Image and blurb from Goodreads
Title: Proof of Lies
(Anastasia Phoenix #1)
(Anastasia Phoenix #1)
Author: Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Release Date: March 7th, 2017
Age Category/ Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Some secrets are best kept hidden…
Anastasia Phoenix has always been the odd girl out, whether moving from city to international city with her scientist parents or being the black belt who speaks four languages.
And most definitely as the orphan whose sister is missing, presumed dead.
She’s the only one who believes Keira is still alive, and when new evidence surfaces, Anastasia sets out to follow the trail—and lands in the middle of a massive conspiracy. Now she isn’t sure who she can trust. At her side is Marcus, the bad boy with a sexy accent who’s as secretive as she is. He may have followed her to Rome to help, but something about him seems too good to be true.
Nothing is as it appears, and when everything she’s ever known is revealed to be a lie, Anastasia has to believe in one impossibility.
She will find her sister.
2.5 “Spies, Murder and Mysteries” Stars
ARC via NetGalley.
Thank you, Entangled Teen.
Well, this didn't go as I was expecting.
Sure, a mystery book is supposed to NOT go as the reader expects and all, but it's also supposed to keep the reader entertained and wanting to read more from start to finish, right? That was my main problem with this book: it just didn't hook me.
I started Proof of Lies weeks ago and I kept putting it aside and getting distracted with other books, because I simply couldn't connect with the story enough. I'm not saying the story isn't good--I'm just saying it didn't win me over.
The main character is Anastacia, a teenager tired of moving around because of her scientist parents. She's finally convinced they'll stay in the States for good when her parents announce they need to move again because of another mysterious job. Of course she doesn't take it well, and I sympathize with her drama, but Anastacia soon regrets her outburst because her parents end up dying in a car accident before she can apologize for saying she hated them. Ouch. Poor girl.
Fast foward, Anastacia and her older sister are kind of miserable, but trying to adapt. Until her sister is presumed dead. The morning after a party where Anastacia meets her sister's boyfriend, a guy she dislikes instantly, Anastacia walks into her sister's bedroom to find nothing but a lot of blood. Despite Anastacia's protests, the police are quick to rule it as a homicide.
Depression hits hard and Anastacia basically stops living for a while. She doesn't get out of bed for weeks (months, if I'm not mistaken) and she's pretty much done with this stupid life that keeps killing everyone she loves.
While I get that plot choice, I have to say it distanced me from the story. I don't want to come across as heartless, but having Anastacia spend that much time just doing nothing but lying in bed didn't really help keep me interested in the story and what was coming next.
I understand her pain and desperation after losing her entire family, but I wanted her to come back to life and fight for her sister and her own survival earlier. She eventually does that and things move faster from then on, but at that point I was already struggling with the story.
Another thing I struggled with was Anastacia's relationship with the love interest, Marcus. He's a Spanish guy whose parents are also involved in the same corporation Anastacia's parents used to work for, and he becomes Anastacia's sidekick as they start following clues in their search for her missing sister. I liked him and what he brought to the story. I just didn't really like them together. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the connection. And if I'm not shipping the main couple at some level, then I'm definitely struggling with the book. I'm sorry, but that's how my romance-obsessed mind works.
Sure, a mystery book is supposed to NOT go as the reader expects and all, but it's also supposed to keep the reader entertained and wanting to read more from start to finish, right? That was my main problem with this book: it just didn't hook me.
I started Proof of Lies weeks ago and I kept putting it aside and getting distracted with other books, because I simply couldn't connect with the story enough. I'm not saying the story isn't good--I'm just saying it didn't win me over.
The main character is Anastacia, a teenager tired of moving around because of her scientist parents. She's finally convinced they'll stay in the States for good when her parents announce they need to move again because of another mysterious job. Of course she doesn't take it well, and I sympathize with her drama, but Anastacia soon regrets her outburst because her parents end up dying in a car accident before she can apologize for saying she hated them. Ouch. Poor girl.
Fast foward, Anastacia and her older sister are kind of miserable, but trying to adapt. Until her sister is presumed dead. The morning after a party where Anastacia meets her sister's boyfriend, a guy she dislikes instantly, Anastacia walks into her sister's bedroom to find nothing but a lot of blood. Despite Anastacia's protests, the police are quick to rule it as a homicide.
Depression hits hard and Anastacia basically stops living for a while. She doesn't get out of bed for weeks (months, if I'm not mistaken) and she's pretty much done with this stupid life that keeps killing everyone she loves.
While I get that plot choice, I have to say it distanced me from the story. I don't want to come across as heartless, but having Anastacia spend that much time just doing nothing but lying in bed didn't really help keep me interested in the story and what was coming next.
I understand her pain and desperation after losing her entire family, but I wanted her to come back to life and fight for her sister and her own survival earlier. She eventually does that and things move faster from then on, but at that point I was already struggling with the story.
Another thing I struggled with was Anastacia's relationship with the love interest, Marcus. He's a Spanish guy whose parents are also involved in the same corporation Anastacia's parents used to work for, and he becomes Anastacia's sidekick as they start following clues in their search for her missing sister. I liked him and what he brought to the story. I just didn't really like them together. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the connection. And if I'm not shipping the main couple at some level, then I'm definitely struggling with the book. I'm sorry, but that's how my romance-obsessed mind works.
On the plus side, I liked the spy-world the author created, and I also liked the writing. It was simple, but good. If the story had progressed faster and the romance had been written in a more intense way, I would've probably loved it. Unfortunately, it took me too long to get into the story.
*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment