I feel this battle is never ending. My book/Kindle wish list is added with the same frequency of the goodies I put in my basket when I go food shopping while hungry. My eyes are bigger than my stomach or my wallet. In this case, a large portion of said books on my wish list that I am trying to get control of are eBooks that cost under $5.00, so they're not really expensive, but why buy something and waste the money if it's not going to appeal to after I've purchased the book.
One such book is Hidden Wings by Cameo Renae. It is the first in the series. I bought it last summer. I read a sample and thought $1.99 was an acceptable price, but never got around to reading it. As I say, if it is on my Kindle, I can't see it, so it doesn't really exist and it doesn't equate into the count of books I own. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Anyhoo, as there are now several additional books in the series available, I thought it time to seriously give it a try. I got through the first chapter and have determined this is not a book or series I can read.
The problem? How to explain.
Emma Wise wakes up in pain in a hospital room. She is visited by Social Services and is told that not only was she in a car accident that she miraculously survived, but that her parents did not survive and the aunt she never knew she had has been granted complete guardianship over her until Emma turns 18 in another year. And, oh yeah, her heretofore unknown aunt also lives in Alaska where Emma will be relocating to.
It is a lot going on and I am okay with that. It's kind of exciting, the fear of the unknown, uprooting your entire life and moving to a far away land where they have 6 months of darkness. Oh, the sleeping I'd get done.
No, that is not my problem with the story. My problem stems from these three lovely sentences below:
Unanswered questions pierced my already fragile heart. - Location 190 of 4233.
Regret started to seep into the cracks of my shattered heart. - Location 247 of 4233
I missed my mom and the thought of her sent a piercing pain straight through the middle of my heart. - Location 259 of 4233
So, in the space of one chapter, Emma's heart has been pierced twice and shattered once. It's a wonder she's still alive! I especially take issue with unanswered questions piercing her fragile heart. Questions don't pierce hearts, arrows do, pain does. But not questions. Questions can pierce the veil of sleep, but a heart?
I get it. She's distraught. She's just found out the only family she thought she had is dead and that she was lied to about not having any other family. I understand that her life will never be the same, that she will never be the same. I understand and sympathize with her pain. I just wish she found a better way to communicate her entire world shattering into dust around her.
So, yeah. I have issues. This may the first book I bought that I realized I could not read and I really do like the premise, but I can't. The prose are overwrought and melodramatic. Harsh I know I am being and I do apologize for that, but I just can't afford to buy books anymore that I'm not going to read. Due to the time I can actually spend reading and the number of books on my wish list, I have to be super critical and hack and slash my wish list where I may. The Hidden Wings series just isn't making the cut.
Book Description (From Amazon):
What happens when Darkness and Light collide?
Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise.
As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm, and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.
Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.
A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously, captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.
Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise.
As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm, and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.
Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.
A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously, captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.
Totally understandable, as that would annoy me too. There are too many good books out there to waste your time with one you don't really like, so good for you for discovering this so quickly! Now on to the next one!
ReplyDeleteHopefully I haven't bought any others like this. That's what the whole sample reading is all about. To prevent this kind of thing from happening. Don't know how I missed it in the first place.
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