Bookish Details:Series: The Road to Salvation #1
Pages: 210 Paperback
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Release Date: January 13th 2014
Source: Received in exchange for honest review
Buy it From: Amazon - Amazon UK
Synopsis:
Katie wants to invest her heart and soul in love, but she may lose both to Hell.
Katie, a senior in high school, is torn between loving the "good" guy, her childhood friend Wes who makes promises he doesn't keep and abandons her when she needs him the most, and the "bad" guy, the new kid at school Josh who is also a real demon from Hell. Katie wants someone who pays attention to her and puts her first, but what is she willing to give up to find him?
My Review:
This story follows Katie, a high school student with a
seemingly normal life until fellow student Josh suddenly comes to her defense
in an argument with her best friend, Wes. Katie then discovers that Josh and
Wes aren’t all what they seem, and her world is turned upside down.
The first few chapters throw you straight into the story,
but also straight into a love triangle. I felt like I knew nothing about Katie
as a character, but I knew all about her past with Wes, and her sudden feelings
towards Josh. Although this is a story about Demons and Hell, I felt like it
was more to do with Katie’s romantic relationships than anything else.
I really enjoyed Katie’s friendship with Deb, but it
happened too late on in the story. We hear mentions of Deb throughout a bunch
of chapters before we actually meet her, and I feel like the story would have
benefited from her presence from the very start. I liked a certain twist that
her character revealed towards the end, but it felt random and too conveniently
placed. Maybe if there had been more clues hinting towards it, then it would’ve
felt believable.
The characters I liked the most were Randy and Wes. I wanted
to know more about them and their lives. I felt like I didn’t get to see enough
of Wes, and I think he and his father have huge potential to be really
interesting characters. I also want to know more about Josh, because right now,
I can’t see his appeal. Katie’s feelings towards him are quite confusing and it
seems like she keeps changing her mind over him. He’s untrustworthy and
dangerous, yet she feels safe with him. I want to know what it is about him
that she trusts, because I don’t think he’s done that much to prove he’s worth
choosing.
There were some funny moments in the story that I enjoyed,
and definitely some realistic scenes. For example, I like that when Katie told
her mother the truth about Randy and Wes, her mother thought she was suffering
with rabies. A lot of the time in fantasy, I find that shocking revelations are
calmly accepted by characters, when in reality, they’d completely freak out. So
I liked that this story showed a few more obvious and realistic reactions. Katie’s
relationship with her mother is an aspect of the story I especially liked. I
wish we’d gotten to see a bit more of their home life, and learnt about the
family’s past.
The disappointing side for me was the love triangle. I
prefer romance being a subplot to the fantasy and action in YA stories, but
with this book, it felt a little like the fantasy was a subplot to the romance.
Everything in this story revolved around the two boys. Even Katie’s thoughts
were dominated mostly by the guys, and which one’s side she should choose. It
made it extremely difficult for me to like Katie. I wanted to know more about
her, and I wanted her to be stronger and make choices that didn’t revolve
around the boys.
I know this is the first book in a series, so in the second
book, I’m hoping we get to see more of Hell, and get to know more about Josh. I
also think that Katie needs more of a plot away from the two guys. Maybe
meeting a new friend, or taking off on her own for once. I’m rooting for her to
become a stronger character. I look forward to seeing what the second book has
to offer, because I still think this is a story with good potential, but it simply
hasn’t delivered it yet.
Royal Rating:
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