rushed but rather a slow buildup. The focus of the story is not on the romance. This is more of a plot-driven-fantasy ya novel than a cheesy-romance and that is right up my alley. Without trying to give too much away, both characters acknowledge that they are from different ‘worlds’ and have different paths set out for them. They realise this, which is why I appreciate that they do not ask the other to give up their dreams and ambitions so that they can be together. That is what I feel love should be - a selfless act for the other, it is an understanding between two people about what is realistic and what is not.

Overall, a great fantasy read. There isn’t much I can critique about, maybe that some bits were a tad bit predictable.