Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken
Ruin by Rachel Van DykenMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
AH, Not sure whether to love or hate this book. *TOSSES STRESS BALL BACK AND FORTH IN HAND*
Let me just say that I cried like a little bitch. No exaggeration either I mean I literally was crying every other page in my ebook from page 100-197...I was a hot mess.
I loved the character of Weston in this book. He was well developed and all of that good stuff, but I didn't connect with Kiersten. I flipped through several chapters of her and just looked for his name because I honestly didn't care what her buddies said or any of the text unless he was involved. The parts without him were just boring to me. If the entire book would've been narrated from his POV only, I would've given this 5 beautiful stars. But it wasn't and at times Kiersten couldn't pull her weight to keep me going. Her character literally almost made me stop this book midway through. She wasn't interesting. I get that she's broken and shattered and on every depressant known to man.
And I'm sorry, but I kept saying over and over: don't take him, take her. Just because his character was so strong and she was so weak. Gosh, it was ridiculous how needy she was. There he is dealing with cancer, meanwhile (even though she didn't know she was doing it) she was selfishly bitching about her own problems. I just wanted to slap her. I would've known something was up with his health way before she did. Her character was so ignorant. *FACE PALM*
Now at one point I saw this book going one of two ways: 1) She dies in a car wreck or something....(Because I read the prologue...) And then of course 2) Weston dies and she marries Gabe. <---i data-blogger-escaped-all="" data-blogger-escaped-and="" data-blogger-escaped-been="" data-blogger-escaped-beloved="" data-blogger-escaped-book="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-but="" data-blogger-escaped-character="" data-blogger-escaped-characters="" data-blogger-escaped-course="" data-blogger-escaped-d="" data-blogger-escaped-even="" data-blogger-escaped-for="" data-blogger-escaped-forever.="" data-blogger-escaped-gabe="" data-blogger-escaped-go="" data-blogger-escaped-gone="" data-blogger-escaped-had="" data-blogger-escaped-happened="" data-blogger-escaped-heaven="" data-blogger-escaped-i="" data-blogger-escaped-idea="" data-blogger-escaped-if="" data-blogger-escaped-in="" data-blogger-escaped-it.="" data-blogger-escaped-liked="" data-blogger-escaped-mentally="" data-blogger-escaped-mr.="" data-blogger-escaped-myself="" data-blogger-escaped-neither="" data-blogger-escaped-of="" data-blogger-escaped-okay="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-out="" data-blogger-escaped-playing="" data-blogger-escaped-prepared="" data-blogger-escaped-really="" data-blogger-escaped-role="" data-blogger-escaped-s="" data-blogger-escaped-saw="" data-blogger-escaped-so...="" data-blogger-escaped-taking="" data-blogger-escaped-that="" data-blogger-escaped-the="" data-blogger-escaped-this.="" data-blogger-escaped-to="" data-blogger-escaped-ve="" data-blogger-escaped-weston="" data-blogger-escaped-where="" data-blogger-escaped-with="" data-blogger-escaped-would="">
The writing was okay. It wasn't the BEST but the way she worded phrases and kept the humor in it really made up for what was lost in detail. I'll give Rachel Van Dyken that. She isn't the best writer but she worked with what she had, and hey, it worked for her. Some of the dialogue was a little stiff but Weston's speeches covered what Kierston and Lisa's conversations lacked. You take the good with the bad, I guess, and find neutral ground somewhere in the middle.
Things I didn't like
1) There was too much shrugging Within the first two pages Kiersten had shrugged like seven times.
2) The rape story. It played such a big part in the beginning and got lost somewhere. Readers were dragged in during the first five chapters by the idea that he was a bad boy ect. And then by pg 50 in my Ebook it was no longer mentioned. BAM, it's just gone. The truth is never revealed as to what happened that night.
3) I expected a fight or her to be pissed when she found out that he had cancer. I'm sorry, but any normal person would've been outraged that he kept that secret. Yet she's all "you'll get through it" without even taking a day to herself to think about what he's actually done. Yea, I get that he's on his death bed but I expected some bitching in the hospital room, maybe a couple of words here and there...I mean that's the scene the entire book was building up to and it just fell flat for me. It was probably the most disappointing scene in the entire book, not going to lie. It's like a character cheating on her boyfriend and then he finds out and it's all "We'll get through this" without any drama whatsoever. No...SHAKES HEAD...
5) Gabe. So Kiersten isn't mad about Weston keeping his secret, nor is she mad that Gabe knew. What the hell? LOL. I mean there was a scene I was waiting for too...and never got. WTF? So many opportunities missed and it was frustrating. One of them should've gotten slapped, if not Weston than Gabe.
