18 May 2012

Review: Taste by Kate Evangelista

Book: Taste by Kate Evangelista
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Pages: 259
Source: Review copy
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.


Um. Hm. I'm at a loss for words (and it's not the good kind).

WHAT I LIKED:

  • Taste actually had a unique paranormal twist!
    • I come into this book expecting vampires galore, but I was completely wrong! (And so far off...) I love it when books surprise me like this, and this twist was pretty refreshing to read about than the usual angels, werewolves, etc.
  • The world building = original.
    • I can't go too into depth about the world building or else I'll spoil said paranormal twist, but I'm just going to say it was really cool. I loved reading about the world Evangelista created. It was addicting, and it made me crave for more!
    • I really also liked the terms in this book! It seemed Russian inspired, and just really awesome. (I might be wrong about the Russian inspiration part though.)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

  • Phoenix McKay, please put a sock in it.
    • If you don't get my saying, it's basically "shut up". Good Lord, this girl whined for days and days and days on end about her past. Half of her dialogue was filled with inane, stupid questions and much much sniffling. 
    • And that whole "I need to put up an armor so no one can get close to me" kind of thing? Yeah, I've seen too much of that already. I understand that her past was heartbreaking (and it was a bit for me), but she needs to live and move on.
  •   Oh joy, there's two dimensional characters! *sarcasm intended*
    • The cast of Taste completely fell flat for me. There was hardly any character development with the main cast and it just didn't work for me. They all were extremely simple and easy to figure out, which is not my cup of tea.
  •  Show, don't tell!
    • Remember how I said Phoenix was just filled with all these questions? Yeah, a good majority of them was asking to explain this new world she was in, and lo and behold, the answer was... that's right, you guessed it: information dumping! 
    • Instead of the information dumping, I really wished she showed more of the world instead of through words exchanged in conversation. I'm a huge fan of world building in books, and I just felt let down when I was reading this.
  •  The writing was... okay.
    • I don't obsess over the writing like I do with world building, but the writing was mediocre at best. It was very simple, and the dialogue between characters didn't feel natural at times.

THE VERDICT:

  • Taste had a lot of potential but unfortunately, it just didn't live up to it for me.






16 lovelies:

Gianne said...

Thanks for the honest review, Gianna! I've been contemplating reading this book lately. I might still give it a go but I will be cautious! :) 

Gianne said...

Ugh, I hate it when books have so much potential with world building, but sucky characters :/ Sorry this one didn't work out for you so well, but thanks for the honest. It's always appreciated <33


BTW, I am liking the way you switch up your reviews. I like THIS new format especially :)

Gianne said...

Thank you very much for your honesty. I agree with you that - according to its summary, since I haven't read it myself yet - TASTE seems to have lots of potential, but it's too bad that it didn't deliver on it. We already have too many whiny main characters in YA and I don't feel like adding another one to my list of annoyances. :D

Carina
Fictional Distraction

Unknown said...

Fabulous review, Giannna! I'm sorry that this book is a disappointment. I hate it when a book has so much amazing potential but in the end, it let me down! :( Ah, I need to read this book soon but maybe I can shuffle it back a bit. I'm not in the mood for annoying heroine LOL! :P

Gianne said...

Sigh... I participated in the trailer reveal for this book, but honestly, I kept it to myself that I wouldn't be reading this one. Just based on the trailer, the summary, and now the reviews I'm seeing, I definitely don't think this would be a book I'd enjoy and give a positive review of :( Thank you for your honesty! All of these things you mentioned here just drive me up the wall with YA books, so I think it's safe to say I won't be reading this one!!

~Lea LC's Adventures in Libraryland

Gianne said...

I'm sorry that you didn't like this book. =( By the looks of it, I'm not going to be picking this book up, at all. Even though I like a good paranormal twist, it seems like there are just far too many negatives, like the 2D characters, in this book. So it's going off the TBR. =( Thank you for the honest and helpful review, Gianna! 

-Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

Gianne said...

Meh, I usually tend to stay away from these paranormal reads exactly for the reasons you listed... bad characterization, whiny heroine, infodumps (uh, /loathe/ the infodumps)... but like you said it does seem to have potential which is why it's on my 'maybe' shelf. Anywho thanks for the honest review! =)

Gianne said...

Thanks, Cindy. :) Paragraph reviews don't do it for me anymore x___x

Gianne said...

No problem! :D If you do read it, I hope you like it more than I do~

Gianne said...

You're welcome! ^.^ I agree, way way way too many whiny characters in the YA sea >.<

Gianne said...

I know the feeling :/ I like switching up my reviews too, I just don't do it too often x_x

Gianne said...

Aww, sorry to hear :( I've definitely read way too much infuriating YA books, and it's sad to have to add this one as well. :(

Gianne said...

The two dimensional characters weren't fun at all >.< Sorry to hear you're not going to be picking it up! And no problem! n_n

Gianne said...

It DOES have potential, but these negatives were dragging me down! D; And you're welcome, lovey!

Gianne said...

Gah! So sad you didn't like it. But really, whiny heroines spoil the entire book for me, too :( That's too bad, since it seemed like a nice paranormal. But yea, too much information and not given the right way... simply no. Nice honest review, Gianna! :)

Gianne said...

Oh noes, the star is cut in half! XD But seriously, great review Gianna! I think I might be skipping this one. The cover's pretty though.

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