Review: Wrecked by Anna Davies

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on April 22, 2012 | 5 Comments


Review: Wrecked by Anna DaviesWrecked by Anna Davies
Published by Simon & Schuster (5.1.2012)
Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: ARC, 321 pages
Source: Won from Goodreads
Buy on Amazon


1 Stars

Secrets of the sea have never been sexier than this. Ever since the death of her parents, Miranda has lived on Whym Island, taking comfort in the local folklore, which claims a mysterious sea witch controls the fate of all on the island and in its surrounding waters. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe things are out of your control.

     But then a terrible boating accident takes the lives of several of her friends, and Miranda is rescued by a mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. Consumed by guilt from the accident, she finds refuge in late-night swims—and meets Christian, a boy who seems eerily familiar, but who is full of mystery: He won’t tell her where he is from, or why they can only meet at the beach. But Miranda falls for him anyway…and discovers that Christian’s secrets, though meant to protect her, may bring her nothing but harm.

     Seductive and compelling, Wrecked brings a contemporary, paranormal twist to a classic enchanting tale.

My thoughts

Let me just say right now that I didn’t read the whole thing (made it to page 169, little more than halfway), but this still isn’t totally a DNF for me because I skimmed the last half and read the ending. So I can, in all fairness, give it a one starfish rating.

I do not want to hear even ONE more person compare this book to The Little Mermaid. The only thing remotely similar was that the mermaid (in this case merman) saw the human and became obsessed. Oh, and there was an evil sea witch. Other than that, this book has absolutely nothing to do with the wonderful Disney story that I love so much.

The first problem I had with this book is that it was slow. God awful, spoon my eyes out SLOW. I was bored to tears for the majority and had to force myself to return to reading. Except for the boat “wreck” 25 pages in, there was basically nothing happening. There was WAY too much filler and not enough plot. I really don’t give an ass rat’s about Miranda’s life story or her friends’ dating escapades.

The second major problem – the blaming. Okay, I understand that Miranda was actually driving the boat, but can she really be blamed for a total freak accident? The only reason that would in fact point to her was …she was driving. Uhh…..okay? That’s it? Riiiiight. She tested negative for drugs and alcohol. But I guess nobody else in this book had any logic, because she was confronted with outright hostility from EVERYONE. Even her boyfriend’s parents, who she supposedly had a close relationship with. Even her teachers and the guidance counselor? Come on now. I can understand her blaming herself, but not everyone else. Sure, the thought might cross their minds, but for the school to basically suggest that she shouldn’t come back? That was a little too outlandish for me.

There was seriously almost 100 pages of this. Just straight moping and blaming. Everyone acts like she’s cursed and stares at her while simultaneously avoiding her. A nurse actually crosses herself – seriously? Like she’s the devil because she was involved in an accident? The other friends involved hate her: one girl says, “I think you’ve done enough,” and another girl’s parents say, “Stop calling for the sake of all of us,” and a guy says, “Stay away from me. Because of you they’re gone. Can’t you just leave us alone?” Okay, she lost 4 friends too. She was in the accident too. She got injured too! Good Lord.

Then, her brother (her own brother!) tells her she’s been weird because she a) has a hysterical meltdown at a tribute to her friends and runs away crying and b) she finally snaps at her bitchy-ass grandma. Um? The grandma kinda had it coming anyway, and either way SHE JUST LOST 4 FRIENDS. I think she has the right to a bit of a breakdown. But that’s just me.

Now, for the romance obsession. Oh for the love of kittens!! Miranda and Christian didn’t officially meet until page 150. PAGE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. Like I said, too much filler. Anyway, creepystalkerdude does his creepy stalking from the water, and she sees him (again). They say hi, exchange a few sentences, take a swim together, then go cuddle on the beach. *whips head around* Whaaat? Yeah, you heard me. “Hi, you’re hot, let’s spoon!!” Sorry but if I met some guy (no matter how hot) that was randomly out in the water of a deserted beach at night with no car or boat in sight, I don’t think I’d want to get cozy with him. But maybe that’s just me?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, LITERALLY 18 pages after they meet, this line:
Killing Miranda would mean his own soul would die. He had fallen in love that quickly.
STALKING SOMEONE FROM THE WATER DOES NOT EQUAL LOVE. This was the final straw for me. I skimmed through the rest and read the ending, only to find that I was indeed not missing anything. Christian drops the M bomb, Miranda freaks out and runs away… while screeching hysterically and ripping her hair out (okay I made that up). Then, after a conversation with Coral in which she’s told “that boy is bad for you,” she goes running back to him…with stars shining in her eyes and her heart beating a merry rhythm (alright, I made that up too)…aaand they proceed to make out. Um? Huh. Right. Anyway…

Other irritating parts:
“Well, you could have told someone. You could have talked to the police and told them what you saw. And you could have let me know. I thought I was crazy, kept having all these visions of you. I didn’t know if you were real or what had happened. I had so many nightmares,” she said, tears finally falling.
“Shhhh…,” Christian said, reaching to pull her body toward his. Miranda began to push him away, but he continued to make the shushing sound, and finally, she relaxed into his shoulder.
Nevermind that you’re not listening to me and you don’t have a reason, you’re hawt! *hold me*

“I miss them. So much. So, so much,” Miranda said dully. “And I just don’t understand. How did you save me? Fletch threw me overboard and then…?”
“Shhh,” Christian said, continuing to rub her back, “Shhh.”
SOMEBODY PLEASE PUNCH THIS GUY IN THE FACE. I mean, er, uhh…just shutup and hold me!

(in the same page as the L word confession, 18 pages after they meet)
When Miranda fell asleep on his chest, he felt something tug at the very core of his being. It wasn’t his heart, and it wasn’t his lungs, constricting from too much oxygen. Those were all physical symptoms. This was something different, an unseen force that was telling him how much he needed Miranda, and how much she needed him.
No, not needed.
It was more than that, when Miranda slept next to him, in his arms, he felt that she and he were one and the same – killing her would be killing part of himself.

 
 
Yeah, that about sums it up. There really wasn’t anything else happening to speak of. There’s a revelation about a character 300 pages in that I figured out as soon as she was introduced on page 100something. Um, hello, her yacht’s name was Sephie for crying out loud!

Honestly, I was kind of hoping that the evil sea witch would smite Christian and Miranda both and we could all go about our merry way. But alas, the outcome of that battle was predictable. And then the ending was terrible. Uhh okay? Just like that? Whatever dude. Toodles.

 
assessment
Plot: 1/5
Writing style: 1/5
Very, very dry.
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 1/5
Cover: 5/5
False advertisement? :(
 
Overall rating: 1/5 starfish
Not for me!
Jessi (Geo)

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5 responses to “Review: Wrecked by Anna Davies

  1. Yikes…the whole creepy-hot-boy-stalker thing combined with a serious case of insta love is definitely a turn off for me. I think I’ll probably be passing on this one, because those are two pet peeves that are at the tippy top of my list!

  2. Ugh, I hate it when the boy’s a creepy stalker, just like Twilight and Starcrossed. I’m sorry you didn’t like it, but I read your whole review and even though I haven’t read the book, I still understand why you don’t like it. And I hate the insta-romance too! Drives me insane!!

  3. I love the cover art… I hate to hear it didn’t read like that. I also hate when things are compared to other stories, especially such well known ones and then it doesn’t stack up to the challenge. So upsetting!

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