6) This book is not erotica. No matter what anyone says, it's not. It's as close as you can get without going over the edge.
7) I didn't like the stereotype of football guy who is handsome and everyone knows him ect...It's been overdone. Also, the innocent virgin from a small town...
And then there was 8) Cave diving? Really?
Overall, it was decent. I really wanted to be consumed with this book like everyone else. I've heard so many good things about it and I tried. By the end of the book I was emotionally drained. The author had so many opportunities to take it to the next level (Weston's confession, Gabe hiding the secret, the mysterious cure) and never did. I didn't want Weston to suffer, but it's like I was built up for what? Nothing. I felt the exact same way I did after reading Breaking Dawn. I was expecting this big battle at the end and they just talked. That's kinda how this book played out. You're made to believe he's so bad off to where your mind accepts his fate and then when he doesn't pass you're just sitting there like "Why the hell did I spend this amount of pages crying like an idiot?"
I felt like my emotions had been fucked with and I didn't like that. You can't set a reader up for the inevitable and then just have such a big let down at the end. I didn't want him to die,NO but if your going to make him live, come up with something better than "it just magically shrunk..." Think of it like this: you're watching Titanic and you already know what's coming. You know that ship is going to sink. You've come to terms with it...But then, oh, it doesn't. Do you see where I am going with this? The ending was a let down. I must repeat this-I DID NOT WANT HIM TO DIE...The ending just kinda fell off from the rest of the book. It was RUSHED.
So, that's why I can't give this book more than 3 stars. If Kiersten would've grown a back bone after hearing his confession I would've given it more. Or even a better "medical miracle." This book was just OKAY for me. If there was a sequel would I read it? No. And I'm not being rude about it...I just don't trust that I wouldn't get let down in the ending again. You read 400 or so pages in a book expecting to reach that high point and battle it out in the end. Rather it be emotionally, physically ect...There's always a battle of something. There was no battle in the end. The plot rose and rose and then just plummeted into an abyss. I just....Sheww...
And I hate comparing, but I have to bring John Green into this. The Fault of Our Stars built up the readers and when the time came you were damn well ready for what was going to happen. The ending, though maybe unjust, felt complete. The ending for this book was lacking on so many levels. It wouldn't have been so bad if Weston had this "medical miracle" and then it showed him and Kiersten fighting through their problems or something. I don't know what I was expecting...I wanted the lead to have a better backbone I guess.
Also, the plot felt very A Walk To Remember/PS I Love You/Here on Earth-ish. The first thing that popped into my brain when the list came about was PS I love You. Then the cancer bid started and A Walk to Remember came to mind. (How Landon wanted to make her miracles come true...yet this book had a little twist.) And then when Gabe took her skydiving or whatever, I thought of PS I Love You and how she had to do all of that for him. SHRUGS. Then Here on Earth came to mind whenever they started talking about his Tye (I think that's his name.) How Chris Kleins mother was found the bathtub, dead...and then you have Tye who overdosed...It was really all of those movies bundled into one. But mostly Here on Earth. Cancer patient-Check. Best friend standing by through the whole thing-Check. Dead mother-Check. Boy has rich parents-Check. Boy does something stupid at school-Check. (The list was endless for me.)
Okay...I'm done reviewing this....3 stars. I feel satisfied with giving this that.
UPDATED 9/7/2013
So it has been confirmed there will be a spin-off of a character or two. Heard about it from a friend. I say this in the nicest possible way: why?
And if it's about Gabe, why? I thought he was gay in the beginning of this book, but towards the end he appears to have this thing for Kiersten. (Though we really don't know why he does, nor do we understand why he all of the sudden becomes BFF's with Wes.) What's the point? Why milk something (that wasn't really A+ material to begin with) for everything it's worth? Why?
No...no-no-no-no...And I'm not being a cold-hearted bitch when I say the characters were not developed enough to merit a spin-off book or two. No.
This reminds me of the Bared to You series by Sylvia Day. Bared to You was supposed to be 3 books and now it's turned into 5 because of her Greed. Why manipulate readers into a series when they are EXPECTING one book? It's not fair to the reader. "Oh the book has gotten a good response, I'm going to write two or three more." ROLLS EYES....Uh-no. I had considered re-reading Ruin...Sometimes I have a tendency to rip apart the grammar and not actually READ what's in front of me...But now I'm saying to hell with it. The 3 star has dropped to 2. I was hoping to re-read and give it a 4 star but I'm not going to do that. I refuse. If authors are going to write a series then they need to be upfront and say "I'm writing a sequel" and not just wait to see how it's received. They should write it because they want to. And I don't want to hear anyone say "Oh such and such was going to write it eventually ect..." No. This is about money. Simple and plain.
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