Title: Velvet
Author: Temple West
Pub Date: May 15th, 2015
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Page Count: 416
I shouldn't have liked this. But I did and I don't know what to do with myself. - Nova @ Out of Time
When I first heard of Velvet, I was like, "Okay, this sounds like it's going to be full of tropes and ick... LET ME READ IT." Call it curiosity or stupidity but I read it. And heck yeah, my first impression of it was bang on. But in my opinion, this isn't nearly the negative review that I thought I was going to write.
Let me introduce you to a concept I call Gossip Girl Syndrome. I like to tell a bunch of people that Gossip Girl is one of my favorite shows. Gossip Girl Syndrome relates to liking something for some unexplainable reason even though the thing in question is unignorably horrible and full of flaws. Haha, that's probably why The Kardashians are still current. This book gave me Gossip Girl Syndrome. For a quarter of the book, I enjoyed the pointless banter and the garbage that came out of some of the characters' mouth.
How many problems can you spot in that sentence?
First off, the main character bounces between sensible, angry and desperate. I didn't like her at all but since she pretty much sat on her butt the whole time, if this book were about a diamond heist, she would be the diamond. So my feelings towards her, even though she was the main character, were pretty irrelevant.
However, the male lead was pretty much the opposite. I liked Adrian. He wasn't as creepy as some of the summary made him sound. He just gave off a "nice guy" vibe and was less possessive than some of the characters I've seen in this kind of story. I didn't swoon hard because I'm more for bad guys than nice ones, but I can't deny that I loved his personality.
What was really fun was the writing! There were lots of great lines between Caitlin and Adrian and the dialogue really shone through this book. Temple West can write; the only reason this book isn't getting a positive rating is because of what I think was the most important part of the book: the plot.
The plot had... nothing. I didn't feel anything that sets this book apart from any other YA. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a Twilight Rip-Off, even though there were multiple scenes that had a pretty good parallel. My problem was that there was never really a point to the novel. It was about a vampire bodyguard protecting this girl from an evil entity. And for me, I predicted the final showdown upfront because it's been done. Funny enough, it was what happened in Twilight.
Most of this book was banter between Caitlin and Adrian without any real romance. I liked them better as friends. Adrian had swoony moments but with Caitlin, they were like those friendship goals you only see on TV and that worked fine with me.
Overall, this book has a really pointless plot. If you're looking for something that'll give you Gossip Girl Syndrome, you might want to check it out. If you're just into some fluff to pass the time, I would also recommend this! However, if you're looking for a badass main character and some epic proportions, you probably want to pass on this one.
Author: Temple West
Pub Date: May 15th, 2015
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Page Count: 416
First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.
After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.
Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?
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I shouldn't have liked this. But I did and I don't know what to do with myself. - Nova @ Out of Time
When I first heard of Velvet, I was like, "Okay, this sounds like it's going to be full of tropes and ick... LET ME READ IT." Call it curiosity or stupidity but I read it. And heck yeah, my first impression of it was bang on. But in my opinion, this isn't nearly the negative review that I thought I was going to write.
Let me introduce you to a concept I call Gossip Girl Syndrome. I like to tell a bunch of people that Gossip Girl is one of my favorite shows. Gossip Girl Syndrome relates to liking something for some unexplainable reason even though the thing in question is unignorably horrible and full of flaws. Haha, that's probably why The Kardashians are still current. This book gave me Gossip Girl Syndrome. For a quarter of the book, I enjoyed the pointless banter and the garbage that came out of some of the characters' mouth.
How many problems can you spot in that sentence?
First off, the main character bounces between sensible, angry and desperate. I didn't like her at all but since she pretty much sat on her butt the whole time, if this book were about a diamond heist, she would be the diamond. So my feelings towards her, even though she was the main character, were pretty irrelevant.
However, the male lead was pretty much the opposite. I liked Adrian. He wasn't as creepy as some of the summary made him sound. He just gave off a "nice guy" vibe and was less possessive than some of the characters I've seen in this kind of story. I didn't swoon hard because I'm more for bad guys than nice ones, but I can't deny that I loved his personality.
What was really fun was the writing! There were lots of great lines between Caitlin and Adrian and the dialogue really shone through this book. Temple West can write; the only reason this book isn't getting a positive rating is because of what I think was the most important part of the book: the plot.
The plot had... nothing. I didn't feel anything that sets this book apart from any other YA. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a Twilight Rip-Off, even though there were multiple scenes that had a pretty good parallel. My problem was that there was never really a point to the novel. It was about a vampire bodyguard protecting this girl from an evil entity. And for me, I predicted the final showdown upfront because it's been done. Funny enough, it was what happened in Twilight.
Most of this book was banter between Caitlin and Adrian without any real romance. I liked them better as friends. Adrian had swoony moments but with Caitlin, they were like those friendship goals you only see on TV and that worked fine with me.
Overall, this book has a really pointless plot. If you're looking for something that'll give you Gossip Girl Syndrome, you might want to check it out. If you're just into some fluff to pass the time, I would also recommend this! However, if you're looking for a badass main character and some epic proportions, you probably want to pass on this one.
Aw Temple West sounds like such a cool person haha I'd want to read this book just for that but alas, I think the vampire thing has been explored in every way possible so this was a doomed idea unless there was some major plot twist or something :(
ReplyDeleteTRUE, THOUGH! It's unfortunate I didn't like this :(
DeleteHa, I had exactly the same reaction - I came here thinking Velvet would be ANOTHER vampire book, but you said it was good and I'm not sure that the world can work now.
ReplyDeleteAlso - and this is irrelevant - your spinning world thing is suggesting that my town is in a COMPLETELY different county than it actually is, and I can't stop obsessing about that now.
Beth x
www.thequietpeople.com
I love the spinning world thing. It makes me freak out when I see someone other than me on my blog >.<
DeleteIDK WHAT TO DO NOW. I loved reading it. it was mindless but it wasn't well written at the same time. What's wrong with me...
I really wanted this one when I first read about it, and on top of that, I love the cover. It sounds like a Twilight hang over novel. Oddly enough, another reviewer that I LOVE said the same thing - it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't worth a full three stars.
ReplyDeleteLOLOL it is. Totally Twilight. But I do think it's better. I breezed through this one.
DeleteI've been seeing people talk about this here and there and I'm like 'nope nope nope no amount of hype will make me read vampires again LOL' but still, I'm kinda interested LOL (stopppp it jess you need your money to buy more unimportant things like that jar with a deer head as a lid).
ReplyDeleteI mean I like dialogue. Good, natural dialogue can get me to like most things but vampireeesss man, I'm so over that haha
YO REVIEW HAS ME EVEN MORE CONFLICTED. LOVE THE GOSSIP GIRL ANALOGY. I getcha