Afterwords

To read the more organized version of this review, go to my blog: Drugs Called BooksI remember when I first got this book, I did so because I found the names of the chapters really awesome; Phobophobia, Mnomophobia... Truly, I found it extremely awesome. I remember I liked the start. Then I remember I got disappointed like hell, and I can't remember what I read. That means something, because I have extraordinary memory when it comes to plots... Anyway, I decided I'll give it a re-read - just so I could pinpoint what I disliked about it so much. I'll edit this review once I finish the re-read.Date started re-read: June 29th, 2012.Date finished re-read: July 4th, 2012.I will begin by saying I'm not a hater of this genre. It's one of my favorites.So, now, after re-reading this again, I can give it a proper review. I found out several things. I don't hate this book. It was disappointing. It was merely okay. The characters sometimes annoyed me, and I found the ending completely wrong. There isn't one big thing that put me off this series and book; it's written well, it made me laugh and I liked the chapters' names. It had a really good and promising start (which is probably why I felt so cheated the first time I read it. I was thinking it's going to be something I really like, and boy was I up for a disappointment). I read the first 100 pages or so in a day. From that point on, however, it became harder for me to read. I don't know why. I think it might be because I'm not too happy about the approach taken here for the supernatural in the way the characters behave. Or because I find the characters not entirely believable and a whole lot annoying at times. Or because the plot and the thinking process of the characters began to get on my nerves… Hmmm…Let's get even more specific, shall we? First – Devyn and Issie suggest Pixies right after they see the pointing man. What's up with that? I mean, I get it – you're supernatural yourself, you got hurt by an arrow and you think something might be up. But how do you jump from that point to pixies, especially considering Nick tells Zara that before that week, they didn't know pixies exist? (And for someone who claims that, Nick sure knows a heck lot about the pixies, from what he says the rest of the book. What's up with that?) Why is that their first guess, and why do everyone just accept and believe it (I mean, Zara doesn't really try to fight that hypothesis much, does she? She accepts it in a way right from the start. Neither does Nick or Issie…) If we're already talking about pixies, why is their glittering golden dust so weird and special in the eyes of this book's characters? I mean, Devyn asks Zara if she "can explain the dust" when she rejects the idea of pixies a bit, and she says she can't. What is there to explain? Why do they find the dust so weird that it's a proof of the existence of these things? It's freaking dust! Did I miss the part they say it flows up in the air, starts creating shapes then begins to speak or what? It's glitter! Why do they put so much emphasis on it, especially considering it's not like they saw the dust near Devyn's attack, or something. Just by Zara's car, and suddenly – it's a cutting proof the unknown exists. It annoyed me to no end.One of the things I hated most was Zara's startling and fast recovery. She came there a broken hearted girl from her father's death. She spends there a week—and she was better. So much better, in fact, that all she wants to do is make-out with Nick. WTF girl?Talking of that—their relationship (or whatever the hell that was) annoyed me and seemed kind of ridiculous. I love romance, and they were sort of cute… BUT. They don't know each other... like, at all. They've known each other a week or two, in which half the time she didn't see or speak with Nick. Most of what they really known about each other can be said in one sentence or two. Ex:Nick – a hot werewolf who is very fast and has some sort of Knight in Shining Armor (or MINI) complex.Zara – a pretty girl who just lost her father, is haunted by pixies and has a saving-the-world complex. She can run pretty well and hates the cold.And from that – they get to "really like you", kissing and cuddling and basically reaching the annoying kind of love in which suddenly the presence of the other makes everything okay and all you can think about is the other—"yeah, crazy creatures are haunting me and planning to take my humanity. But Kissing Nick is so much more important so I'm going to fantasize about that. Who cares about my humanity, anyway?" -.-" I don’t like that.Also, the heroes are sooo stupid! They never seem to ask the right questions, or any questions. They just sort of accept what they find and wait for something else or an explanation to come by, without any effort from their side. I mean – c'mon! They find a note, written by Zara's dad to her grandma, which talks about pixies, someone's sacrifice, a "we" and running away and you don't ask what's the story behind that? Who's it about? Only take notice to the fact it says the pixie can come out at day? Seriously? I also hated the scene in which the king imitates Zara's dad, and then she opens the lock and tells him "why don't you open the door, then?" and "go ahead!". She is so proud of herself over that, but pixies can walk into places they've been invited to. I count "go ahead" as an invitation. I think what she did was stupid, and the fact it "succeeded" even stupider. Oh, and let's not talk about the fact none of the Weres realized Ian and Megan were pixies! Throughout the entire story they smell the pixies, but they didn't realize this about Megan and Ian? Are you kidding?!Oh, and talk about sentences that contradict everything that happened so far; "I've been denying everything. That there were pixies… that there was something supernatural going on… how hollow I've been… who my father is" (Zara to Betty in the hospital). None of those is true. She accepted the pixies and supernatural pretty much from the start. Sure, she pretended to look for more "logical" ideas, but even for me that felt pathetic. She's been the one claiming she's hollow from the start – sticking the "Hollow" thing to everyone's mouth, as well. Don't see and denying there. And who her father is? She didn't know. She couldn't have known. She could've asked questions, but the idea didn't even seem to cross her mind. When it does, she gets knock up and the first thing she does when she wakes up is accept she's the King's daughter. Five seconds of denying doesn't count in my book. The entire sentence completely contradicts everything that's going on, which was… annoying. I wanted to see much more of Issie and Devyn that Nick. I liked them a whole lot; though Nick had his sweet moments (which were ruined by his macho jerk moments).I hated Zara's behavior toward her mother. It was just horrible. (not taking about her rescuing her mother, but the rest of the time).And finally, silly ending. What a stupid solution to the problem, seriously… Barely believable. First – how fast and strong are they that they freaking managed to circle the entire mention before anyone noticing something was up? Or is the right question on this manner how dumb the pixies are? And what happened to the king's flying ability? Can't he fly over the ties and wire? How 'bout jumping over the ties? They can't be that high… Or will it still burn? If it does, it isn't explained in the story… Oh, and got to love how the enemies just freaking listen to Zara's orders. SO believable, right?...In conclusion, despite being the kind of person that usually has to finish a series once I started it, this is as far as I'll go with this one.The first book was enough for me, thank you. I am not criticizing anyone who likes this book – this is a matter of opinion and nothing else. You're entitled to your own and I have absolutely no problem with it – people have different taste.