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shhchar's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the The Vow's unique plot. The characters of Annie and Mo were complex, likable and interesting, and I wish there had been more pages to the book. The ending left me confused and disappointed, especially considering that the rest of the book was so great.
The last one hundred pages had me doubting that the book was really about to end. Things weren't wrapping up, so I assumed there would be a big conclusion to tie everything up into a pretty knot. But there wasn't, and the ending seemed like nothing more than an escape route. The book was about Annie and Mo, but the ending felt more about Annie, and while I got her motivations, I felt like the book screwed Mo over.
I preferred the chemistry between Annie and Mo than Annie and Reed, which also was a confusing little triangle of its own. I liked how Lena's story was played out to be realistic and devastating, both to the reader and her parents. Annie's healing process didn't feel secure to me, and I was definitely left unsatisfied with the ending.
The Vow was still very unique and exciting. It managed to be very realistic even though the plot is far-fetched. I probably would have given it five stars if not for the ending, but I still recommend it to realistic-lit fans!
The last one hundred pages had me doubting that the book was really about to end. Things weren't wrapping up, so I assumed there would be a big conclusion to tie everything up into a pretty knot. But there wasn't, and the ending seemed like nothing more than an escape route. The book was about Annie and Mo, but the ending felt more about Annie, and while I got her motivations, I felt like the book screwed Mo over.
Spoiler
Mo feeling suddenly defeated and accepting the move back to Jordan is completely unlike his character motivations for the other half of the book (not even half, more than that.) He wanted his senior year, to be able to lust over Maya, play basketball, etc. But he just goes to Jordan with his tail between his legs after that entire struggle? Annie's character was all over the place, and while I still rooted for her, I just really wanted her to figure her shit out.I preferred the chemistry between Annie and Mo than Annie and Reed, which also was a confusing little triangle of its own. I liked how Lena's story was played out to be realistic and devastating, both to the reader and her parents. Annie's healing process didn't feel secure to me, and I was definitely left unsatisfied with the ending.
The Vow was still very unique and exciting. It managed to be very realistic even though the plot is far-fetched. I probably would have given it five stars if not for the ending, but I still recommend it to realistic-lit fans!
katiemichellereads's review against another edition
5.0
I have this thing with realistic endings - I don't like them. It's awful not to have every loose end tied together, for every character I like not to have a happily ever after.
Still, I love this book. And I love the ending, even if it's not everything I hoped for. Annie and Mo's relationship was amazing, too - how many people have a best friend who's willing to go that far for them?
I read this free in pulseit, but I'm probably going to end up with my own copy eventually. I'll definitely be rereading it.
Still, I love this book. And I love the ending, even if it's not everything I hoped for. Annie and Mo's relationship was amazing, too - how many people have a best friend who's willing to go that far for them?
I read this free in pulseit, but I'm probably going to end up with my own copy eventually. I'll definitely be rereading it.
andreana_k's review against another edition
2.0
So slow I skipped entire chapters to get to some action...which never happened! I thought she was going to fall in love with this guy, when I skipped to the end and they were in the same place they were in chapter one I was like seriously? If that's the pay off I get for my time investment then I'll read something else.
haylstormsx's review against another edition
2.0
I read this because I couldn't get over the idea--this is a teen book about marriage? What kind of message does that send to sixteen year olds?
All in all, I didn't care for the characters and I thought the plot was a bit predictable.
All in all, I didn't care for the characters and I thought the plot was a bit predictable.
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars
I've been excited for this one for a while, like going back months and months. When I read Jessica Martinez's Virtuosity (my review) earlier this year I actually had no idea that she was also the author of that book I was so excited to read. I was so impressed with Virtuosity that I immediately looked up her other books and it surprised me and made me even more excited to see that she was the author of this book I was so excited for.
The Vow and I got off to a rough start, like 10% into it I was kind of scratching my head and wondering what exactly I was reading. I felt like I was thrust into a story with little background, that lots of things were hinted out and never said outright, and the alternating chapters between Annie and Mo's point of views were not working. I'm going to give the book the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe this is due to my reading an advance reading copy? And that the messiness at the beginning has been sorted through? Because after the first 20% or so I really came to like this book.
