Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Review: "Illusion" by J.S. Cooper

Indie sensation and New York Times bestselling author of the Ex Games series and the Private Club series, J.S. Cooper introduces the Swept Away series—three new, dark and sexy romances about a woman marooned on a desert island with a mysterious stranger—but is he friend or foe? The day started like every other day... Bianca London finds herself kidnapped and locked up in a van with a strange man. Ten hours later, they’re dumped on a deserted island. Bianca has no idea what’s going on and her attraction to this stranger is the only thing keeping her fear at bay. Jakob Bradley wants only to figure out why they’ve been left on the island and how they can get off. But as the days go by, he can’t ignore his growing fascination with Bianca. In order to survive, Bianca and Jakob must figure out how they’re connected, but as they grow closer, secrets are revealed that may destroy everything they thought they knew about each other.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Did I like this book?

Ugh!  Can I end my review there?  One word?  Because that one word pretty accurately sums up my feelings in regards to the 55% of this book I suffered through.  

You know, I questioned whether I should even request this title, because the synopsis sounded a bit over the top for me.  But the cover is so pretty, and it says right there that the author is a New York Times bestseller, so I thought, "What the heck, let's give it a go!  How bad could it be?"

I'm sure you don't even want to know, it's that bad!  Like, I'm having trouble putting into words exactly how awful it is.  But I'll try.  The writing is...not good, the characters are worse, and the plot was totally unbelievable.  

Will you like this book?

I don't see how anyone could, but obviously, if you look at the other reviews and ratings out there, I'm one of the few with this opinion.  If you're unsure whether to spend your money or time on this book, here's a little quiz to help you decide:

You find yourself kidnapped and stranded on a beach with two male strangers, both of whom would love to get in your pants.  You:

A.  Start spouting movie plot lines and comparing yourself to characters like Katniss in the hopes that your vast knowledge of movies will help get you out of this situation.  

B.  Immediately align yourself with the better looking of the two men.  He is smoking hot, therefore he must be trustworthy.

C.  Decide to wash the sand out of your underwear, and end up flirting excessively with the more attractive of the two men, because obviously getting clean and ogling male flesh is more important than looking for things like fresh water, food, or shelter.  

D.  Admit to yourself that although both men are unable to resist your considerable charms, you cannot trust either of them.  Decide that you should remain wary, but work together to solve the immediate problem of surviving an indefinite period of time in the middle of nowhere.

If you chose either A, B, or C, then yes, I think you will love "Illusion".  If, on the other hand, you think these first three options sound ridiculous and that option D would make a better book, then definitely skip this title.

Will I read more by this author? 

This was my first read from J.S. Cooper, and sadly it will be my last.

My rating:

No comments:

Post a Comment