Yet again, I'm faced with reviewing a book I really wanted to like (this time because a friend recommended it to me), but didn't.The concept was extremely cool and that's really what kept me reading all the way until the end. The three main characters of the love triangle were fairly well developed and all the world-building pieces were done well. When I started reading, I felt like the book had a lot of potential.But there were some issues I couldn't get past.1. Despite the note in the description for each book in this series about editing, there were some glaring issues that constantly pulled me out of the story. Missing words, random capitalization of words that didn't make sense to be capitalized even within the structure of the world created for the book, etc.2. The book switches perspectives between three main characters (but mainly just the primary two). Awesome? Would've been if the entire book hadn't been written in first person POV. It's clear that Kira was the protagonist, yet the first person narrative of the two guys also made them feel like protagonists. At times, if I hadn't paid attention to whose name was at the beginning of the new chapters, I didn't know whose head I was in for paragraphs at a time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE switching perspectives, but I don't like first person for everyone. A tight 3rd person limited POV is sufficient for me. 3. Every character spent So. Much. Time. in their own heads. At certain points, there were pages where the characters would just think in circles and repeat their thoughts a few paragraphs later. It was tedious to read, in my opinion. I get that the characters were mainly teenagers, but the constant introspection felt overdone even considering their ages.4. Kira. *sighs* Some of the things she did made perfect sense, other times...*sighs* I'm borderline on whether to classify her as too stupid to live. She would go from making decent strategic plays to stubbornly running off to endanger her own life. At one point, she refuses to do something she's been ordered to do and takes this attitude of "what are they really going to do to me?" Umm...If you were paying attention to the events of your life less than six months ago, Kira, you know EXACTLY what they're going to do to punish your disobedience. I know, I know...teenager, but...come on. It felt illogical even for a 17-year-old.5. The ending. No spoilers, but there didn't feel like any resolution to the story. Even in a series, I want some sort of resolution to the story problem, before setting up the next book. I didn't feel like I got that at all. Actually, what was the story problem? Love triangle? Evil Empire? Doesn't matter. Neither received a satisfying resolution. And after reading the excerpt from the next book, I can honestly say I have no desire to sit through another 12 hours of angst and drama for the sake of angst and drama.6. The villains. Honestly, there were some super cool villains throughout, but once we got to know them, they were basically just evil. Awesome? Could've been, but no one really had any redeeming qualities. If a bad guy had a good quality, it would be revealed to be just a cover for their true evilness. The good guys were all flawed, so I guess I wanted the same treatment of the bad guys to make them more real.Like I said, I wanted to like the book and there were parts I genuinely enjoyed, but there was just too much that got under my skin and pulled me out of the story.I would recommend this book to readers who don't mind any of the above issues I had. Basically, if you're my polar reading opposite, this is the book for you. I loved the concept behind this novel, I just didn't really like the way it was executed! The rolling POV drove me nuts, and repeating scenes from an alternate perspective was just indulgent - especially when the characters voices were so similar. Yes, you can put the name of the character at the head of the chapter, but it doesn't help when he/she sounds exactly like the last character in the chapter before! Also, the characters didn't develop!! They just kind of sat there, trying to get into each others' pants! I really really wanted to enjoy this book. I read the 1.5 novella, CLEAN SLATE COMPLEX and really enjoyed it. I wish this novel had been written along similar lines - one POV, many adventures!
Do You like book Daynight (2000)?
2.5 is more likely, such an interesting idea, so poorly executed.
—megan
