Book Review: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Title: I'll Meet You There Author: Heather Demetrios Published: February 3, 2015 by Henry Holt (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.  Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

I'm not a big contemporary fan. And I'm even less of a fan of romances. Despite seeing all the rave reviews about this book when it came out and people trying to sell it to me as one of their favorite contemporary reads I didn't have much interest. Bur I'm going the local FYA Book Club and this is their November read. So I picked it up and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. But I'll Meet You There is that rare contemporary romance that really impressed me.

Maybe that was because the characters were so relateable. As a small town girl who always wanted to get out into the wider world I can absolutely relate to Sky and her desire to leave Creek View behind. But I can also relate to her struggle with actually leaving. It's this really subtle conflict and inner turmoil that makes Sky so interesting and complex while making the book so engaging. And in general, Sky is just a really interesting and likeable character. She is the perfect balance of strength and vulnerability. She's independent without seeming fake, she's tough but sensitive, she's just so real. And Josh too was so complex and relateable. Throughout the book you get a few peaks into his head where you get to know him and his struggle better. He had his own demons to deal with and I felt just as invested in his happiness. There are also lots of interesting secondary characters including the MC's families, Skylar's friends, and Marge the owner of the motel who I really liked. The book was full of quirky and engaging characters that felt so realistic.

A lot of why I don't enjoy contemporary romances is because of well, the romance. I've mentioned before how I'm romancephobic, so it's hard to please me in the love department. But I did enjoy the relationship here. Maybe the romance worked because it was a rally great slowburn.  At the beginning of the book I could understand why the characters has a connection, they obviously liked each other and had a history of friendship. But that was all it was for me, and frankly them. But as the book developed the crush and romantic feelings grew so strong that it was almost painful. About halfway through the book I just wanted to smoosh their faces together. And that feeling went on honestly for most of the rest of the book. They were just so good together despite their vulnerabilities. Or maybe because of them. And what I liked about it was that it wasn't perfect. It was messy and they argued and they tried to get together and it didn't work. It again, just felt so true to life.

I also really liked the setting of this book. Creek View, California is definitely an interesting place. Heather does a great job of describing the town in a visually interesting way. In a way where it feels bleak but also charming. From the crappy motel that Sky works at, to the one restaurant in town, to the trailer park she lives in. It all jumps off the pages in a cinematic way. Sometimes stories about small town life can seem cliche but this never did. The town in general came alive. I'm not sure if it was the people or that you could feel the characters connection to it but it seemed like the kind of places you wanted to visit but would not want to stay too long. It felt like a really interesting place and like the perfect location to tell this kind of story.

There is just so much to like about this book. At it's heart it's a great character-driven story. I loved seeing both Skylar and Josh develop and grown throughout the book both together and separately. They both had great character development and it made the book so engaging. This book is more on the serious side of things but it still worked really well. One of my criticisms about contemporary YA is that it often seems to be sad for the sake of being sad. Or too serious and overly-dramatic. I like serious, I'm okay with sad, but I think you can write a sad and serious book without forcing the subject and that's what I'll Meet You There did. There are a lot of issues about family, life, society, war covered here and it never felt forced or overwhelming. It was sentimental and affecting but it wasn't all-consuming. I liked that.

I give I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios 9.5 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. I know by the fact that people freaked out on my via all forms of social media when I said I was reading this book that it is beloved. Now after reading it I can see why. It's an engrossing read with realistic and relateable characters. A must read whether you are a contemporary fan or not. If you are looking for a good book with great characters who are far from perfect pick this up.

Have you read I'll Meet You There? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

Title: Exquisite Captive Series: The Dark Caravan #1 Author: Heather Demetrios  Published: October 9, 2014 by Balthazar + Bray (HaperCollins) (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible) Synopsis: For fans of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy comes the first book in the Dark Caravan Cycle, a modern fantasy-adventure trilogy about a gorgeous, fierce eighteen-year-old jinni who is pitted against two magnetic adversaries, both of whom want her—and need her—to make their wishes come true. Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Now in hiding on the dark caravan—the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters' every command—she'd give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle. Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna's revolution and Nalia's sworn enemy. He promises to release Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother. There's just one catch: for Raif's unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle . . . and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him.

