Review: Soulmates
16:00
By Holly Bourne
Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary,
Goodreads Synopsis:
Every so often, two people are born who are the perfect matches for each other. Soulmates. But while the odds of this happening are about as likely as being struck by lightning, when these people do meet and fall in love…thunderstorms, lightning strikes and lashings of rain are only the beginning of their problems.
Enter Poppy, the 17-year-old cynic with a serious addiction to banana milk, and Noah, the heart-throb guitarist; residents of mediocre Middletown, and sometime students. After a chance meeting at a local band night, Poppy and Noah find themselves swept up in a whirlwind romance unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before.
I have such mixed views on this book - it’s a real guilty pleasure. It was very engaging, and I constantly wanted to read on (Holly Bourne’s writing is so addictive!), yet I hated the romance and the characters. I wanted to hate this book, but I really couldn’t. Although I may dislike the writing style, I can’t deny that I really enjoyed reading it.
The thing that bugged me the most was the whole ‘cliche’ thing. Poppy - the protagonist - was obsessed with not becoming a cliche - so much that the whole story became a massive cliche. It annoyed me because it was so obvious what was going to happen (I’ve seen 10 Things I Hate About You, I do know how these stories end...)
The plot was extremely predictable. I didn’t even read the goodreads synopsis before reading this book (which totally gives the whole book away - that’s why I’ve shortened it for on here), but I still knew what was going to happen. I don’t think we were meant to be able to guess so easily the entire plot, but the way it was written made it feel like we definitely were.
Although I really didn’t like the writing style, I constantly wanted to read on. It flowed really well and made the story an easy read. It was very plain and simple, so read more like a middle grade book, yet I found it really addictive and constantly wanted to read on. I found myself rolling my eyes every other page, yet still really enjoying the book.
I hated the characters. They weren’t well written at all and seemed a bit 2D. Although Poppy irritated me the most, Noah was also really annoying too (and can every YA love interest please stop being called Noah?!). He acted strangely and was very unlikeable (everyone in this book was unlikeable!). I hated them together so didn’t enjoy any of the romance (which is unfortunate because the whole book is romance!). Also, all of the character’s behaviour felt immature at times.
It picked up towards the end. Everything was explained well, and at the right pace. The ending came at a natural time (though the book could have been shortened quite a lot) and wasn’t rushed. I enjoyed it more because it got more science-fiction, and the characters were acting much more rationally.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, even though I definitely shouldn’t have. I would recommend it to fans of The Selection because the writing and romance is similar, but if you didn’t enjoy that you can still enjoy this (like me)! The plot was an unoriginal idea and the characters bugged me, yet I found it really addictive.
My rating:
Hello! I'm D - a dog-loving feminist from the UK. You'll probably find me with my nose in a book or playing my clarinet
2 comments
Hi Denise, my name is Tasya and I run a blog called The Literary Huntress. I have nominated your for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Check it out :) http://theliteraryhuntress.blogspot.com/2015/06/beautiful-bloggers-award.html
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Tasya! I'll be sure to check it out! :)
DeleteThanks for commenting! I read and respond to every comment, so make sure to check back to see my reply. Have a nice day! ☺♥