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inherentlysleepy's reviews
211 reviews
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter
2.0
Not If I Save You First is a story about Maddie, a Secret Service daughter, and Logan, the President's only son, who parted ways after a tragic event in the White House which led to Maddie and her dad flying over to Alaska and living a secluded life of their own away from any harm. Maddie wrote letters to Logan once, even twice, every week for two years, but received no reply from him in return. This ignited hate in Maddie's young heart, until the day Logan arrived in their Alaska home six years after, changing their lives forever. Maddie thought she'd kill him, after all the years of unanswered letters, but not if she saves him first from the Russians who kidnapped Logan.
Not If I Save You First is a story about a heroine saving the knight in distress, instead of the other way around, although at some point Logan had to save Maddie too. It has ambitions of conveying political interest, but I'm afraid it was rather a far-fetched and implausible event of building basis for its entire premise. There were TONS of plot holes i cannot forgive. The prose was written in a telling manner, and sometimes it felt like the Ally Carter was just shoving slightly coherent set of words and sentences just for the sake of word count. For example:
"He was kicking at the rock that was big, but not too big." OK.
"“Yes,” he said slowly. It was like he was wise to Maddie’s cocoon analogy and he was very much Team Stay Inside Where It’s Warm." WHA—?
"She liked him for it. Even if she also still kind of hated him for trying to kill her and messing up her hair and all." Yeah, I'm sure that's what every sixteen year old female thinks while stuck with a kidnapper in the wilderness of Alaska.
"For some reason, it seemed really, really important that Maddie’s skin stay as blotch-free as possible in Logan’s presence." Uh-huh keep going baby.
"Her arm was still outstretched. Follow through was everything, after all." I mean, it really does feel like Carter was only talking to herself but instead she types it onto her laptop.
I found ALL characters hard to connect with; they're one dimensional, shallow, mean, silly, and just purely annoying. The female hero was indiscreet, full of nonsense; Logan a walking dumb stick who kept shouting DON'T TOUCH HER! to anyone who's interacting with Maddie; Stefan a freaking villain with a heart of gold underneath. Yeesh.
Overall, Not If I Save You First is a quick read, and suitable if not looking for a deep, thought provoking novel. I just can't accept the fact that even thought the main characters were practically young adults, they acted as if they were 8 year-olds. This bit could have made the entire story much, much better.
Not If I Save You First is a story about a heroine saving the knight in distress, instead of the other way around, although at some point Logan had to save Maddie too. It has ambitions of conveying political interest, but I'm afraid it was rather a far-fetched and implausible event of building basis for its entire premise. There were TONS of plot holes i cannot forgive. The prose was written in a telling manner, and sometimes it felt like the Ally Carter was just shoving slightly coherent set of words and sentences just for the sake of word count. For example:
"He was kicking at the rock that was big, but not too big." OK.
"“Yes,” he said slowly. It was like he was wise to Maddie’s cocoon analogy and he was very much Team Stay Inside Where It’s Warm." WHA—?
"She liked him for it. Even if she also still kind of hated him for trying to kill her and messing up her hair and all." Yeah, I'm sure that's what every sixteen year old female thinks while stuck with a kidnapper in the wilderness of Alaska.
"For some reason, it seemed really, really important that Maddie’s skin stay as blotch-free as possible in Logan’s presence." Uh-huh keep going baby.
"Her arm was still outstretched. Follow through was everything, after all." I mean, it really does feel like Carter was only talking to herself but instead she types it onto her laptop.
I found ALL characters hard to connect with; they're one dimensional, shallow, mean, silly, and just purely annoying. The female hero was indiscreet, full of nonsense; Logan a walking dumb stick who kept shouting DON'T TOUCH HER! to anyone who's interacting with Maddie; Stefan a freaking villain with a heart of gold underneath. Yeesh.
Overall, Not If I Save You First is a quick read, and suitable if not looking for a deep, thought provoking novel. I just can't accept the fact that even thought the main characters were practically young adults, they acted as if they were 8 year-olds. This bit could have made the entire story much, much better.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
5.0
So far this is the only self-help book I've read that doesn't involve religion or any faithful spiritual ties. I'm glad not because it wasn't religious, but because that in itself is sufficient to create a powerful motivational book that doesn't push hard or felt like forcing me to do this or do that. Mark Manson backed up his arguments with previous studies and exemplified experiences, both personal and known artists and personalities.
Throughout the book, Manson was potty-mouthed (obviously) and stood ground on his opinions being strong and counterintuitive. I loved it mostly because it's thought-provoking and challenging; made me think the entire time. I learned a lot from it, and it will absolutely be useful on a daily basis.
Throughout the book, Manson was potty-mouthed (obviously) and stood ground on his opinions being strong and counterintuitive. I loved it mostly because it's thought-provoking and challenging; made me think the entire time. I learned a lot from it, and it will absolutely be useful on a daily basis.