Review: sadly didn't work for me :(
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 15, 2013
Eternal Ever After. A.C. JamesReview from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews.I thought this sounded fun, I loved the way Arie sounded so mysterious, and Holly one of those flawed heroines so easy to identify with.Sadly it didn't work for me, Arie was at times totally irritating and other times really interesting. He was hot and cold, giving Holly come on signals then pushing her away. It did sound at times like the Twilight beginnings, but simply didn't work that way in such a short novel. “I’m not good for you, you should stay away” - we heard that ad nauseum from Edward didn't we, and it grated to hear the same words from Arie. Instead their romance seemed to jump in great leaps, without really anything ever happening. Holly, she was at times forward – telling Arie he should ask her out, then other times very self conscious? When he revealed – very quickly – that he was a big, bad vampire she was “oh – OK” and I’d have expected more of a reaction. I couldn't really empathise with either of them. I needed more build-up and more of them actually getting together and talking, not just this on and off jumpy progression.The plot-line – parts worked well, when Holly was having flashbacks for example – I really felt as if I was there with her. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to pull the overall feel of the novel up – the characters felt very clichéd rather than fresh. I know the vampire genre is swamped and its tough, but for me this book didn't cut it. Someone mentioned the Twilight feel – I agree in parts, Arie being older and the comments I picked up, Holly being a target, the feel of the Vampires friends in the club feel like the Cullen family. I just find it hard that the problem Arie has to sort that’s causing danger for Holly has been left so long. I can't imagine that the others would have ignored it, and that problems wouldn't have been piling up over many years already.I think maybe for me its a novel that’s tried top pack too much in a short space. The witch/godmother/dress creation section for example didn't really add to the main plot – it was one of the parts I really liked, but it didn't complete any of the existing plots and took up valuable space. It really deserved expansion into a novel of its own. The BDSM elements seemed pretty irrelevant, and read as if added for the sake of adding some spice. It didn't need the warning that came with it....Even the flashbacks – they read really well, but took up a lot of space and some were just jaunts into history, adding nothing to the main plot though very well written and realistic. Better IMO to have concentrated on simply Holly/Arie, and the main problem. But... that just my opinion as always – we all want different things and I’m sure others will love this novel – just didn't work for me sadly.Stars: two.ARC supplied by Netgalley.