Brittany's Reviews > Wrecked

My main problem with Wrecked was that I didn't connect to any of its characters. The romance was rushed, the focus was not on the fantasy aspect of the book (which I wanted) and the main character was just someone I could not sympathize with. It's a shame, because Wrecked seemed to have it all from the amazing cover and synopsis.

I'm so disappointed that I didn't enjoy Wrecked - it's been on my TBR pile since I first heard about it and I had so much fun interviewing Anna Davies, she's lovely. Like I mentioned, my main problem with the book was the lack of connection I had to the characters. I'm not sure what it was, but the whole book felt rushed and as soon as I thought I was getting a handle on someone or something, it was time to move along again.

Miranda is the female lead and I wished that she hadn't succumbed to so many YA cliches. Dead parents? Check. Outcast? Check. As I got deeper into the book I found that I felt her to be quite a 'Mary Sue' character, and that never bodes well with me. Instead of being strong and being able to deal with things, Miranda would constantly change her mind and go running away crying or yelling, taking the story in all these different directions when it would have been beneficial to focus on just the one scenario. Does that make sense? If Miranda had been a fiercer lead, we could have experienced the story in a different light. The story sorely needed focus on some of its aspects, and Miranda could have helped that along if she would just STAY PUT. She also kept saying; 'I'm fine', 'It's fine' and I found myself wondering if Miranda knew how to say anything else but 'fine'.

Christian... I'm afraid I felt nothing for him. Usually I can muster up something to swoon over, but he felt incredibly bland to me. Although his certain brand of mythology - being a 'betwixtman' - could have brought a lot to the story, it wasn't really explored and Christian was somewhat of a cardboard cutout for Miranda to play with. He rescues Miranda, and that's where his appeal ends. He 'fell in love' with her instantly, wanting to sacrifice his duty/life for her and I just didn't find it believable at all. I also had a hard time imagining a merman/betwixtman being called 'Christian' when they don't even speak our language. Same goes for his brother, Valentine.

The relationship between Christian and Miranda wasn't convincing in the slightest. Miranda is still grieving from the accident that killed four of her friends and put her boyfriend, Fletch, into a coma. I found it hard to believe that she was off spending nights on the beach wrapped in some stranger's embrace when her boyfriend was practically a vegetable in hospital. I can understand the need for Miranda to talk to someone; but to fall in love with them instantly? When you know nothing about them or have barely talked? Christian didn't offer much in the 'opening up' department, so I don't know how Miranda could grasp much about him as a 'person'.

Talking about the accident, I want to discuss the fact that none of the anger seemed warranted. Especially from those who were also in the wreck with Miranda - they SAW what happened and knew it wasn't Miranda's fault. A little distance or gossip would be expected, but not the outright 'you've done enough, don't you think?' or blatant blacklisting. Not to mention Fletch's parents not allowing Miranda by his bedside when she was his girlfriend. Yes, Miranda was driving the boat at the time of the accident, but I found it completely unbelievable that nobody on the whole island seemed sympathetic when she was injured and distraught herself.

Also, the identity of Sephie was so obvious I wanted to poke Miranda in the eye.

Basically, Wrecked had a LOT of potential but it followed the well-travelled, boring road of predictable YA. If you're not one for 'insta-love', overused cliches, etc. you might want to steer clear of this one.

Recommended to: If, like me, you've seen some negative reviews but are curious to judge it for yourself, pick up Wrecked. Hopefully you'll enjoy it more than I did.