I NEED TO STOP READING TEEN ROMANCE FOR A WHILE

Crave (Crave #1)

by Tracy Wolff
Entangled Teen / Tantor Audio | April 7, 2020

     My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

     Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

     Which could spell death for us all.

     Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

I don't remember why I added Crave to my TBR, but I did... Now that I am almost midway into the novel, I regret not looking over the synopsis beforehand because it would have saved me from cringe, frustration, and annoyance. I mean, look at it... We don't even learn the MC's name, but we know her love interest's! Although the writing is terrible and the plot agonizingly slow, I CRAVED (hehe) to see where the story will go, and how long it would take for the MC to finally realize that her crush, Jaxon, is a vampire.

The MC is not that bright. Like I said, I'm halfway into the novel, and she still hasn't figured it out, even though there are glaring markers. She realizes her cousin is hiding things from her, prods for more information, but quickly loses interest. Being below-average in intelligence is fine, but to have an annoying personality too? She has no redeeming qualities, development, nor a sense of self-preservation. It's like, the author wants us to hate her.

Unfortunately, I am listening to the audiobook, which amplifies the cringe because someone is reading it aloud to me, making the words/story even more visceral. Don't do what I did, don't listen to the audiobook, and please do not read this book. I suffered, so you don't have to suffer. You can thank me later.

The writing is juvenile and tries desperately to sound like a teenager, which all made me cringe; this is a common problem I encounter in YA fiction. I would like to hear less of the words sexy, hot, OMG*, AF*, really, really, etc. Again, all interactions between teens and how they live their life seem like a caricature or something from TV: using these "resources" to help create write "realistic" teen characters is a terrible idea.

I found the "relationship" between Grace (the MC, even I forgot her name) and Jaxon incredibly forced and hard to support. Grace claims to not want to be a typical female heroine in every paranormal romance novel, this novel gets meta on multiple occasions, but ends up being what she and everyone hates. Thoughts about Jaxon quickly consume her: her obsession and denial of it go on a third of the novel. I don't find Jaxon that charming. I also hate the fact Grace tries to justify her obsession with him as "He's a misunderstood sexy AF boy. I'm the only person that understands him. I see something no one else is seeing." 

Speaking of a third of a novel, that's as much as I could stand. I could not take it anymore. Absolutely nothing was happening! The plot, non-existent. Characterization, superficial; the author spent more time describing their looks than developing a dynamic character. World-building, also non-existent. The book takes place in Alaska, and other than being cold and giving the MC altitude sickness, it doesn't add much. Writing, like I already said, JUVENILE. I've read better stuff by teenage, amateur writers, who know how to get the ball rolling while describing how hot the male lead is. (I would rather recommend what I've read on Wattpad recently than this book.) I don't understand the chapter breaks because it literally picks off where the previous ended. It does not add drama. In fact, I think it's a sad excuse to write "sassy" chapter titles.

This book is heavily inspired by Twilight, even mentions it in the novel, so read that instead. I should probably reread it too because there are many Twilight memes on my discover page. Vampire Academy is the only decent vampire series I can think of. The weak angst, slow plot, cringe writing, and pathetic characters are such a let-down. If you have finished this novel, I don't know how, please tell me what happens because I am still curious. What is the curse, and how is Grace involved? There are dragons, right? They kept cutting off at "Dra-," and I know for sure they don't mean Drag Queen.