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A review by sotnasck
Vendetta by Catherine Doyle
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
It's been a while since I've encountered a book like this, I did a fairly well done job of keeping myself away. This has everything a typical YA book has and every cliche as well. And there has to be a record here because this is the book that had the most cliches I've ever read.
And was it for the amount of cliches or other reason, the story is incredibly predictable to the point of you seeing things happening from miles away. The revelations are only revelations for the protagonist because she is, well, quite stupid. Sophie is really dumb and prone to idiotic decisions and most of the time you see yourself wondering how can she do such things. And in the end she has a spur of not being stupid (she spends so much time being dumb that when she is not it feels a bit out of character, not gonna lie here) to fall into being a tad hypocrite, but even when she is being smart it still isn't the smart thing to do. The whole premise of the book is based on not doing the smart thing. Which brings me to the Mafia boys...
Not once have I felt uneasy about the boys, the boys not once acted shady, everything seemed so pedestrian. Everybody was like "you gotta take care, don't mess with those people" but said people not once did anything, everything was mentioned. We were told a bunch of stuff, there was chapters of exposition (possibly 3 in a row) where we sat and listened to one character lay out everything we need to know. There was no suspense, no figuring things out by piecing together things... Sophie would enter a room, sit in a chair, and someone would explain to her (and us) in a very educative manner who they were, what they were doing, what would happen.
A serious issue I have was how sexual assault was used as a plot device for the protagonist to be saved by her knight, then it was brushed off until the plot needed the device again later and so the protagonist went to confront her abuser just to be yet again saved by her knights. The whole thing is incredibly wrong. And this quote right here, really bothered me:
And was it for the amount of cliches or other reason, the story is incredibly predictable to the point of you seeing things happening from miles away. The revelations are only revelations for the protagonist because she is, well, quite stupid. Sophie is really dumb and prone to idiotic decisions and most of the time you see yourself wondering how can she do such things. And in the end she has a spur of not being stupid (she spends so much time being dumb that when she is not it feels a bit out of character, not gonna lie here) to fall into being a tad hypocrite, but even when she is being smart it still isn't the smart thing to do. The whole premise of the book is based on not doing the smart thing. Which brings me to the Mafia boys...
Not once have I felt uneasy about the boys, the boys not once acted shady, everything seemed so pedestrian. Everybody was like "you gotta take care, don't mess with those people" but said people not once did anything, everything was mentioned. We were told a bunch of stuff, there was chapters of exposition (possibly 3 in a row) where we sat and listened to one character lay out everything we need to know. There was no suspense, no figuring things out by piecing together things... Sophie would enter a room, sit in a chair, and someone would explain to her (and us) in a very educative manner who they were, what they were doing, what would happen.
A serious issue I have was how sexual assault was used as a plot device for the protagonist to be saved by her knight, then it was brushed off until the plot needed the device again later and so the protagonist went to confront her abuser just to be yet again saved by her knights. The whole thing is incredibly wrong. And this quote right here, really bothered me:
"I remember," I said, vaguely recalling a small, effeminate man with enviable dark-red hair. How exactly was he supposed to keep me safe?
After this quote many things became clear about the story and the writing.
All in all I didn't care about the protagonist nor the story, the Mafia aspect was as light as I expected it would be, the characters are underdeveloped so they don't catch your attention with the exception of the twins. In the whole book, only Luca and Valentino didn't fit the box. Valentino, actually, is the only bitch I respect in this house.