Burning by Elana K. Arnold
June 11, 2013
1/5 stars
Burning by Elana K. Arnold was a big surprise for me, the disappointing kind. I have to put part of the blame on myself because I assumed Burning was going to be a cute beach contemporary, set on the coast in the summer. What I got was a book set in the middle of the desert, a gypsy whose family almost made me DNF the book, and insta-love that made me cringe. The two main characters have a "love at first sight" moment when they first meet. I should have known that was a sign that this book wasn't for me. Then, we have the whole girl being a gypsy and being inferior to the men in the family and having to submit to an arranged marriage, as well as being the stereotypical house wife from the 1950s. As for the love interest, Ben, I actually liked a bit. His friends, or at least one of them, was a bit too crude to my liking. I just don't appreciate reading sexist dialogues in books, we get enough of that in the real world. The plot, was pretty much lacking. The whole plot is about these "star crossed" lovers that can't find a way to be together. The only reason I kept reading is for the ending, but I should have guessed even the ending would be bad. Yes, the ending was pretty bad. I just did not enjoy this book at all and don't understand the point of it. I would not recommend this book to anyone, even contemporary fans.
Opal is the much awaited sequel to Onyx, which I have read a couple of months ago. The cliffhanger of Onyx made me pine for this book and by the time I finished reading Opal, I have to say that Armentrout is a professional at killer cliffhangers! To make this mini review spoiler free, I am just going to discuss the character and overall direction of the plot. Character wise, I love how Katy seems to have grown up a bit and seems to always want to be one of the people fighting for her family and friends, not the one hiding behind Daemon while he does all the protecting. As for Daemon, he is as infuriating as always but also we get to see a lot more of his gentle and vulnerable side. What didn't make me enjoy this novel fully is the impeding task they had to complete and every reader just knows something wrong is going to happen. I did enjoy his novel, and I can't wait for the fourth book, Origin, to come out. I just need to know what happens and how this whole mess is going to get resolved!
Check out my reviews of:
I picked up Burning, but I haven't read it yet. It's too bad you didn't enjoy it.
ReplyDeletei haven't read Opal yet, but I can't wait to. Great reviews. :)
I have seen a lot of negative reviews for Burning, unfortunately. Insta-love... blah! I still have yet to catch up in the Lux series.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you didn't like Burning - I was fooled by the cover and thought it was a cute beach-read too. So glad Origin is coming out later this month - hope we won't be seeing another big cliffhanger at the end. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Opal! And I'm dying to get my hands on Origin :D I've heard much about Burning though. Great reviews :)
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
I loved Burning! LOL I thought it was deep and well written. But I wasn't expecting a beach read. I didn't feel it was so much as love at first sight as two young teenagers very drawn to something so exotic from anything they had known. The gypsy stuff was interesting but kind of sad since their customs mean she had to be disowned. Opal was so good and I'm just dying to get Origin after the cliff hanger.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I'm totally surprised to see your 1 star review of Burning, because I've only seen really praising reviews, but that totally happens. Too bad it didn't work for you! I still want to check it out and hope I like it more than you did!
ReplyDeleteI need to read Opal soon, but I´m going to wait to read it back to back with Origin.
ReplyDeleteI would have guessed Burning was a summer beach read as well, especially with that cover. I hate when books are marketed the wrong way. I died at the end of Opal, Jennifer Armentrout it definitely a professional at cliffhangers to the point where it's almost cruel. Origin is almost here though!!! Can't wait! Hope you enjoy it =D
ReplyDelete