Thursday, March 26, 2015

Review: Unleashed by Sophie Jordan

Unleashed

Author: Sophie Jordan
Release: February 24th 2015
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Thriller, YA
#2 in the Uninvited duology
Series: Uninvited (#1)


Plot:

Unleashed, the romantic, high-stakes sequel to New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's Uninvited, is perfect for fans of James Patterson's Confessions of a Murder Suspect.

Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man.

Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence lying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself.


Review:

I'm not so sure about this one. I loved Uninvited, but I'll be the first to admit that it was total chance, and that it wasn't a book I should have liked in the first place, not really. So, while I was expecting this sequel to be a little more underwhelming, I am not sure what to think about it ultimately.

The thing that put me off most was, as you can guess pretty easily, was the romance. The thing with the new love interest was completely abstract and as unnecessary as Taylor Swift insuring her legs for $40 million. There was no indication or hinting in the prequel that the spark between Sean and Davy was dying out at all, so this revelation came so out of left field, I was calling shenanigans. And as soon as that issue was introduced, I was ready to bet my life on there being a new guy for her to fall for. And boy, was I right.

Now, I am always, at any given time, the first person to advocate new, second loves and romances. I hate the idea that you will always stay with your first love, because it is unrealistic and unhealthy to maintain such an image. However, when it's as trivial and redundant as this, I think it's better to just let Sean and Davy stay together. Because, let's be real here, the only thing, the only reason this sequel was produced, was because Jordan, or her manager or whoever, wanted to market the hell out of this and milk the cow some more, so they came up with this convoluted, shitty new non-plot to write another useless book.

The first novel could have ended with Davy and her friends crossing the Mexican border and living happily ever after, maybe even incorporating the very same ending that this one had, only with the substantial difference that Sean and Davy would still have been together. Which, honestly, wouldn't have been so different from how it did pan out in the end. Because that truly is the only difference. Also, the "salvation" comes so cheaply, nobody at the resistance camp ever did shit to further that cause, nope, it was just some random decision and yay, everyone gets their happy ending. There was zero substance to this book's plot, if you can even call it that. Zero. Nada. Nichts. Niente. Zilch. You hear me? 

And the only thing driving this book on, namely the romance — I'm really, really skeptic on that. Because Caden comes across as very controlling and demanding, and I'm not sure at all whether theirs is indeed a healthy relationship or not. Jordan tries to save their image once or twice, by having Caden say stuff like "I've always been yours" to make it seem like they're equals, when every single other time they're not. He's dragging her behind him on a leash, almost literally, like she's some kind of dog to take on a walk. And whenever she pushes him away, tells him she doesn't feel anything for him, he demands she not lie to him and tell the truth, because he "knows" she does have feelings for him after all. Take a fucking hint, dude. Maybe it is possible she really doesn't like you like that, okay?! But no, Caden wouldn't respect that. He just kept pushing himself on her every goddamn time, and quite frankly, I was sick of his shit by the time the book ended. 

Other than that, I did like Davy's character. While she did take some of Caden's shit, she also stood up to him about his treatment of her and told him where he's at. Sure, she was also a little stupid about this, but ... all in all, she was a good character. Sadly, hers is the only one I can really praise. As I've already unfolded above, Caden was kind of a dick and any other new figures were as two dimensional as the cardboard package the book arrived in. Davy's PTSD in the beginning, which also stretched throughout the whole book in tiny doses, was a little annoying to be honest, but understandable. So I won't hold it against her.

Still, no more for me, thank you and goodnight.

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