Review: Good story but really tragic characters
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
3.5 starsThe son of a heroin addict and the daughter of murdered parents. Sweet jesus, why do these characters have to have such horrible pasts?! Then upon meeting one another they come to lead lives heavily dependent on the other. It's unhealthy! Violet pushes every boundary and lives off adrenaline rushes which normally consists of risking her life. Luke is an alcoholic diabetic, nuff said. Both of them get into situations that could have resulted in their death but don't care - ah, kindred souls. Yes, I am employing a bit of sarcasm here because it is a horrible trait to have in common! Luke and Violet bond over their understanding denial, recognizing a person with secrets to hide in the other. I found this book generally uncomfortable. I disliked the relationship that was created on the "birds of a feather" and all that. I was constantly cringing at the graphic situations the characters had been forced to suffer. While I admire the writing of Sorenson as she developed the book beautifully I dislike books that rely heavily on disturbing graphic and tragic drama in order to build emotion. It makes books feel like a soap opera filled with over dramatic shocking events that create the interesting storylines but in the end are SO dramatic they come off as unbelieveable. I'm not saying an alcoholic son of a heroin addict and a murdered parents orphan adrenaline junkie with a death wish can't meet and have a perfectly believable love story I just find ALL of the problems overkill. The book has a cliffhanger ending but it appears to be typical for Sorenson to write novels as a two part series. Sorenson is a solid writer but I don't think I can handle much more of this kind of novel. I might pick up book two just to see how Sorenson rounds out her characters.