A review by vivianne
S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett
2.0
Actual rating: 2.25
Spoiler free mini review.
Overall this book was quick, entertaining (on a certain level), it held my attention and at times it was even somewhat tense. However if I delve deeper into it, this book is quite unbelievable, the characters were annoying and the book did not live up to its potential.
I could have overlooked all my other complaints if this book would have been incredibly tense. If it would have got me on the edge of my seat, but it didn’t. The plot just greatly disappointed me. It was just… boring. Super slow and not much was going on while reading. I had just expected more. Something like The Hunger Games or Ramsay Bolting (GoT) style. The climax just never came. The Huntin’ , Shootin’ and Fishin’ thing was in my opinion super weird and boring. I liked the idea of choosing someone every day but it just wasn’t executed well enough. Half the book you don’t realize what’s going on and then the fishin’ is over in a heartbeat and the last 100 pages are once again boring. The pacing was just very off.
And I think the author created these expectations herself. I mean starting a book with the sentence: “I think I am a murderer” and continuing dropping bombs like “Shafeen was a murderer”, “Chanel is a murderer” or other things like “but what would happen the next day would be so much worse”. These things create a certain expectation and get my mind rattling with all these crazy possibilities. And in the end I was just very disappointed with what happened and how things ended.
The writing wasn’t really for me. It was quite juvenile, sentences like: “ Tonight i was seated between Esme (meh) and Cookson (yuck).” As a writer, you don’t need to hold my hand while I am reading, it’s already very clear Greer doesn’t like these people. And then the thing that made want to throw this book across the room: THE MOVIE REFERENCES. There is literally one on every single page! And I have seen 2 of the 300? movies in this book. So I didn’t get them. E.g. “I watched him. Feeling a bit like Genevere in First Knight watching Lancelot go.” Uhmm what?!
Besides that I didn’t get 95% of the references, use your own imagination to sketch scenes don’t use other people’s work. There are also huge spoilers in this book for a few of the movies referenced like e.g. The Fault in Our Stars. Every time a sentence would be in italic and I knew there would be one on a page I just wanted to skip the whole paragraph. I get she likes movies, I get her dad is a camera man and they have this thing, but NOPE!
And then let’s get to how unrealistic and unbelievable this book is. I mean books don’t have to be believable, hell I read a lot of fantasy that isn’t believable, but if you write a contemporary book in a modern day setting I need it to be realistic so I can immerse myself in the story. And this just wasn’t the case and it kept dragging me out of the book. A few examples that I found hard to believe; I mean I could probably sum up a page more but I will stop here.
Everything was underdeveloped. And then I mean everything. The plot, the world building, the school, the main character, the side character, the romance. EVERYTHING! I can’t tell you a single thing about anything, besides what was directly related to the plot.
The main character was not my type of main character. Besides that she didn’t have a spine and drowned in Henry’s eyes every time she got a fraction of attention, she was jealous (at things she isn’t entitled to), annoying and extremely naïve. Not to forget the strange scenes she talked to a cut of head of a STAG, she even gave it a name.
Well let’s conclude this review with some positivity. I liked how it addressed the social media problem of our today society. I liked the element of the food and how that was involved in this book and the hunt. I also liked the setting. I overall liked the ending with how open it is. And it’s a very quick read.
Won’t continue with the sequel!
Spoiler free mini review.
Overall this book was quick, entertaining (on a certain level), it held my attention and at times it was even somewhat tense. However if I delve deeper into it, this book is quite unbelievable, the characters were annoying and the book did not live up to its potential.
I could have overlooked all my other complaints if this book would have been incredibly tense. If it would have got me on the edge of my seat, but it didn’t. The plot just greatly disappointed me. It was just… boring. Super slow and not much was going on while reading. I had just expected more. Something like The Hunger Games or Ramsay Bolting (GoT) style. The climax just never came. The Huntin’ , Shootin’ and Fishin’ thing was in my opinion super weird and boring. I liked the idea of choosing someone every day but it just wasn’t executed well enough. Half the book you don’t realize what’s going on and then the fishin’ is over in a heartbeat and the last 100 pages are once again boring. The pacing was just very off.
And I think the author created these expectations herself. I mean starting a book with the sentence: “I think I am a murderer” and continuing dropping bombs like “Shafeen was a murderer”, “Chanel is a murderer” or other things like “but what would happen the next day would be so much worse”. These things create a certain expectation and get my mind rattling with all these crazy possibilities. And in the end I was just very disappointed with what happened and how things ended.
The writing wasn’t really for me. It was quite juvenile, sentences like: “ Tonight i was seated between Esme (meh) and Cookson (yuck).” As a writer, you don’t need to hold my hand while I am reading, it’s already very clear Greer doesn’t like these people. And then the thing that made want to throw this book across the room: THE MOVIE REFERENCES. There is literally one on every single page! And I have seen 2 of the 300? movies in this book. So I didn’t get them. E.g. “I watched him. Feeling a bit like Genevere in First Knight watching Lancelot go.” Uhmm what?!
Besides that I didn’t get 95% of the references, use your own imagination to sketch scenes don’t use other people’s work. There are also huge spoilers in this book for a few of the movies referenced like e.g. The Fault in Our Stars. Every time a sentence would be in italic and I knew there would be one on a page I just wanted to skip the whole paragraph. I get she likes movies, I get her dad is a camera man and they have this thing, but NOPE!
And then let’s get to how unrealistic and unbelievable this book is. I mean books don’t have to be believable, hell I read a lot of fantasy that isn’t believable, but if you write a contemporary book in a modern day setting I need it to be realistic so I can immerse myself in the story. And this just wasn’t the case and it kept dragging me out of the book. A few examples that I found hard to believe;
Spoiler
“Greer even going on this weekend when there where a million red flags, Shafeen’s father never telling him what happened to him (and therefore deeming his son to the same fate, Hell I don’t even understand sending him to the same freaking school), them staying at the mansion after what happened, them staying at this school after what happened, the whole freaking plot with the cult getting away with murders etc. for centuries! Them believing the abbot and that he wasn’t a part of the cult when he was the head of the school when even the first years were involved! That no one in these centuries of the school ever went to the police. That the whole school stopped using cellphones because 6 “popular” people said they were ‘savage’.Everything was underdeveloped. And then I mean everything. The plot, the world building, the school, the main character, the side character, the romance. EVERYTHING! I can’t tell you a single thing about anything, besides what was directly related to the plot.
The main character was not my type of main character. Besides that she didn’t have a spine and drowned in Henry’s eyes every time she got a fraction of attention, she was jealous (at things she isn’t entitled to), annoying and extremely naïve. Not to forget the strange scenes she talked to a cut of head of a STAG, she even gave it a name.
Well let’s conclude this review with some positivity.
Spoiler
I did like the twist with the seeds Chanel found in Henry’s pocket, I liked the cult vibe, and even though it wasn’t worked out into detail very well, the idea was interesting. I liked the fact that we found out later that that even the roommates where in on it.Won’t continue with the sequel!