Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I do not like writing bad reviews. To criticize someone's work that they poured their heart, sweat, and dreams into doesn't make me feel good. It takes a lot for someone to put their work out for the world to see and ultimately devour. That being said, a book has to really compel me to write a negative review and, unfortunately, this book did. I'll run down the problems: 1) character: there is virtually no character development AT ALL. From ANY character. This includes the heroine. The heroine finally makes a decision to act at the very end of the book (we're talking the very last page). But, by then, it's too late. And she did nothing the entire book to earn her sudden call to action. The heroine, Ember, is not a character I would ever want to read about again. I hate reading books where the heroine makes painfully stupid decisions for no reason. Just to add "conflict" to a story that has none (we'll get to that later). She was constantly bombarded with evidence of her powers and things happening around her, but all the reader got for 99% of the book was, "what am I?" "I'm hallucinating." This is fine if you eventually move on from this and discover what's really happening or at least have the character take some action or hunt down some answers. But, this was one of the most passive characters I have ever read. I'm no feminist, but I can't imagine that Ember is a good example to young girls. And trust me when I say this is a young adult read. Possibly 12-15. Definitely not adult level. Ember is constantly running back to a hero who she has evidence of lying to her, treating her like crap, running hot and cold, running out on her and disappearing for days with no word or explanation, and then showing up out of nowhere wanting to make out. I couldn't even enjoy the romance because it was just too ridiculous. None of the characters acted based on who they were as characters. It felt like they acted based on what the author needed them to do in the story. Which brings me to point #2. 2) Plot/Story: the plot is pretty simple you got that from reading the description of the book. The problem with the plot and the story itself is that is does NOT MOVE FORWARD. Not in any way, shape or form. The author is constantly playing out the same story beats over and over and over again. Nothing progresses. It's not until you're literally 98% through the book that you finally find out what she is. Up until that point, Ember goes to school, hangs out with her friends, goes to a bar she has no business at, and completely loses herself when the hero she's not even dating and hasn't even kissed yet "dumps" her. The writing is so juvenile it was really disappointing. Literally NOTHING happened the whole book. As a reader, you should be getting answers along the way bringing you to the climax at the end of the book. This never happened. Literally the same thing kept happening over and over again in slightly different ways. She goes to school, hangs with friends, goes back and forth with the hero. No story development at all. And then even when the reader finally, FINALLY, finds out what the heroine is, it's so anti-climatic you want to scream. It's nothing new. Nothing fans of paranormal fiction or urban fantasy haven't seen a billion times already. There's not even a new spin to it. To conclude, reading the description, this had the potential to be a really great book. Unfortunately it wasn't. I wanted to like it and was hoping it would get better which is why I kept reading until the end, but I cannot recommend this book. The author needs a bit more work learning her craft. She lacked character development and her inability to craft a story leaves the reader frustrated and bored. On a positive note, I did like the hero, Eli. Anti-hero is actually more accurate. If there was any one character who you could say developed, at least marginally, it was him. Even though he was hot and cold and I didn't particularly care for the match the author was trying to make between him and the heroine, taken as an individual, Eli was not a bad character. Unfortunately, his character is not good enough to save this book. It gets 1.5 stars because at least I was able to finish it and didn't just quit like some others. I won't be continuing with the rest of the series.