Author: Amo Jones
Length: 302 pgs.
Buddy read with my girl Elaine!
After finishing this last night I browsed the ratings, sure I’d find some likeminded people, but 4 stars? 5 stars? Really people??
I’m guessing the people who gave this book 5 stars are die hard Amo Jones fans who automatically give out this rating despite the actual content of the book, or under the age of 18 in which case this book probably isn’t appropriate for you anyway. Firstly, where was the editing before this was published?? The grammar is awful in many places and there are misplaced apostrophes scattered throughout the book. It’s one thing to write a book about teenagers and put their own lingo in quotes when a teenage character is speaking, but for most of the book Amo Jones’ prose reflects this immaturity as well.
Secondly, WTF is up with all the SONGS named throughout the book? Like another reviewer said, I don’t share the same musical tastes with Amo Jones so if she was trying to infuse a specific meaning or feeling into the book by using these song names that was lost on me because I had no idea what the fuck the song was. And if you’re a writer and you’re using song titles to make the reader feel a certain ambiance, that’s a cop out anyway.
I forgave the childish writing and rap artist name-dropping in the previous 2 books because the content was edge-of-your-seat. The questions piled up and we were led to believe we’d get some answers with Tacet. Unfortunately about 70% of this book is Bishop & Maddie going back and forth in their “relationship”, having sex, fighting, making joint playlists that show the reader how much they love each other, etc. etc., pure teenage bullshit. Then there’s 15% of Maddie acting like a whore, going to parties in the sluttiest clothes possible, getting wasted, almost hooking up with other Kings, etc. Any time we do come close to finding out anything, Maddie says that she “can’t handle this right now” and goes back to fucking Bishop or complaining to Tatum. Even when she finds out that someone close to her knows something about Tillie, who went missing suddenly in book 2, she doesn’t follow up on it because
it’s not the right time and that person is dealing with too much for her to press the subject further. Ok, I hope if I ever go missing that my friends are a little more dedicated to my well being than that.
Thirdly…(Fourthly?) where is the flow and organization in this book? I swear, at one point Maddie called Tatum over (whom she started calling Tate in this book because they’re superclose and stuff) to her house, Tate shows up with a bunch of junk food which they start eating, I turn to the next page and it’s the next day – NO indication that they went to bed, that there was any time passing whatsoever. I figured it out on my own cuz I have a decent sized brain, but kinda seems like Amo was sleep deprived the day she wrote that part because it doesn’t make ANY sense. There are other cases of this as well, read for yourself and highlight away.
Amo also decided to switch POVs in this book, which-whatever, but I don’t really need to read from Bishop’s POV how much he really loves Maddie and would “fucking kill for her”, then switch back to Maddie’s POV and Bishop is ignoring her again. I don’t see the point or advantage in giving us these changing perspectives. There’s also no indication as to WHOSE POV we are reading from when the chapter changes – no character name at the chapter header or anything, and it’s all first person so it’s not until you start getting into a conversation with other characters that you know whose perspective you’ve switched to. Great decision making there.
We’re pretty much strung along for the ENTIRE book, given little bits and pieces of ridiculous information that I guess is supposed to explain some of the questions in the first 2 books but really only incite more curiosity, which is never satisfied because Maddie can only handle certain amounts of information before her tiny teenage brain wants to explode. Then in the last 15% shit goes off the rails and everything is finished and wrapped up super quickly. Which begs the question - so maybe I’m not remembering something from the first two books but are we really supposed to believe that Katsia is the only reason why Swans are being killed? I don’t recall this ever being hinted at or stated previously, and supposedly they can’t get rid of Katsia because she’s the last of her blood line, but you’re telling me that all the Elite Kings and members of the Circle have no say in the murder of baby girls born into the Elite Kings lineage because of Katsia? Hmmm….what a very simple solution
that turned out to be for a very complicated seeming, built-up-over-three-books problem. Kinda seems like one of those examples of authors writing themselves into a corner and then having to figure out how to easily get out of it. Before starting another series, might I suggest going back to the basics of English lit and creating an outline.
I
did like the violent vision Daemon has at the end of the book which involves the death of many main characters. Thanks to “Trickery” for the best scene in the book, even if it didn’t turn out to be real. And speaking of Daemon, it’s funny to me how close Maddie claims to be to him even though she’s only really known him for a few weeks. Sure, he’s her twin brother, who was raised as a brainwashed assassin and only speaks Latin and who SHOT her, but apparently they’re so close that other characters have heard “stories about their bond.” Ha! What a joke. Maddie “bonds” irreversibly and unquestionably with apparently everyone, even if they’ve done unspeakable things to her in her past. The Kings all want her, even if they find out they’re related to her by blood. She says Tatum is her BFF, but also Tillie, but especially Tatum even though Tate’s head over heels for Nate, whom Maddie nearly sleeps with. And speaking of Nate, did anyone else start laughing at the scene where (in front of her PARENTS) he steals a tear from her cheek and sucks it into his mouth??
So basically:
Maddie is a whore who will fuck anyone, including her own stepbrother who she loves like a brother, except for when she wants to fuck him. (Can someone over the age of 18 please give Maddie a non-sexual spanking and send her to her room please? Girl needs to be grounded FOR LIFE)
Maddie and Bishop are a fucked up couple who shouldn’t be together, but will continue to mentally and emotionally abuse each other until they run out of songs to add to their joint playlist.
EVERYONE is involved in this conspiracy, even random guys at school and librarians.
I can’t even go on with this nonsense.
And let’s not even start on the “deleted” scene at the end which is basically just the author satisfying her pornographic appetite, whaaaaaaat the actual fuck did we need that for. I’m all for erotica but please. Such a strange addition to the conclusion..
I give it 2 stars for stringing me along to the finish line because I cared at least enough to get some answers. What a MESS!! And that ending – pathetic attempt to keep people invested in the series. Will not continue. Other reviewers say this is supposed to be 13 books long??
