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Rating:
- Dante (in the first half)
He was sort of a badass. If I ever meet him in real life, I would probably kick his ass so hard, he'll travel faster than the speed of light. He's conceited, rude, and full of himself. No, excuse me, saying full of himself iw underrating him. If Dante Walker ever gets cut, little Dantecules would seep out. I don't like the Dantes of the world. They irritate me, especially because they are always so.. unreadable. You can't understand what goes on inside the mind of a Dante Walker. And I'm the kind of person who likes to know those stuff. I don't trust people who put on a poker face 24/7. But meeting Dante and reading about him is different; that's why he's in this section of the review. While reading, you actually get to know what goes on his mind. What might appear as a conceited prick on the outside, is actually a good person on the inside. - Charlie
My biggest problem with bad-boy-good-girl scenarios is .. the good girl. If I can't understand why the guy fell in love with this ordinary plain girl, then this book is a no-no for me. Charlie, however, doesn't fall into the trope. She's intelligent, funny and hyper active and I didn't feel it odd that Dante developed feelings for her. - Dante's first impression of Charlie
I don't mean to be evil and rude here, but Dante's initial iffiness of Charlie felt realistic. She is not pretty, that much is known, and Dante is after all a teenage boy. I thought he was staying perfectly in character when he was internally dissing Charlie. This is who Dante is, he's never taken enough time to look into someone's personality and inner goodness, and so his initial reaction was spot on. - The pacing
This book has entertaining written all over it. I opened this book between shopping, while packing, on a bus ride, and was almost instantly immersed into the story. The writing has a lot to do with that. It's simplistic, and funny, making this an easy and fun read.
- Dante (in the second half)
The change from bad to good guy is something I don't usually like. It's just that I always find the "bad" phase more interesting and funny. Granted, the transformation was done somewhat better here than in other books. - The ending
This was the weakest part of the book. It felt somewhat cliche and cheesy. Also, without any spoilers, there was an unnecessary event that happened at the end that made me mad.
You're looking for something some laughs and something not too complicated and entertaining.
I didn't like Dante in the second half either! He kind of lost his charm and the story took on a more serious tone which I didn't agree with, since it was pure fun in the first half. Plus I didn't like Charlie's transformation. It seemed so unnatural for a girl who was confident in herself for so long. I was actually in the car with my dad when I remembered something about the book and I wanted to laugh so hard, but I would have looked like an idiot lol. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the sequel, but yeah my expectations weren't really met. The reviews for this book were funnier than the actual book in my opinion. Great Review Reem :).
Glad to know someone agrees with me. Although the trnsformation was handled in this book better than others, it still feels off, you know? But he was definitely more fun in the first half, that's for sure.
I was reading the book while sitting with my family, so umm, it was hard not to laugh at times. Especially the parts were he hung out with Charlie's friends. I really liked them!
Thanks for stopping by Savindi!
I so completely agree with you about Dante! I really liked him in the first half but the second half... I wanted to throttle him! He became too cheesy and not like his original first-half self. I was disappointed. But he did have the most hilarious lines in the book!
Unlike you though, I wasn't a big fan of Charlie. I get it how much she suffered bullying because of her looks, but if she had gotten a makeover by herself, like getting rid of her zits (or pimples or whatever) and taking care of her hair and skin... I don't why. I liked her at first, she was really sweet and she had a big heart, but then... blah.
And I agree that the ending was kind of weak.
I know, I know, it's always the bad guy who's interesting. I mean I knew this was going to happen anyway, so there's that.
You know come to think about it, like hell I'm giving up my soul to change my looks! That's what beauty centers are for. There are far more important things she could be wishing for, like, I don't know, her grandma's health? Or like.. immortality? (Although I don't know how that would work if she's selling her soul and everything.