I highjacked today's post because I finished, "Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare last night and the ending left me needing to vent.
So here I am venting: I hate that book 3 is not out and I want to slap at least three of her main characters!!!
[SPOILER ALERT-although I will not be specific you will glean spoilers from this rant. Especially if you are unfamiliar with Cassandra Clare and her tactics when it comes to romance and therefore unprepared for the tempest.]
I know that the romantic tension of the story needs to carry through 3 maybe even 4 books, but really does the heroine have to make the stupid, sappy choice with the secondary sypathetic guy while the REAL HERO is on his way to profess his love for her? It's annoyingly short sighted of her and after a book and a half I am mad at all of them. The sappy guy for being so nice and vulnerable and likeable, the Hero for taking so long to overcome his issues, and especially the heroine for choosing the lesser of man at precisely the wrong moment. (Granted, there is hope that she can change that decision with only minor bloodshed and mayhem.)
I know that it isn't a new tale of wo for a romance to take this turn. I can see that there is hope for book 3 (if I can just wait to see what happens, which at this point is unlikely.) BUT really, I feel like I've been toyed with by Ms. Clare's machinations. I know who the real hero is and I know that he is more noble, strong, true, sexy, and awesome than the other guy. WHY oh WHY must the girl in the story be such a dunce? I wanted to throw the book. I hoped that somehow it would not go exactly the direction I saw it going--like watching a train on a collision course with a truck and hoping that it will somehow magically stop in time, only to witness the horrifying train wreck you knew was coming. (Don't get me wrong I have faith that she will pull this twisted mess apart in book three and I'll leave the story relieved and happy. I liked the City of Bones series.)
So here is what went right: The author managed to evoke high emotion in me as a reader. She left a window of hope and a lead into book 3. She made her characters so real that I wanted to slap them sometimes and kiss them other times, and she gave the reader a nominal happy ending with some secondary characters as a breadcrumb.
However, even though I usually enjoy a good romance, even if its formulaic, the forces behind Clare's romances are frustrating to me. The worst part is that I can't put my finger on the exact reason it annoys me so much.
End of rant.
What books drive you crazy, the good and the bad?
Sometimes series bother me because the middle books end up having too much exposition and don't advance the plot enough or work as a stand-alone book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Linda. I'm actually getting a little tired of the ever-present series out there. Not unlike how I rarely watch a show that is still in production, with the exception of Castle and Once Upon a Time, I'm finding more and more that I'm not willing to invest my time and money into a book series unless it is completed and I have a recommendation from someone I trust to read it.
ReplyDeleteIn short, I won't read this series until Donna finishes it tells me if it's worth my time. Thanks for taking one for the team, Donna. :)
Amen, Linda. That drives me crazy too. I didn't feel like it was too much exposition and the other plot points moved in some cases, but it was definitely a middle book.
ReplyDeleteI should be more like Arlene and wait to read it until all of them are out. It would have helped I think. Still I didn't feel that way with Hunger Games. I loved the end of book 2 in that series.