Now patriciar

Mhe. MHE. Just a big fail. For several reasons. 1 stars for mentioning Renesmee, another star for Theia to notice that she's stupid and do the Edward.* * *Dear Patricia,you have started this book in January, but then noticed that you just couldn't keep reading it. Then in February you've picked it up again and about 8 hours prior to writing this you have actually finished the novel. As a little side-note, I won't talk lots about the content, because I'm a bad person and think that most of it would spoil people who have not read the books yet. So, here are just some impressions.You weren't really disappointed, because your expectations weren't running as high as one would hope, but even though there were several parts in the novel that rubbed you the wrong way and I'm inclined to say that even though Gwen Hayes isn't a bad author, her work is just not for you. Sometimes it felt like she tried to hard, sometimes just like you're too old or bitter or yourself to have enjoyed it.Yes, Dreaming Awake needs to get an extra star for lampshading the use of Twilight-ish themes, such as Renesmee, (No, she didn't get Theia preggers, calm down!) but it's impossible to say that it was a particularly good read, especially because the authors job is to manipulate the reader without the reader noticing it, and all that has happened while you read DA was that you noticed writing devices and nothing happened in your mind. - You felt really detached.There is an author, Julia Quinn?, who once said that many authors get more credit if they kill cool people or give their protagonists something that is not a happy ending. It isn't that Theia and Haden didn't get their (sort of) Happy End, but the fact that Hayes did something that feels useless to you right now. While teenagers certainly have to experience grief and loss, in this case the death of the character didn't really add to the story except for mild annoyance. - So it's not even that you feel strong emotions about this particular (or any, really) event.I don't know. Maybe right now you are missing things, and should just give the author a try later. But then people would again stand there and say: "But you already knew that you didn't like her other books, why did you read this one, then? Just for the lolz?" No. You actually thought that Dreaming Awake might be better than Falling Under, because you expected Theia to be different - in more ways than her body needing energy and her new abilities. She coulda been more mature, more experienced etc. but she was not and that did irritate you.As for the death of you-know-whom: Could be that this person had to die (plot-wise) because he/she would otherwise have made it easier for Theia and the rest to manage everything, but it just didn't feel right. It really didn't.What I'm trying to say here is that in a way this book was good. We have a Reversed Edward: Instead of being the Bella, Theia often chose to be Edward. Not sure yet if that's better, but I think not being Bella can only be better than being her. Right? So, Theia often tried to be rational about problems, and to distance herself from others, but it didn't feel mature, it just felt.. stupid. *le sigh* Hard to explain. Might work for some, but didn't work for me.We also got some Anti-Slut-Shaming, and actually nice or interesting friends who are not portrayed as if they don't deserve the attention and affection of the heroine. (Yes, I'm looking at you Becca Fitzpatrick) Talking about Theia's friends, I also think that You're a little more dissatisfied with the book than you would have been if one of them had gotten another ending. (Or, well, two of them.)Don't think you'll want to reread this, except if you really have changed. And I don't know if I'd like you to change that much. I mean, it's called dissociative identity disorder for a reason, okay honey?All my best,hope you ate some spring rolls today,PatriciaPS: I know that this post sucks, but for some reasons while I disliked the book a lot, it didn't feel like it deserved a rant.* * *Thoughts before/while reading:I think there should be a game where everyone comes together, picks up one random paranormal YA and reads it out loud. Everytime something seems to be Twilight-related (even lampshaded!) you have to drink a shot of Tequila (or whatever drink you prefer, but come on, who doesn't love Tequila? For the record: It's legal in Germany for 18 yrs olds to drink alcohol!)I'll actually make this an official bookblog-game one day. This time not, because I'm already about 1/10 into the story, but the next time..That's not to say that Gwen Hayes is a bad author, or that these similiarities are on purpose. It's just something I thought about when I started the book. Also, the cover model looks horrible. What did they do to her hair? Gah. She looks like this one girl that always annoyed the crap out of me in High School. (No, I'm not talking about me this time! The other girl!)