Sunday, January 5, 2014

Review: The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver


The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver
Book One of the Heirs of Chroir trilogy
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Rating: 1 star
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.

What I Liked:

I strongly disliked this book. The only thing I liked about this book was the writing style. Kluver has a GORGEOUS writing style. The descriptions were lyrical, the musings poetic. I loved certain lines in this book, certain lines that I forgot to bookmark, oops. And it's not like I'm going to re-read this book to find them. Oh well.

What I Did Not Like:

So, so many things. I had so many problems with this book. The length, the boredom-induced story, the story/plot, the characters, the fail of a romance, the lack of interest (is that boredom?)... bleh.

I'll start with the length of this novel. WOW, this book was long. Usually, length does not bother me. I have no problem reading books that are hundreds and hundreds of pages long. 300, 400, 500, even 600 pages, I can handle. But this book didn't need HALF the content it had. Remember how I said that I loved the writing style? Well, it was gorgeous, but it totally lent itself to the length of the book, and not in a good way. It is not necessary to comment about EVERY LITTLE DETAIL. I promise, it's not. We don't need to know about every single tiny specific detail of anything.

This leads to my next dislike: I was SOOOO bored, while reading this book. I have never come as close to NOT finishing as I did with this book. You all know how I'm not in the habit of "DNF"-ing books? I was so close, you all, SO CLOSE. This is THAT BAD. It's so boring. The writing style is gorgeous, but after a while, it gets repetitive and tedious and boring. This book is written in first-person, and let me tell you, the protagonist Anya's voice is terribly boring. It's so bad, trying to read things from her point-of-view. I seriously wanted to fall asleep on more than a thousand occasions, while attempting to read this book. 

The story is so, so boring. Basically, Anya decides that it is her responsibility to go find Zabriel, the heir to the faerie throne. Funny, because she is the one who will inherit the throne, if Zabriel does not come back. Which he won't, apparently. To begin with, the entire point of this book is STUPID. Anya was NOT supposed to go find Zabriel - that was her cousin Illumina's job. Then, Anya goes out in the world, and she loses her faerie wings. BIG MISTAKE, IDIOT. You should have known better from THAT POINT. That's like, 10% of the book. The other 90% is Anya and a human she meets, Shea, traipsing around the human world, getting themselves into crazy, stupid situations. Really, people with half - no, a quarter - of a brain could have avoided most of those situations.

Which brings me to my fourth point. The characters are STUPID. Like, real dumba****. I don't like a single one of them, save Zabriel, because he had the sense to get out of the faerie realm, and he still has his wings, and he doesn't want to go back. The only stupid thing he did was trust Anya.

Ugh, Anya, What a stupid, stupid faerie. A dumb, brainless girl. She thinks she is invincible, really. Oh, I'm a faerie, therefore I can just march into the human world and DO WHATEVER I WANT. No. Just, NO. Then, after she loses her wings, she mopes around for the entire book. THE ENTIRE BOOK. Like, yes, mourn for the wings. But seriously, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and STOP WHINING.

Yes, Anya is a whiner. And a complainer. I don't know how people can see her as "strong" and "brave" and a "fighter". I hate those words in YA literature sometimes - very rarely is the heroine ever worthy of being called "strong", "brave", or "a fighter". 

Don't even get me started on Shea. I hate her so much. NOT even because of what she did at the end of the story. Good for her on that one. No, I hated her because Kluver totally constructed her character badly. Like, she's supposed to be defiant and outspoken, but to me, it comes off as forced and fake. When she is outspoken, it seems forced in the situation. Shea is so fake, as a character.

Honestly, all of the characters seem either flat or fake or both. Except Zabriel, maybe.

Ha! On to my fifth point. The romance is a FAIL. Like, I can appreciate the fact that there is hardly any mention of romance in this book. You know how I like it when the romance in YA books don't dominate the plot? When the romance is secondary? When the whole world isn't depending on the romance? Well, that is how the romance is, in this book. But then, it's not. Anya is bonded (or whatever) with Davic, but since she is no longer a faerie, she can't enter the faerie world, and she can no longer feel the bond between her and Davic. And guess what happens when Anya is in the human world?!

Yup, you guessed it. There is a love triangle coming in this series. Maybe not quite in this book, but it will manifest in the second book. Anya strings along Davic, and she has a human. So, realistically, the romance CAN overtake the overall plot of this series. Because humans and faeries don't mix - the only one known is Zabriel. So, it would be a big deal if Anya picked the human, even if Anya herself isn't technically a faerie anymore. This is stupid. 

My last point... lack of interest. Guys, I was so excited to read this book. A fantasy novel, by the legendary Cayla Kluver. What could possibly go wrong?! 512 pages? No problem! Well, apparently, there WAS a problem. Or many problems. My favorite genre is fantasy, especially high fantasy (like this one), and I was super disappointed. The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't care less what was happening. Kluver, Anya, and this story could not hold my interest.

Wait, I have one more point: I'm so confused about some things. It takes a good amount of craziness to confuse me... I don't get confused easily. But I could not keep track of the random places in this book, or the weird customs, or the unnecessary flashbacks. The flashbacks were so stupid, because it wasn't like there was a pattern to them, in the structure of the book. And honestly, after one or two, I just started skipping them. No point in reading something that doesn't help me.

Then again, I should have used that logic with this book, and stopped reading after like, 3%. Too bad I can't NOT finish books. I force myself to read and finish them. I really, REALLY had to force myself with this one. Argh.