*** I received a copy of this book from the publisher at BEA in exchange for an honest review in return. This fact has not changed my opinion ***

Exquisite Captive is one of those books where it finished so strong I almost forgot all the issues and frustrations that I had with it early in the book. It was one of those books that I really enjoyed but I'm not exactly sure why. It had a unique and compelling world but the world-building was problematic, the plot was good but pacing was rough, and the characters were complex and interesting. But despite everything I didn't like I really did enjoy reading this book.

One of the reasons why could have been the amazing world Heather Demetrios created. It was such a unique and enthralling world. First and foremost it had amazing elements of epic fantasies that I always love. It had political intrigue, thrilling action, and a reluctant hero who is the rightful ruler of a land like no other. In the case of Exquisite Captive, that land is Arjinna, a world of jinni (otherwise known as genies). I enjoyed learning about the caste system in Arjinna, the power struggle there, and the magical system. Each of the castes are able to drew their power from a different elements, with the main character being able to draw power from them all. It was very Avatar: The Last Airbender but it wasn't all basic elemental magic, it still felt creative and interesting. But despite the fact that I really enjoyed the world, the world-building was kind of problematic. In addition to the fact that it told rather than showed, the beginning of the book felt like nothing but world-building. While it set the scene well, it felt excessive and overwhelming, especially with some jarring flashbacks. But the world of Exquisite Captive was still one of it's best parts.  

Another thing that I liked about this book was the characters. Heather Demetrios created more than one complex character that had great character development throughout the book. Nalia was a great protagonist. She was fierce and strong but with weaknesses that made her reluctant to be a hero. She was a little self-centered and indecisive and it did get her into a lot of trouble throughout the book. In addition to Nalia there were some really likable secondary characters. Probably my favorite was Zanari, but I also really liked Leilan and Raif. I do feel like I have to briefly mention the romance hear. It was odd, but it wasn't bad. I'm not entirely sure I would call it a love-triangle or instalove but it did have some elements of both. There were some more mature scenes but I didn't feel the heat from them. They felt more like plot device than actual romance, especially in the beginning. But that may have been because they involved some of the more dubious characters in this book. And they were quite dubious, the book had some amazing antagonists. Not only was there a completely sinister villain but there were other characters who walked a fine line between good and bad, and that included Nalia. But that dubiousness is what made them so compelling. It was one of those books where I didn't even realize I had connected with the characters until we reached the climax and I was not only worried for them but about them. 

And that climax was incredible. It was thrilling and action-packed. I found myself nervously anticipating what was going to come next. The plot on the whole was pretty good, there were a lot of different threads working together. It had it's own specific plot for this book and it also set up one or two larger plot threads that will continue into future books. But the pacing was extremely slow, and much of it suffered from First Book Syndrome. As I said before, the beginning felt like all world-building. All I seemed to be doing was setting things up. Things that wouldn't happen until the last 100 pages, things that won't happen until the next few books. It felt like nothing of consequence really happened until about two-thirds of the way into the book. And despite a fantastic ending, that brought a lot of things full circle, I found myself completely forgetting what had happened in the beginning of the book. Maybe that was because it felt unimportant or maybe it was because the book honestly felt a little long. I found myself wondering when it was going to end because it felt like an eternity since I had started it. 

I also do want to mention that while I had an ARC of this, most of it I experienced as an audiobook. And even that was hit and miss for me. The narrator, did a great job of setting the scene. I felt like I could visualize the people and places she was explaining, both real and imaginary. But especially at the beginning, I found her just a little too breathy, especially when it came to Nalia. She gave each character a distinct voice, so distinct that I could tell who was talking even when Nalia couldn't, but she made Nalia sound asthmatic. She kept taking long breathes after every sentence and as Nalia was the MC, this spilled over into the rest of her narration. It was especially annoying at the beginning and then it either got better or I got used to it. I'm not sure I would recommend this as an audiobook but I would recommend it to read. 

I give Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios 8 out of 10 

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. This is a decent start to a series that I want to continue with. It had it's issues but when it was all said and done, I enjoyed it. It had a great world, a thrilling plot, and interesting characters. If you're looking for a unique YA fantasy then check this one out at the library.