I have taken a week to gather my thoughts and I stick with my low rating.

I received this for free from NetGalley for a review.

pros: all the art history references (I took AP art history in high school and loved it!), teen drama

cons: unlikeable characters, horrible similes, adults that act like kids

First off, I am not saying this book is bad. A ton of people seem to really enjoy it. However, I really didn't like it. My main problem with this book is the writing. The author made a book about 600 pages when it easily could have been 400. Full disclosure: I love big books. I really like the extra time to get into the minds of characters I like . I really really hated the characters in this book. I'll get to that soon. As for the writing, it was too much for me. There were a ton of consistency issues. Example: there is a certain event that takes place for a while. I'm being vague so as not to spoil anyone. At times it is said that it lasts 5 months, 5.5 months, and 6 months. So I ask, which one is it? I also have some examples of lines (mainly similies) that made me cringe.

"Looking for my bone marrow through my skin, Kyle was saying"

"the week was a snail traveling in honey"

"Kyle was in my head like a centipede in a rotten apple"

"And I... belonged here as much as a Tibetan Yak in a Tiffany store"

"Listen, boy. Don't want to soil my knuckles with your brain-sauce, so vanish" (yes, because a 31-year-old man would totally say this (sarcasm))

My personal favorite line (to hate) "Kyle Paxton was as unpredictable as a bag full of puppies and fireworks"
How did the author come up with this line? Not only does it make no sense, I find it hard to believe that Juniper a 26-year-old woman who was a Ph.D. candidate would say something like this!

There. Were. Also. Far. Too. Many. Sentences. Like. This. It happened all the time. It was way too much. Once or twice in a book is okay, but this was in almost every chapter.

Now on to the characters. First, we have Juniper. She is the main character and quickly became unlikeable for me. As I mentioned before she is 26. But she behaves like a 12-year-old at times. I almost feel like the author had no idea what personality she wanted to convey. She is constantly referred to as an old soul but she is incredibly immature. She acts like Kyle is childish, I beg to differ. He is just a sociopath. Also, Juniper is supposed to be this clumsy girl always getting hurt, but at one point she competes in a dance contest and does well. Uhm, I don't know that many clumsy people who are graceful at dancing. She also claims to be a feminist. She's all 'no man can control me because I am a strong woman'. She isn't. She literally lets Kyle tell her what to do constantly. He calls her out on it (thankfully).

Next, we have Kyle Paxton. Would a psychopath. I wish I was kidding when I say that within the first 50 or so pages I thought this was going to be one of those thrillers were the guy stalks the girl and then kills any other guy who looks at her and she tries to get away from him. Honestly, this book would have been so much better if that was what happened. Kyle literally calls himself a sociopath. So good, at least he can admit it. He is obsessed with Juniper. He's obsessed with being in control and having Juniper to the point that I could totally see him murdering her. He's creepy, other than that I don't really have a problem with him.

There was also a side character that works with Juniper. She is 22 and speaks like a 15-year-old. She says things like 'on fleek'. Why? I think by the age of 22 most people are starting to behave more like adults. Hell, I'm 19 and I'm more mature than most of these characters combined.

There are a lot of reviews that gave this a high rating. So obviously I am in the minority here, but I really did not enjoy this book. ( )

I have taken a week to gather my thoughts and I stick with my low rating.

I received this for free from NetGalley for a review.

pros: all the art history references (I took AP art history in high school and loved it!), teen drama

cons: unlikeable characters, horrible similes, adults that act like kids

First off, I am not saying this book is bad. A ton of people seem to really enjoy it. However, I really didn't like it. My main problem with this book is the writing. The author made a book about 600 pages when it easily could have been 400. Full disclosure: I love big books. I really like the extra time to get into the minds of characters I like . I really really hated the characters in this book. I'll get to that soon. As for the writing, it was too much for me. There were a ton of consistency issues. Example: there is a certain event that takes place for a while. I'm being vague so as not to spoil anyone. At times it is said that it lasts 5 months, 5.5 months, and 6 months. So I ask, which one is it? I also have some examples of lines (mainly similies) that made me cringe.

"Looking for my bone marrow through my skin, Kyle was saying"

"the week was a snail traveling in honey"

"Kyle was in my head like a centipede in a rotten apple"

"And I... belonged here as much as a Tibetan Yak in a Tiffany store"

"Listen, boy. Don't want to soil my knuckles with your brain-sauce, so vanish" (yes, because a 31-year-old man would totally say this (sarcasm))

My personal favorite line (to hate) "Kyle Paxton was as unpredictable as a bag full of puppies and fireworks"
How did the author come up with this line? Not only does it make no sense, I find it hard to believe that Juniper a 26-year-old woman who was a Ph.D. candidate would say something like this!

There. Were. Also. Far. Too. Many. Sentences. Like. This. It happened all the time. It was way too much. Once or twice in a book is okay, but this was in almost every chapter.

Now on to the characters. First, we have Juniper. She is the main character and quickly became unlikeable for me. As I mentioned before she is 26. But she behaves like a 12-year-old at times. I almost feel like the author had no idea what personality she wanted to convey. She is constantly referred to as an old soul but she is incredibly immature. She acts like Kyle is childish, I beg to differ. He is just a sociopath. Also, Juniper is supposed to be this clumsy girl always getting hurt, but at one point she competes in a dance contest and does well. Uhm, I don't know that many clumsy people who are graceful at dancing. She also claims to be a feminist. She's all 'no man can control me because I am a strong woman'. She isn't. She literally lets Kyle tell her what to do constantly. He calls her out on it (thankfully).

Next, we have Kyle Paxton. Would a psychopath. I wish I was kidding when I say that within the first 50 or so pages I thought this was going to be one of those thrillers were the guy stalks the girl and then kills any other guy who looks at her and she tries to get away from him. Honestly, this book would have been so much better if that was what happened. Kyle literally calls himself a sociopath. So good, at least he can admit it. He is obsessed with Juniper. He's obsessed with being in control and having Juniper to the point that I could totally see him murdering her. He's creepy, other than that I don't really have a problem with him.

There was also a side character that works with Juniper. She is 22 and speaks like a 15-year-old. She says things like 'on fleek'. Why? I think by the age of 22 most people are starting to behave more like adults. Hell, I'm 19 and I'm more mature than most of these characters combined.

There are a lot of reviews that gave this a high rating. So obviously I am in the minority here, but I really did not enjoy this book. ( )