Where I Failed to Get It

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here's another series where I thought I was the right audience and I find I am not. I like the idea of the characters, and I like the setting, and I like this type of plot, but when I read the books, I'm having no fun. Zero fun. (Three stars for reasons other than my personal reaction.)

I didn't love the first book but gave the second book a shot, thinking I'd like it better. I really didn't. I almost DNF'ed twice. Had it on the trade-in pile. Picked it back up. But it never paid off.

So many people love the book and series, it's gotta be me. I should probably let it go. But I'll explain myself for those who might think like me.

Here's the deal--I don't like the characters the way so many others seem to. Other reviewers are really digging their will-they-won't-they love story, rooting for them, and they find their banter amusing, even laugh-out-loud funny. Not me, unfortunately. (I am not one of those who takes pride in being negative.) I have never learned to like them, though I have seriously tried. Veronica has some interesting qualities, but she disappoints. She warms up to almost no one and mostly just argues with everybody she interacts with. Nearly every interview turns to tedious verbal sparring. And it seems like all the characters are selfish and self-serving, with hardly any examples of warm, loving relationships. The characters all live in a cynical, transactional space where kindness and love are foreign, and it's all so arch and cold and clever that it bums me out.

Anyway, I'm not vibing with it. You might. I dunno.

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