Annie pretty much perfectly fits into my favorite kind of female protagonist mold. She's had something tragic happen to her (her sister was murdered), her parents are distant yet overprotective, people constantly underestimate her but she possess a quiet inner strength, and she has a hobby and passion (art). I thought her love for her friend Mo and her insistence on marrying him was incredible and I loved that she was able to truly be "just friends" with a guy.
Mo, I liked, I really did, but I couldn't help but wish the book was only told from Annie's perspective. Part of me thinks that we needed Mo's perspective to really understand that he wasn't using Annie and to know him, but I felt like his chapters lacked the action and vitality that Annie's had. After Annie and Mo get married and Mo's family returns to Jordan Mo pretty much never leaves his apartment. Mo is missing his family, and it was interesting reading about that, but Annie is adjusting to live without her parents who disapprove of Mo and their marriage, out in the world trying to work, and trying to get over having to break up with Reed, the guy she was dating prior to marrying Mo and really cared about. Obviously if this had been told from just Annie's perspective it would have been a totally different book and who knows what I would have thought about it, but I feel like without Mo's perspective I could have given this book at least 4 stars, maybe even more.
Because I really loved this concept! I loved it before I read the book, I loved it while I was reading the book, and I loved it after I finished. I especially loved that I had no idea how the book was going to wrap up. The end felt slightly rushed, but I do think overall we got the perfect amount of closure. And I cried, so there's that.
Immigration is obviously a hot button issue and it was interesting to read about how a high schooler, someone who came here legally and has a very bright future, has to deal with getting pushed through this crazy governmental system. I also appreciated that while Jessica Martinez made Mo a Muslim and from the Middle East the book never felt like I was being preached at. I feel like there are some authors who would exploit it and make him a Muslim for the sake of being titillating and I never felt like that once. Even though Mo encounters a significant amount of racism and judgement it was never exploitative and I appreciated the way that he, and Annie, handled it.
Bottom Line: This is another strong story from Jessica Martinez, whose writing I am a big fan of. Even though I had a bit of a difficult time getting into the book and didn't love the dual perspectives, my love of the main female character and the fascinating, thought-provoking story won me over in the end.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
I've been excited for this one for a while, like going back months and months. When I read Jessica Martinez's Virtuosity (my review) earlier this year I actually had no idea that she was also the author of that book I was so excited to read. I was so impressed with Virtuosity that I immediately looked up her other books and it surprised me and made me even more excited to see that she was the author of this book I was so excited for.
The Vow and I got off to a rough start, like 10% into it I was kind of scratching my head and wondering what exactly I was reading. I felt like I was thrust into a story with little background, that lots of things were hinted out and never said outright, and the alternating chapters between Annie and Mo's point of views were not working. I'm going to give the book the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe this is due to my reading an advance reading copy? And that the messiness at the beginning has been sorted through? Because after the first 20% or so I really came to like this book.
Annie pretty much perfectly fits into my favorite kind of female protagonist mold. She's had something tragic happen to her (her sister was murdered), her parents are distant yet overprotective, people constantly underestimate her but she possess a quiet inner strength, and she has a hobby and passion (art). I thought her love for her friend Mo and her insistence on marrying him was incredible and I loved that she was able to truly be "just friends" with a guy.
Mo, I liked, I really did, but I couldn't help but wish the book was only told from Annie's perspective. Part of me thinks that we needed Mo's perspective to really understand that he wasn't using Annie and to know him, but I felt like his chapters lacked the action and vitality that Annie's had. After Annie and Mo get married and Mo's family returns to Jordan Mo pretty much never leaves his apartment. Mo is missing his family, and it was interesting reading about that, but Annie is adjusting to live without her parents who disapprove of Mo and their marriage, out in the world trying to work, and trying to get over having to break up with Reed, the guy she was dating prior to marrying Mo and really cared about. Obviously if this had been told from just Annie's perspective it would have been a totally different book and who knows what I would have thought about it, but I feel like without Mo's perspective I could have given this book at least 4 stars, maybe even more.
Because I really loved this concept! I loved it before I read the book, I loved it while I was reading the book, and I loved it after I finished. I especially loved that I had no idea how the book was going to wrap up. The end felt slightly rushed, but I do think overall we got the perfect amount of closure. And I cried, so there's that.
