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emldavis001's review against another edition
2.0
To be perfectly honest, if I didn't already own the whole series I probably would have just chucked this book in the giveaway pile. I found this book at a Goodwill and thought I would give it a go, but after I did some more research on it I was a little skeptical. Surprisingly though, I did enjoy this book a lot more than I thought I would. It is definitely a fantasy novel and I've never been a big fan of fantasy, but this book wasn't half bad. I'm looking forward to the next book and I hope it's as good as this one if not better.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
5.0
“There is nothing in this world that I want or need, but you.”
Lucinda "Lucy" Scarborough has just learned a terrible secret about her family--that every female has a daughter at 18 and goes crazy immediately after the child is born. Lucy, her foster parents (Soledad and Leo), and her childhood friend, Zach, band together to try to defeat this curse.
The Debut of the Starrlight Meteor Reviews (Guaranteed to be 21 words and not just "ZOMG, this sucks" or "ZOMG, this is awesome):
Oh. My. God! I love everything about this book. Buy a copy for you, your significant other, your coworker, your mailman!
The Real Review:
I just finished [b:Breaking Dawn|1162543|Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307516367s/1162543.jpg|2960529]. I say this to give you an idea of how I was after finishing this--depressed, disappointed, and disgusted. Did all romances have to be creepy? Did all stories have to be flung together at the last minute out of some half-baked fanfiction idea?
I was actually going to start reading [b:Finnikin of the Rock|4932435|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227961623s/4932435.jpg|4998084] after reading Breaking Dawn, but my bookstore didn't have a copy available. So while I waited for my copy to come in, I thought I'd just read a little bit in this book before switching over.
Well, this book was just plain amazing. Even after I got Finnikin of the Rock, I couldn't break myself away from Impossible to start reading it. As for the last 60 pages? Well, I didn't move until I had gulped the entire book down.
What has made me go insane and adore a book so much? I'm so glad you asked...
Protagonist: It's not required to have a likeable protagonist. One of the greatest examples I have is Gone with the Wind. Scarlett is a despicable character; I wish I could smack her across the face. That said, I absolutely adore the book. It's probably my favorite historical fiction books and would definitely be on my Top 20 list.
But generally, a likeable protagonist does make the story go down better. And this book is full of them. Written in third person omniscient (and OMG, it is probably the best example I've seen of third person omniscient in recent years), we get to see through the eyes of Lucinda and Zach (also Soledad and Padraig, but those I'm putting under secondary characters). Lucy was absolutely amazing, everything I was hoping for in a female protagonist. She was strong, independent, and competent. She had hobbies, she loved her parents, she had friends that she bothered to include in her life, she actually bothers to consider what she is sacrificing by marrying young, she is actually selfless, and she didn't spend 75% of the novel doing any of the following: whining, complaining, moping, letting someone push her around, and surrendering her free will to her boyfriend.
Zach Greenfield. God, where is my Zach Greenfield? Seriously, this is the kind of guy I want to fall in love with (only, please no obsession with Red Sox...I can barely keep my basketball from my football). He doesn't boss Lucy around, he trusts her, he lets her have her own space and her own friends, he sacrifices his wants and needs to look out for her and her baby--I'm going to start writing his name all over my notebooks during meetings.
Secondary Characters: Sure, you could have a good protagonist, but if your secondary characters are unbelievable, then the book is going to be a hard sell. Impossible isn't that book. Soledad and Leo are loving parents, who actually get included into Lucy's family curse (crazy, I know! Goes to show you, you can write a young adult novel without mysteriously absent parents). Both of them have their own hobbies and really do love and support Lucy. Lucy has a great friend in Sarah. She confides in her and even asks her some personal questions. Padraig is wonderfully evil. As I was reading about him, I kept thinking that Jerry B. Jenkins of [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167881648s/27523.jpg|972769] fame really needed to take some lessons in creating his Anti-Christ, Nicolae (if you've read LB, you know what I mean; if you haven't, take my word: don't!) I loved how he manipulated people.
Story: This is the big one; if you don't have a story, you really can't have a book, can you? But here, the story is engaging, interesting, gripping. Lucy learns about her history slowly, and then gradually, time runs out. No Monster Mutant Babies here (and, you know, I almost could have bought one here). Even the passage of time is logical for more than to have the final showdown at a particularly nail-biting event. I hate stories that can get things done in a week.
Romance: Yes, I am really putting romance here, because this romance was well done! Zach and Lucy work great together: partly because of their personalities and partly because they were friends before they fell in love. So: No insta-love (yay!) and no Romantic Triangles (WOOOHOOO!). They have a few intimate scenes together, but it is nothing graphic. And yet, somehow it is SO steamy!
