Series: None
Author: Nikki Urang
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Publication Date: November 11, 2014
Source: Bought
The Los Angeles Conservatory for the Arts is supposed to be a new beginning for Sadie Bryant. Moving across the country is exactly what she needs to escape the gossip surrounding her injury, the devastating betrayal of her ex-partner, and to rebuild her career as a solo dancer.
When the school announces that the annual Fall Showcase, a performance that secures a spot studying in London, will now require each dancer to have a partner, Sadie’s fresh start is a nightmare. Now she has to dance with Luke Morrison, the school womanizer with a big ego. Sadie doesn’t know how to trust Luke enough to dance with him after her last partner left her broken, but Luke is determined to change that.
Then, The Hit List comes out. A game of sexual conquest where guys get points for all the girls they hook up with—and it seems like every guy at the school is playing.
The girl worth the most points? Sadie.
Find The Hit List online
This is a hard review for me to write. I wanted to like this book so badly but I found that I had a lot of trouble with it. And most of my problems revolved around the characters, specifically Sadie, our main character. Despite my dislike for the characters, I was really intrigued by the premise and was hoping that would bring the rating up. Unfortunately, even though I found it interesting, the characters really just brought down this book for me.
My main problem with Sadie was just how completely self-centered and whiny she was. Despite the fact that she wasn't the only person affected by the list, she disregarded all concern for the other people involved involuntarily. I also really disliked her back and forth nature. She just could not make up her mind about anything. She was completely unable to make a decision, whether it was about friends or boys or what have you. I felt like I had whiplash trying to keep up with her constantly changing opinions. One moment she liked someone, the next she thought they were a creep and jerk.
I also really disliked her relationship with the love interest, Luke. Partly because of her indecisiveness, partly because I really hated Luke in the beginning of the book. I'll admit, he got better as it went on, but in the beginning he was nothing but a complete and utter jerk. It felt as though the author was trying to make Luke the cliche, bad boy, jerk-face, but still totally hot and charming love interest that so frequently pops up in YA lit. Unfortunately, she kinda missed the whole charming part up until about half way through. He eventually got better and showed more support for Sadie but that first impression of him weighed me down.
The premise was what I was most excited about before reading this story and it did help cushion my displeasure with the other aspects of the book, but it was quite enough. It was interesting and exciting but I wasn't satisfied with how it played out with the list. It didn't feel like there was any real resolution once we discovered who was behind the hit list. I wanted more justice for the girls affected by it and I felt like we didn't have that. Still, the premise was something I generally enjoy so I'm glad I got to read a story centered around it.
Overall, I was disappointed with this read, which is so hard for me to say. I had really high hopes for it and was excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to connect with or like the main characters. This is what ultimately brought the rating down so far. Characters are the most important part of a book for me and these ones just made me frustrated and angry. While I can see some people enjoying this book a lot, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
“It’s not just injuries that destroy dancers. It’s imperfections.”
I also really disliked her relationship with the love interest, Luke. Partly because of her indecisiveness, partly because I really hated Luke in the beginning of the book. I'll admit, he got better as it went on, but in the beginning he was nothing but a complete and utter jerk. It felt as though the author was trying to make Luke the cliche, bad boy, jerk-face, but still totally hot and charming love interest that so frequently pops up in YA lit. Unfortunately, she kinda missed the whole charming part up until about half way through. He eventually got better and showed more support for Sadie but that first impression of him weighed me down.
The premise was what I was most excited about before reading this story and it did help cushion my displeasure with the other aspects of the book, but it was quite enough. It was interesting and exciting but I wasn't satisfied with how it played out with the list. It didn't feel like there was any real resolution once we discovered who was behind the hit list. I wanted more justice for the girls affected by it and I felt like we didn't have that. Still, the premise was something I generally enjoy so I'm glad I got to read a story centered around it.
Overall, I was disappointed with this read, which is so hard for me to say. I had really high hopes for it and was excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to connect with or like the main characters. This is what ultimately brought the rating down so far. Characters are the most important part of a book for me and these ones just made me frustrated and angry. While I can see some people enjoying this book a lot, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
“It’s not just injuries that destroy dancers. It’s imperfections.”
I seen this book around a few times but I haven't heard/read much about it. It sounds like something I can skip. Thanks for this honest review!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think this is one you could probably get away with jumping over. There were some good aspects but the characters just made it drag for me.
DeleteYeah, if I can't get behind the characters I usually can't get behind the book. A wishy-washy heroine and a cliche mean but hot love interest? Blech. Definitely going to pass on this one!
ReplyDeleteCharacters are just so important to the story! They need to be sympathetic and easy to connect to for readers! Unfortunately, these ones just weren't.
Delete