Review: Not Really My Cup of Tea...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2014
When I came across Devil in Paradise via Netgalley, it sounded like a story I would enjoy reading. After finishing, I can't really say that it was an enjoyable reading experience.First of all the title, Devil in Paradise, doesn't seem very fitting for the story. I admit this story went in a totally different direction than what I was expecting from reading the blurb. I thought the concept or plot of the story was fresh and different (at least for me), but perhaps it was a little too different than what I'm usually used to that it bordered on weird.Devil in Paradise was quite different than what I've read in the past. I love shape shifter stories and I've read many stories with shape shifters previously, but not one where the characters can literally shift into anything (e.g. dolphin, ice cube, flower bouquet, tortoise, bird, grow an extra pinky finger). I thought it was interesting, but it just wasn't really my taste.Furthermore, the story was too short to really build on anything including the romance and the characters' development. There were a lack of sparks and chemistry between Ari and Samantha that I couldn't feel and the lack of connection with the characters were present throughout the story. The story was low on the romance in my opinion as the majority was focused on Ari teaching Samantha how to shapeshift while they were stranded on the island and when it came to the love scene, it felt forced into the story.The climax was anticlimatic and was just very bland. The story ended too soon and at the end I wasn't convinced that Ari and Samantha belonged together. The author didn't persuade me of it when I was reading. In the end, Devil in Paradise was a good effort, but it just didn't do it for me.*I received an e-ARC via Netgalley from the publisher for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review.