Goodreads Summary
Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules; especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.
To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad.
Cover: I LOVE green and purple together thus I dig this cover
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Why I read it: The idea of a Jekyll and Hyde retelling with a romantic twist.
Source: Purchased
My Thoughts:
I had high hopes going in to this book. I find the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be very interesting and this book held the promise of a loose retelling with a romantic twist. Sounds great right?
Well. I was disappointed.
I loved the initial idea and the story started off well enough. I initially liked the characters, but something happened and everything seemed to go to pieces. The serious case of insta-love in this book was a big put off. It just did not work. Within that, the story got lost. I felt like it was choppy and that there were actually 2 separate stories going on. The beginning with Tristen and then towards the end with Jill. The story didn't flow very well. And soon after starting, the characters, especially Tristen, got on my nerves. It had to do with their interactions with each other as well as with others. I just couldn't connect.
The POV is from the 2 main characters; Tristen Hyde and Jill Jekel. It's a little weird. It doesn't go by chapter, but it's also not alternating within the chapters either. The author could have several passages in a row labeled Jill. I didn't get it. The meat idea of the story was initially very interesting to me but it was taken down the wrong road and ultimately, just did not come together for me.
Favorite Quotes: None
Bottom Line: This story was more Hyde then Jekel. And not in a good way. 3/5
(Very difficult to decide between a 2.5 or 3 star rating.)
On a separate note, I did read a review written by someone who did not like this book but did like the authors other book (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side). She stated that the writing of this one was definitely sub par to her other series. I already own Jessica's Guide, so I will give this author another try.
I liked Jessica's Guide because I thought the story and the characters were cute, but I also had zero expectations for it. I did read Jessica's sequel which reminded me a lot of what didn't work for you in this book. The once interesting characters became dull and boring. The writing was choppy as all get out. I felt like it ended several times only to pick up once again. Do give Jessica's Guide a whirl but I wouldn't recommend going for book 2.
ReplyDeleteSince I already own Jessica's Guide I'll give it a go. Thanks for the insight!
DeleteI def wasn't a fan of this one. It was a bit all over the place. thanks for the comment :)
ReplyDelete