Writing: I like good writing. I'm not talking about fancy, schmancy, elaborately written, snobby literature piece; I like a book that is written well. No weird words that feel torn from a thesaurus, no repetitive writing, no glaring spelling and grammar errors. Werlin does better than this and writes a story that most definitely feels like a modern day faerie tale (in fact, the conclusion does feel a bit like the end duel between Gaston and the Beast in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"). It was enjoyable to read, funny in the right spots, serious in others, and exciting at the very end.
I had so much fun reading this book, and I want to share that experience with you. If you love fantasy, faerie tales and romance, pull out your ebook reader, head to your library, or drive down to your bookstore and pick this book up. Just make sure to set aside some uninterrupted time to finish this.
Lucinda "Lucy" Scarborough has just learned a terrible secret about her family--that every female has a daughter at 18 and goes crazy immediately after the child is born. Lucy, her foster parents (Soledad and Leo), and her childhood friend, Zach, band together to try to defeat this curse.
The Debut of the Starrlight Meteor Reviews (Guaranteed to be 21 words and not just "ZOMG, this sucks" or "ZOMG, this is awesome):
Oh. My. God! I love everything about this book. Buy a copy for you, your significant other, your coworker, your mailman!
The Real Review:
I just finished [b:Breaking Dawn|1162543|Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307516367s/1162543.jpg|2960529]. I say this to give you an idea of how I was after finishing this--depressed, disappointed, and disgusted. Did all romances have to be creepy? Did all stories have to be flung together at the last minute out of some half-baked fanfiction idea?
I was actually going to start reading [b:Finnikin of the Rock|4932435|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227961623s/4932435.jpg|4998084] after reading Breaking Dawn, but my bookstore didn't have a copy available. So while I waited for my copy to come in, I thought I'd just read a little bit in this book before switching over.
Well, this book was just plain amazing. Even after I got Finnikin of the Rock, I couldn't break myself away from Impossible to start reading it. As for the last 60 pages? Well, I didn't move until I had gulped the entire book down.
What has made me go insane and adore a book so much? I'm so glad you asked...
Protagonist: It's not required to have a likeable protagonist. One of the greatest examples I have is Gone with the Wind. Scarlett is a despicable character; I wish I could smack her across the face. That said, I absolutely adore the book. It's probably my favorite historical fiction books and would definitely be on my Top 20 list.
But generally, a likeable protagonist does make the story go down better. And this book is full of them. Written in third person omniscient (and OMG, it is probably the best example I've seen of third person omniscient in recent years), we get to see through the eyes of Lucinda and Zach (also Soledad and Padraig, but those I'm putting under secondary characters). Lucy was absolutely amazing, everything I was hoping for in a female protagonist. She was strong, independent, and competent. She had hobbies, she loved her parents, she had friends that she bothered to include in her life, she actually bothers to consider what she is sacrificing by marrying young, she is actually selfless, and she didn't spend 75% of the novel doing any of the following: whining, complaining, moping, letting someone push her around, and surrendering her free will to her boyfriend.
Zach Greenfield. God, where is my Zach Greenfield? Seriously, this is the kind of guy I want to fall in love with (only, please no obsession with Red Sox...I can barely keep my basketball from my football). He doesn't boss Lucy around, he trusts her, he lets her have her own space and her own friends, he sacrifices his wants and needs to look out for her and her baby--I'm going to start writing his name all over my notebooks during meetings.
Secondary Characters: Sure, you could have a good protagonist, but if your secondary characters are unbelievable, then the book is going to be a hard sell. Impossible isn't that book. Soledad and Leo are loving parents, who actually get included into Lucy's family curse (crazy, I know! Goes to show you, you can write a young adult novel without mysteriously absent parents). Both of them have their own hobbies and really do love and support Lucy. Lucy has a great friend in Sarah. She confides in her and even asks her some personal questions. Padraig is wonderfully evil. As I was reading about him, I kept thinking that Jerry B. Jenkins of [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167881648s/27523.jpg|972769] fame really needed to take some lessons in creating his Anti-Christ, Nicolae (if you've read LB, you know what I mean; if you haven't, take my word: don't!) I loved how he manipulated people
Spoiler
; he truly felt like an evil faerie of oldStory: This is the big one; if you don't have a story, you really can't have a book, can you? But here, the story is engaging, interesting, gripping. Lucy learns about her history slowly, and then gradually, time runs out. No Monster Mutant Babies here (and, you know, I almost could have bought one here). Even the passage of time is logical for more than to have the final showdown at a particularly nail-biting event. I hate stories that can get things done in a week.