Immigration is obviously a hot button issue and it was interesting to read about how a high schooler, someone who came here legally and has a very bright future, has to deal with getting pushed through this crazy governmental system. I also appreciated that while Jessica Martinez made Mo a Muslim and from the Middle East the book never felt like I was being preached at. I feel like there are some authors who would exploit it and make him a Muslim for the sake of being titillating and I never felt like that once. Even though Mo encounters a significant amount of racism and judgement it was never exploitative and I appreciated the way that he, and Annie, handled it.
Bottom Line: This is another strong story from Jessica Martinez, whose writing I am a big fan of. Even though I had a bit of a difficult time getting into the book and didn't love the dual perspectives, my love of the main female character and the fascinating, thought-provoking story won me over in the end.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
littlemisscass's review against another edition
1.0
This book is so well written and I actually really enjoyed it, but I just finished reading and I'm crying because as realistic as it ended up, that's not really what I want in a book (unless it's non-fiction).
I couldn't have cared less about Reed and I suppose the ending sort of just sadly echoed my fears (from three quarters into the book) that everything was just going to end badly and everyone was going to be unhappy (because Annie could never truly be happy without Mo, even just as a friend).
I couldn't have cared less about Reed and I suppose the ending sort of just sadly echoed my fears (from three quarters into the book) that everything was just going to end badly and everyone was going to be unhappy (because Annie could never truly be happy without Mo, even just as a friend).
djinnia's review against another edition
3.0
I won this Arc copy through Goodreads First Reads.
Annie has her issues with her parents. Only her best friend, Mo, has worse issues when he has to leave the country.
Annie proposes marriage as a way to keep him here. Only that creates a million more problems through all the lies that they have to tell. Then she meets Reed. And it gets even more complicated when she starts to have feelings for him.
I can understand the motives that prompt her to do this, but like many teens, they never thought through the consequences of their actions.
I didn't like how she went to Reed. It may have not been a real marriage but I didn't like the clandestine feel of all the meetings with him.
This was an okay read. I liked and disliked it. Mostly it was Annie's attitude that turned me off to the book.
Annie has her issues with her parents. Only her best friend, Mo, has worse issues when he has to leave the country.
Annie proposes marriage as a way to keep him here. Only that creates a million more problems through all the lies that they have to tell. Then she meets Reed. And it gets even more complicated when she starts to have feelings for him.
I can understand the motives that prompt her to do this, but like many teens, they never thought through the consequences of their actions.
I didn't like how she went to Reed. It may have not been a real marriage but I didn't like the clandestine feel of all the meetings with him.
This was an okay read. I liked and disliked it. Mostly it was Annie's attitude that turned me off to the book.
cupcakegirly's review against another edition
4.0
Emotional roller coaster and I enjoyed every minute of it!
emjrasmussen's review against another edition
Jessica Martinez's books are all-around wonderful. They never fail to make me adore every aspect of them, and The Vow continues this winning tradition. I loved the characters on their own, from Annie's family problems to Mo's sarcastic attitude regarding the stereotypes he faces. I loved their friendship (How amazing is it that Annie was willing to get married to help Mo?). I loved the new, creative conflict. I loved the way the plot brings up themes of growing up before one is ready. I just loved this book. That is all.
lakshmimkalarikkal's review against another edition
4.0
On reading the synopsis of this book I felt sure that this was going to be the silliest book ever. There's even a Malayalam movie based on this kind of plot (not exactly but meh) and every one knows they never make Malayalam movies based on serious things. (Joking!) But I was pretty desperate to read a book that had a ring on it for the Wedding Day challenge and I thought this would be like Sophie Kinsella's [b:Wedding Night|17910611|Wedding Night|Sophie Kinsella|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396634329s/17910611.jpg|21865617] so I picked this up. I've never been happier to be wrong in my life. I flew through this book. It must be said that Ms. Martinez is truly a remarkable writer. She has this ability to spin true reality into something that's raw, tangible and accessible without ever seeming even remotely preachy. That is great for a fairly issue-driven novel such as The Vow. Annie and Mo were two very different characters. Annie was, at times, needy and driven by selfish motives which, in essence, actually fuels the fire of the plot. Mo was a bit selfish, as well, only thinking of himself, rather than his family as a whole. The writing and the plot so overshadowed the characters but that's fine.