Carve the Mark Review

Title: Carve the Mark
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Carve the Mark #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 17 January 2017
Source: Jonathan Ball Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 468
Rating: 2.75 Stars
Reading Timeline:  12 April 2017 - 16 April 2017










Goodreads Synopsis:

In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift.

Cyra is the sister of the brutal Tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra's currentgift givers her pain and power - something her brother exploits, using her to torture her enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother's hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is the son of a gamer and an oracle from the frozen nation - plant of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by the enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get this brother out alive - no matter what the cost.

Then Akos is thrust into Cyra's world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?

Book Review:
Pre-reading Thoughts:

There is a lot of bad media around this book. I won't go into too much detail because you just have to go on Goodreads to see people's reaction. All of things that were brought to light really put me off of this book and I wasn't originally going to read the book but I was sent this book by Jonathan Ball Publishers. And a while back I decided that I would read the book if I didn't have to put any money into actually buying the book. But enough of that, I am curious to see how this book plays out because it sounds interesting. 

Writing Thoughts:

The pacing in this book was completely off and off putting. There was nothing in the writing style that screamed this is Veronica Roth. Instead, I found the writing bland and I often wondered how does this place actually look. It felt as if the author was telling rather than showing. I faced a very similar problem in Divergent. The writing, in my opinion, could definitely use a couple more adjectives and perhaps a bit more description but this could all just come down to preference.

Plot Thoughts:

This book was so boring. Now don't get me wrong, there were definitely exciting moments that entice you. But whenever something cool or exiting happened, it was over so quickly. Then for the next chunk of pages, nothing happens. There was so much filler information that I found unnecessary. This plot once again carried the same story arc as Divergent. There was so little happening in a large chunk of the book and everything happening towards the end of the book. Personally, I would have preferred if there was a lot more happening throughout the book and one huge epic scene at the end of the book. Once again, this is just a preference, but it is something that I find effective.

Character Thoughts:

I did not like Cyra. She felt bland as a character. Everything revolved around one thing, her currentgift. And I get it, it was something that had plagued from a young age, that brought her immense amount of pain and misfortune. But that doesn't mean that she needed to obsess. There is so much in a persons life that are there from a young age and do quite similar things. But there are always to overcome it. I guess the thing that really upset me was the fact that she wasn't willing to overcome her pain until some guy came waltzing into her life.

Akos was a pretty decent character. He was interesting and was less bland than the rest. I preferred reading from his perspective than Cyra. However those chapters where far and few between.

Another character I really did not like was Cyra's brother, Ryzek. He was a real asshole to be honest. I hated hime, I hated reading about him and honestly. He disgusted me. And perhaps that was Roth's intention but damn. He was truly revolting. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I didn't really like this book. Whilst there were in fact a couple of moments that I quite enjoyed while reading this book and there were also a couple of quotes I found sorta cool. But that is where my attraction stops. I can see where everyone came from when they tweeted/made people aware of the problems in this book. I could see the racism and the fact that people who suffer from chronic pain were offended. Unfortunately, I wasn't as greatly affected by these factors than those who found the book offensive. I am grateful that I was made aware of these things because if I am being honest, I probably would have ignored these problems and found this book somewhat good. I am grateful for people who voice their opinions because sometimes, it makes people like me more aware. Now knowing these things about this book, I hope that I can become more critical when I read. With that being said, I would like to thank Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me this book. I am grateful that I didn't have to spend money on a book that was problematic and I am grateful that they sent me this book. I think this review was more rant-like than anything else but this really was a special book, and there are no positive connotations to the word special in this case. 

Yours in Reading,

Melleny

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