Thursday, August 28, 2014

DNF Review: The Winter People

The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2014
Source: e-book
Date Read: 8/14/14 to 8/25/14 (DNF)
320 Pages
Rating: --


An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository



I'm just going to say this right off the bat; I honestly did not like this book. It was torture to get through half of it, and by 60%, I had enough. 



This is my first DNF review, so I have no idea how I will go about this. It'll most likely just be a rant of what made me stop reading.

Basically, this beautiful cover is a lie. It's misleading, and I have yet again fallen into the trap of requesting just based on cover. I know, I know, but hey! That blurb was really interesting too. And I was really excited to read this ARC, truth be told.

The story centers around a high school, Salome, who is deathly afraid of winter because she constantly hears voices. It also doesn't help that she almost drowned in a frozen lake when she was much, much younger. Though the truth is, which no one is willing to tell her for some unknown reason, is that her family line is cursed. By someone, or something.

I will try to keep this short. I promise.

There are two things about this book that wanted me to tear my hair out.

1. Everyone refuses to tell Salome about the curse. This means her grandmother, her mother, and her "boyfriends", who are probably not human. And the worse part is, they all make her believe that she is crazy. They make her see a psychiatrist, and they make her take drugs for it.

  • AND NOT ONLY THAT. We later find out that the curse is responsible for the DEATHS OF OTHER 18 YEAR OLDS. Oh but no, no one will tell her this will happen. So she goes off wandering ON HER OWN into places she's not supposed to go into.
  • THIS ISN'T EVEN HER FAULT, surprisingly. SHE NEVER KNEW

2. Her "boyfriends" are basically all the same person. I literally could not tell them apart. And apparently they all have beef with each other, and are all pinning or "protecting" Salome, but yet again, don't tell her what's going on. Or when it happens right in front of their eyes, they just come up with an excuse, and tell her she's mistaken.

This is why I did not finish the book. Even though I was already at 60%. I just couldn't go through with it because I was tired of seeing this poor girl being told over and over again that she's seeing and hearing things.

And the guys are annoying. And I don't care about them.

So that's enough from me. If I were to rate this book it would probably be a 1 star, but I'm leaving it N/A on my blog for now. 

Sorry about my rant! On another note, I hope you've been having an awesome day! Haha!

Comments (25)

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I was already having second thoughts on this book and now I am seriously worried that I'm not going to like it... However I will give it a chance since I have the ARC. *sighs* why must pretty covers lie? I hope you enjoy your next read more!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Hahah thanks! Yeah I really had higher expectations for this! :P
Aww, so sorry you didn't enjoy The Winter People. The cover really is beautiful, and it's a shame when they don't match with an equally awesome story. I requested it on NetGalley, but was declined, and after reading your review, I don't think the book would be for me. At all! I really hope your next read will be amazing, Val!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Thanks Alma! The cover really is beautiful, BUT IT LIES! Haha.
It sounds like it would be good but yikes. Sorry this one went so badly.
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Haha it's all ok now! :P At least I didn't try to finish it.
Yikes. Sorry about the DNF :( Yikes this sounds absolutely dreadful. I won't be reading this!! Thanks for the heads up, Val.

Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
No problem Rachel!
ranting about all the reasons you hated it is the perfect way to do a DNF review

It sounds terrible, thanks for the heads up
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Hahah yes I think it is too! And no problem, I guess? I feel bad for discouraging people lol.
Oh my god >.< This one just sounds plain dumb. Ooops~~~~ That was probably mean but there's not really a way around it. WHEN WILL PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WITHHOLDING VITAL INFORMATION IS NOT A GOOD PLAN!!? It doesn't protect people. It's actually quite counterproductive as the person who doesn't receive the information will suffer emotional turmoil (especially in this case omg. Getting convinced that you're crazy!?!? How can this be highlighted as the right path to take??) and usually ends up putting themselves in danger to figure out what is truly going on.
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
I KNOW I AM SO PISSED AT THAT. I really hate how no one understands LOGIC. like whyyy. I really don't like how it's used as a plot device :P
That is a great GIF (Zac Efron) to describe a DNF when you just want the book to work the way you want it to work!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Hahah thanks Missie! I love it :D
This one sounded so good. I mean look at that blurb! I'm so happy I'm on a requesting ban so I dodged a bullet. So many love interests. Ugh. I'm so sorry you have to suffer through this but at least you didn't finish it anymore. Hoping your next read is better, Val!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Thanks Sarah! Yeah the love interests were just all the same, and indistinguishable :P
I’m just stunned by the fact that you made it to 60%! That’s dedication right there, haha.

*whispers* I fell for the cover too. I had walked away from it because I knew it was Entangled Teen and I usually dislike their books but I was drawn back in by the cover and I caved and well we know where that left me ;)

And that’s about how you do a DNF review! No need to apologize - I’m over here giving you a standing ovation!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Hey you made it through the whole book haha! Yeah I haven't had experience with many publishers yet, but I'll try to stay away from Entangled Teen from now on.
Aww! This book seemed so good! And that cover! X( Anyway, I haven't had a DNF review ever either. What I do is either finish the book or put it back into my TBR list, so I can force myself to finish it anyway. What actually surprises me is that you did this review at the same time a friend of mine did it, and you both didn't like it. But because I love the cover, I'll probably still get it from the library when it comes out! Which is... sad. So far the books I finished and truly hated are The Dollhouse Asylum (My ultimate hate book, but seriously the name and cover are beautiful, the story idea was decent it was the main character who ruined it though.) and the Wither series, which I actually read the whole series even though I didn't really like it. So don't read those. Anyway, I send you luck for better books!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
YES I know. I was pretty much deceived by the cover, and I'm really sad about it. And I don't think I could ever force myself to finish a book anymore. Though truthfully I am very good at not DNFing anyways, so once in a while it is fine! And I have heard of neither of those books, so I guess good for me??? Haha
Well, that sounds awful. I was on the fence about this one, but blech. The worst is when there are two love interests who are basically just one. And I don't get the point of the book? And why be afraid of winter? Such a random fear. Yeah, I doubt I am reading this one! Thanks for the heads-up :) Oh, and I haven't done a DNF review yet either (or, DNFed, but that's cause I have issues lol), so you're not alone! It was great!
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Thanks Shannon! Yeah I'm not a fan of the quadrangle, but I heard that other people didn't mind it. BUT ME? No. And I love winter :P
Yikes! Guess I won't be reading this book after all. Thanks for saving me some time. :-)

Also, hope you don't mind, but I nominated you for a Liebster: http://bennitheblog.com/bookbiters/happy-laborlie...
1 reply · active 552 weeks ago
Thanks for the nomination! I'm not sure when I'm going to do all these awards, I've lost track :P I might mash them all together in a post when I'm free!

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