Bottom line: this book was a waste of my very precious time. It's not easy, reviewing and blogging while in college (especially the college I'm attending). So, I'm mad that I wasted my time. It's no one's fault but mine for choosing to read this book... well, the author did write the book. Ugh. C'est la vie.

Would I Recommend It:

No, not at all. Not even to old fans of Kluver who liked her Legacy series. This book was just BAD. I mean, I feel like I'm in the minority, but seriously, there are so many others books that I am DYING to read... and I forced myself to struggle through this one. Save yourself the trouble, and read something you really want to read. 

Rating:

1 star. UGH. I hate feeling like I've wasted my time, but unfortunately, that's how I feel about this book. What a way to start the year! Although, this is my third review of 2014.


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

16 comments:

  1. I actually didn't find this really ranty. It was super professional, given your frustrated state. Ranty, to me is fragmented and...unprofessional. Kind of what I do on my blog, LOL.

    This character is an idiot and you've got the list to prove it. Hehe. To be honest, I will probably be reading this just to find the points you were talking about. (What can I say? I live for the bad books.)

    This was an excellent review that touched on every subject... at it's worst :P Great review, Alyssa! <333

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooo, thank you, Nova! That's good that it came off as professional and not like, rude or something.

      And I understand what you're saying! If you read it, hopefully you enjoy this one more than I did.

      Thank you so much! I'm glad you think so :)

      Delete
  2. Awesome review. I liked Legacy and then thought the series went way downhill from there (the third was awful) but I read the synopsis of this one and almost got sucked in to giving it a shot.

    I'm avoiding this book now. It sounds like a lot of the issues I had with Sacrifice with stupid, fake, whiny characters. The love triangle sounds pretty awful too.

    Thanks so much for the review!

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, I didn't know the third one ended badly! I was contemplating reading the Legacy series, BEFORE I read this book. Now... not so much.

      I'm sorry that you think this one will be like Sacrifice! But now I know to avoid the Legacy series.

      My pleasure! Thank YOU for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. I've not heard of this book or read any of the author's other books...I'll be skipping this one though. Sad that it didn't hit you well:-( I typically DNF if it is too frustrating but I commend you for sticking to the end. Hopefully your next read is better for you. Thank you for the honest review

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hit a wall with this one, it seems! I didn't want to DNF, but I came oh-so close. I hope so too, Kristen - thank YOU!

      Delete
  4. I skipped this one in NetGalley and now I'm ever glad that I did!
    I like Fantasy books but sometimes I just cannot get through them, and as for books about the Fae, even less!
    Big kudos to you for sticking with it even though you really didn't like it at all! Too many book, too little time to spend it on a book you'll hate in the end!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES, BE GLAD YOU DID. Fantasy is my favorite, but fae books generally aren't great for me. I thought this one would be different... I was wrong.

      Thank you, Pili!

      Delete
  5. I skipped this one on Netgalley, and boy am I glad I did that! With reading your review I feel like I read the book, lol! And that's enough for me too see that I would probably feel the same about it. I hate ranty characters and I hate when I'm feeling bored when reading. Reading is supposed to be fun, not boring! I hope your next read is better and thanks for the honest review Alyssa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Be happy that you did, Anatea. It was just bad. And oops? I hope you didn't think it was spoilery? But I'm glad I could help you. Hopefully, my next few reads are fun!

      Thank YOU, Anatea! :)

      Delete
  6. Great review Alyssa it is a very professional review and I love every word you said hun I am so sorry this book was such a disappointed for you and you wasted your time on it and you are truly strong to keep reading it I probably would of DNF it as soon as possible I also never heard of this book before and now I am going to skip this one for sure thanks for your honest and great review Alyssa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooo, that is music to my ears, Katiria! I love it when people tell me my reviews are professional. *high fives*

      Next time, I might try the "DNF" route. I'm glad I stuck it out, because then I can't say that it might have gotten better. I wouldn't know if I hadn't finished, you know? But I did finish, and it didn't get better D:

      My pleasure - and thank you!

      Delete
  7. That cover turns me off, but either way I highly doubt I'll be checking out this book sometime soon. Gorgeous writing does not make up for a bland, boring story. I also hate books that tells you EVERY. SINGLE. LITTLE. DETAIL. Who cares what color his shoes are? All I want to know is his hair color, eye color, maybe some clothing and that's it.
    And I bet you're right, a love triangle is totally coming. I can sense it off the horizons even though I haven't read this book yet (or maybe never).
    Great review Alyssa and you were definitely professional in your review. ;D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooo, wow, you don't like the cover? I like it ish. But the rest of the book was just BLAH. I would not recommend you read or even look at this one, Kelly. Hope you read something great!

      And THANK YOU! I'm glad it was professional and not outright rude or anything. *phew*

      Delete
  8. Yeah...I think I will pass. I hate to DNF a book. It rarely happens, and when it does it makes me feel awful. If you are the same way and you almost DNF'd this one, I think I should just stay away. And the cover isn't great either. I wish it was, because that would at least be a point in its favor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never "DNF", and I hope I never do - because you're right, I'm sure it does make a person feel terrible. I like the cover, but it's not like OHMYGOSHSOAMAZING. Hope you read something fantastic instead, Jaime!

      Delete

I love comments! I will always try and reply to your comments, as well as leave some comment love on your blog! :)

Also, this an award and tag free blog. While I am flattered that you would think of me, I really do not have the time to follow up. Thank you!