Helpful Score: 2
It's unfortunate that the premise is so appealing, because, for me, INTERTWINED was an overwritten, confusing, and crowded paranormal mess. Showalter has the unfortunate penchant of telling, not showing, and making her characters take agonizingly slow paragraphs to undergo a simple thinking process. Any story that relies heavily on the main characters' romantic appeal must work on showing us readers the attraction and potential, instead of telling us over and over again, "X couldn't resist Y. Z was scared to show her feelings" etc.
As a staunch fan of Showalter's adult Harlequin romances, I was disappointed that she seemed to feel the need to "dumb down" her writing for the young adult crowd. Teenagers can tell the difference between an author who knows the teen voice and an author who typically writes for adults and is just trying to make his or her way into the YA genre.
It goes without saying, then, that I couldn't make myself care for the characters. They were self-absorbed, overbearingly introverted when it came to pondering, and didn't do anything really worth mentioning. In the end it didn't matter, because I was already tired of being narrated to like I have an IQ of 50 by a bunch of unlikable characters. I put the book down.
I have to give Gena and Harlequin TEEN this, though: they certainly have the right idea of what story elements will appeal to today's Twilight audience. Readers looking for equally emotionally tortured paranormal romances will no doubt find their way to this new line. I have not read Showalter's other YA books, but unfortunately I just cannot tolerate stories that insult my intelligence--and nor should I have to. Next time, Gena. Next time, Harlequin TEEN.
As a staunch fan of Showalter's adult Harlequin romances, I was disappointed that she seemed to feel the need to "dumb down" her writing for the young adult crowd. Teenagers can tell the difference between an author who knows the teen voice and an author who typically writes for adults and is just trying to make his or her way into the YA genre.
It goes without saying, then, that I couldn't make myself care for the characters. They were self-absorbed, overbearingly introverted when it came to pondering, and didn't do anything really worth mentioning. In the end it didn't matter, because I was already tired of being narrated to like I have an IQ of 50 by a bunch of unlikable characters. I put the book down.
I have to give Gena and Harlequin TEEN this, though: they certainly have the right idea of what story elements will appeal to today's Twilight audience. Readers looking for equally emotionally tortured paranormal romances will no doubt find their way to this new line. I have not read Showalter's other YA books, but unfortunately I just cannot tolerate stories that insult my intelligence--and nor should I have to. Next time, Gena. Next time, Harlequin TEEN.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
