Sorry about last week guys! As I said on Twitter, I was busy finishing my NaNoWriMo calendars and to be frank, I just didn't have a book to review... I know! I've been so occupied in the last two weeks that I only just finished Madly, by Amy Alward.
I'm lazy today and I don't feel like writing my own synopsis of the book, so here's the official one:
When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.
Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?
And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.
No big deal, then.
About a third through the book, I started writing down my reactions to certain passage of the book, so that I could do an after-live-chat with you guys:) Here I go:
THE FOLLOWING CONTENT MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS. READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED
Dude, you're what? Seventeen? Don't wait to have your grandfather's approval! Just do it girl!
Aww, isn't that nice? Zain offers to help you do the freaking inventory! *roll eyes until I can see my own damn brain* (p.117)
Evelyn chapters are really cool... I like how this potion accident is playing out!
"I'm a Kemi, I don't belong in a place like this" You can't evolve if you refuse change dear...
Okay, enough adjectives already! There's a limit to description!
Pff! Godesses and their jealousy! (p.162)
HAHA! "I didn't want to hear about his hashtag TalentedProbs anyways" Love it! (p. 173)
Emilia, that bitch! (p. 177)
"My dad" this, "my dad" that... Grow a pair Zain! Jeez!
"Okay, pros and cons: If we go in the cave, it might be warmer and drier, but no one will be able to spot us if we're in there. So we'll set up the tent as close to the cave as possible, but not in it." You call that doing a pros and cons list? (p. 248)
" 'Thanks,' he says, and his face is so close to mine. He's still the most beautiful boy I've ever seen"
Ugh! Get over it already! (p. 249)
"I suppose we could just pee into bottles and sleep with them to get warm." That's exactly how you get a guy to like you Sam; with pee... (p.250)
And then suddenly, I can't help it. Tears are streaming down face. (...) Immediately, Zain is with me. He wraps his arms around my shaking shoulders and hugs me tight into his chest. He holds me as I cry"
Guys is books are so unrealistics... If I was to start crying, every guy I know would start panicking... (p.251)
Okay, we get it! You're a Kemi and you're destined to stay in the past with your old traditions, now shut up!
"The glamours slowly slip from him (...) What can I say? He's still beautiful."
Do you even like Zain for a reason other that his looks?!? (p.259)
You're scared of everything but when it comes to facing death, you try to be freaking hero? What the hell? No!
" 'You don't even know me,' I throw back. 'Okay, fine. You're right. My grandfather was obsessed with you Kemis and it made me want to meet you' "
Ah-HA! YOU DON'T KNOW EACHOTHER! Stop acting like Romeo and Juliet for God's sake! (p. 279)
"Well, over the past few weeks, Zain and I have got a lot closer."
Girl, he helped you with the inventory and you got stuck on a mountain together. I understand that dramtic events can bring two person close. I do not understand that you are in love with a guy you don't even know. (p. 295)
"Well of course he did! That snake, he must have planned it." You go sam's dad! And LOL! "That snake"! If anyone from school is reading this... Well they'll find it funny too! (p. 295)
Did she just climbed a tree using her hands? Tree sap is sticky, but there's a limit...
"But then, it's obvious that Molly doesn't need as much protection as I think"
So what, you can run off around the flipping world, but your sister, who has MAGICAL ABILTIES, is not allowed to do shit? I hate when younger siblings are portrayed as weak!
"I thought we had something"
ARGHH! No you didn't! (p. 369)
So there. I was hoping for a fun read, but this book made me angry more than anything else. Almost no readers like instalove, but normally I can deal. It's a fictional story, I get it. But Madly was just plain Ugh! I didn't click with Samantha AT ALL! Zain was this boy with great looks and no brain, from what we saw of him. Grand-dad was an old fart who refused to move on. I just had a hard time with every character. Plus, I did not enjoy the writing style: way too much adjectives for nothing.
All in all, this book started off as a great idea, but the story itself just seemed written by a beginner you know? I will not be reading the sequel.
Sophie
