Scan barcode
A review by ksmarsden
Conspiracy Boy by Cecily White
3.0
Ami is under a lot of pressure right now. Her twin sister is a serial murderer; she's engaged to society's vampire darling, whilst keeping her real relationship hidden; and she may or may not bring about the apocalypse.
I got a free copy from Netgalley and went into this without reading Prophecy Girl, so I confess, I felt like I was missing a lot going into this. I really want to read the first part of this series to find out why Luc and Ami are engaged; what happened with her sister; just general background on all characters.
It does read with the assumption that you have read Prophecy Girl, where all the characters, events and plot devices have been established; and now it cracks on to conclude the story.
Which is a bonus if you have read it, because it means no repetition, and pushing on with the story. But it also means that this cannot be fully enjoyed as a stand-alone book. So, seriously, don't copy me and jump in halfway, go read Prophecy Girl first.
OK, moving on. Overall I enjoyed this, I thought the characters were fun, and you've got plenty of action and some romance, without getting bogged down in it.
Ami is an interesting character, who doesn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth. She says and does what she wants, with no thought of consequence.
The rest of the characters are suitably entertaining, convincingly mixing the stereotypical high school drama, with the impending apocalypse and immortal war.
Plot-wise... I was lost. Which could be attributed to the fact of my own ignorance, as mentioned earlier. But I never felt like I was standing on steady ground, making sense of the world around Ami.
I never got the feeling that I knew who the big bad were. Sure, I enjoyed the Petra thing (immortal assassin); but those that were titled "bad guys" were actually good, and always on Ami's side. Whereas the more ambiguous characters and factions were the real threat all along?
Don't get me wrong, I love playing with the concept of good vs. evil and how bad guys are a matter of perspective; but I don't think White clarified it in a way that made it believable.
Despite the fact that I liked the character, I was also a little disappointed with Ami and the part she has to play in the plot. She is the Chosen One. She is the one who will stop the demons from breaking through. She will be the one to overturn society as they know it. She is the most powerful Guardian of the time, and she has vampire blood in her system.
My point is, apart from the awesome opening scene, when she kicks Petra's arse; Ami isn't a hero. Her friends and allies all lay down their lives, sacrificing everything for her; and her enemies conspire and pop up when necessary.
It felt like there wasn't any real threat or danger, and the plot would have happened with or without Ami. Things just came up, happened, end of story.
So all-in-all, I liked this book, and I will definitely be checking out Prophecy Girl and White's other works.
I got a free copy from Netgalley and went into this without reading Prophecy Girl, so I confess, I felt like I was missing a lot going into this. I really want to read the first part of this series to find out why Luc and Ami are engaged; what happened with her sister; just general background on all characters.
It does read with the assumption that you have read Prophecy Girl, where all the characters, events and plot devices have been established; and now it cracks on to conclude the story.
Which is a bonus if you have read it, because it means no repetition, and pushing on with the story. But it also means that this cannot be fully enjoyed as a stand-alone book. So, seriously, don't copy me and jump in halfway, go read Prophecy Girl first.
OK, moving on. Overall I enjoyed this, I thought the characters were fun, and you've got plenty of action and some romance, without getting bogged down in it.
Ami is an interesting character, who doesn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth. She says and does what she wants, with no thought of consequence.
The rest of the characters are suitably entertaining, convincingly mixing the stereotypical high school drama, with the impending apocalypse and immortal war.
Plot-wise... I was lost. Which could be attributed to the fact of my own ignorance, as mentioned earlier. But I never felt like I was standing on steady ground, making sense of the world around Ami.
I never got the feeling that I knew who the big bad were. Sure, I enjoyed the Petra thing (immortal assassin); but those that were titled "bad guys" were actually good, and always on Ami's side. Whereas the more ambiguous characters and factions were the real threat all along?
Don't get me wrong, I love playing with the concept of good vs. evil and how bad guys are a matter of perspective; but I don't think White clarified it in a way that made it believable.
Despite the fact that I liked the character, I was also a little disappointed with Ami and the part she has to play in the plot. She is the Chosen One. She is the one who will stop the demons from breaking through. She will be the one to overturn society as they know it. She is the most powerful Guardian of the time, and she has vampire blood in her system.
My point is, apart from the awesome opening scene, when she kicks Petra's arse; Ami isn't a hero. Her friends and allies all lay down their lives, sacrificing everything for her; and her enemies conspire and pop up when necessary.
It felt like there wasn't any real threat or danger, and the plot would have happened with or without Ami. Things just came up, happened, end of story.
So all-in-all, I liked this book, and I will definitely be checking out Prophecy Girl and White's other works.