Romance: Yes, I am really putting romance here, because this romance was well done! Zach and Lucy work great together: partly because of their personalities and partly because they were friends before they fell in love. So: No insta-love (yay!) and no Romantic Triangles (WOOOHOOO!). They have a few intimate scenes together, but it is nothing graphic. And yet, somehow it is SO steamy!
Writing: I like good writing. I'm not talking about fancy, schmancy, elaborately written, snobby literature piece; I like a book that is written well. No weird words that feel torn from a thesaurus, no repetitive writing, no glaring spelling and grammar errors. Werlin does better than this and writes a story that most definitely feels like a modern day faerie tale (in fact, the conclusion does feel a bit like the end duel between Gaston and the Beast in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"). It was enjoyable to read, funny in the right spots, serious in others, and exciting at the very end.
I had so much fun reading this book, and I want to share that experience with you. If you love fantasy, faerie tales and romance, pull out your ebook reader, head to your library, or drive down to your bookstore and pick this book up. Just make sure to set aside some uninterrupted time to finish this.
lovelyloro's review against another edition
3.0
A couple of people have asked for my review of this book, so here it is. Utterly fascinating and original idea for a story. The author basically decided to take the song Scarborough Fair and write the back story. I was sold on that alone. She does a really decent job telling the story. I was kind of hoping that the "tasks" that needed to be completed would have been a little more creative and not so literal. I was hoping for a really good riddle to be solved. The ending left me wanting... I'm not going to lie. I felt it was anticlimactic. The antagonist; an unbelievably vindictive, manipulating, and altogether horrific man, basically shrugs and throws his arms in the air at the end of the story. I thought there is NO WAY this guy is going down without a fight. I was disappointed, and frankly it felt out of character, that he did. That aside it was still an interesting read. Tragically, it just had potential to be so much better.
ohhedgehogs's review against another edition
1.0
This book was horrible when I tried to read it in book format, This book is HORRIBLE STILL when I tried to listen to audio book. I WANT to like it, the concept is good... but... ugh
emrodav's review against another edition
2.0
This book was okay, but I definitely felt it could have been better. I was mostly disappointed with the author's style and the way the fantasy elements were handled.
Werlin's writing sounds childish at times. The sentences are halting and unvaried, and are therefore strange to read. When the author tried to put in elements to make the narrative sound more sophisticated, instead it just sounded stupid. One example is the name of the main character (Lucy)'s foster mother, Soledad. It just didn't sound right. And for nearly 20 pages the character Padraig Seeley is referred to by his full name over and over. It's very annoying.
As for the fantasy elements, they were too few and far between for me. Okay, there is a curse and it's brought on by a fairy prince/elfin knight but then the characters accept this as fact without exploring it. Who finds out that there are fairies/elves and just moves on? The fantasy elements felt arbitrary, like Werlin wanted to tell this story but didn't want it to be a fantasy but it simply doesn't work.
So for me, Impossible gets two stars for the premise and the few times when I enjoyed the narrative. I definitely wasn't able to overlook the strange style choices and the poor integration of fantasy.
Werlin's writing sounds childish at times. The sentences are halting and unvaried, and are therefore strange to read. When the author tried to put in elements to make the narrative sound more sophisticated, instead it just sounded stupid. One example is the name of the main character (Lucy)'s foster mother, Soledad. It just didn't sound right. And for nearly 20 pages the character Padraig Seeley is referred to by his full name over and over. It's very annoying.
As for the fantasy elements, they were too few and far between for me. Okay, there is a curse and it's brought on by a fairy prince/elfin knight but then the characters accept this as fact without exploring it. Who finds out that there are fairies/elves and just moves on? The fantasy elements felt arbitrary, like Werlin wanted to tell this story but didn't want it to be a fantasy but it simply doesn't work.
So for me, Impossible gets two stars for the premise and the few times when I enjoyed the narrative. I definitely wasn't able to overlook the strange style choices and the poor integration of fantasy.
goodem9199's review against another edition
3.0
Purdy good...I just wish she wouldn't have called him an "elfin knight." Too goofy.
abaugher's review
4.0
this was such an interesting story! it had a fairy tale family curse, and a fairy tale ending, but the road it traveled was pretty neat. the narrator had a nice voice, except for when she let her words drop off to almost unintelligible murmurs. maybe she was looking away from the micropone, but that excuse doesn't help.
caseyflemingo's review against another edition
3.0
My feelings on this book are complicated. When I first read it, when I was a teenager, it was one of my favorite books, and I thought about it for years afterwards, and even reread it a few times. Reading it now as an adult, I’m not quite as fond of it, so I’m thinking this is maybe a great read for younger, newer readers. Even though I didn’t enjoy it as much this time, there are parts of this book that are breathtaking and extremely emotional to me. I still adore the creative premise of this book, and I know it will continue to stick with me.
littlemrsrankins's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0