Mortal Danger
Author: Ann Aguirre
Series: Immortal Game #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Summary:
In Ann Aguirre’s Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.
In one short summer, her entire life changes and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly…bad things are happening. It’s a head rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who — or what — she can trust. Not even her own mind.
First Sentence: I was supposed to die at 5:57 a.m.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
My Review:
It’s a no-brainer that I was more than excited for Ann Aguirre’s Mortal Danger. I absolutely loved her Razorland trilogy (let’s ignore the fact that I still I have to read Horde, the last book in the trilogy) and Mortal Danger sounded like the perfect fit for me. I love, love, love reading about revenge stories and a revenge story written by Ann Aguirre with a deadly twist? Sold. I could ask for nothing better. Even though the negative reviews came pouring in, I knew for sure that I would love Mortal Danger either way. Sadly, Mortal Danger ended up disappointing me again and again and again.
Right from the very start, I found it very hard to connect with Edie. She’s just so aloof and the way she described her life was so info-dumpy, added with a know-it-all vibe that I didn’t like. The thing is, I should have easily connected with Edie since I was in her situation, although not as severe, and could easily relate with her. I couldn’t connect with Edie for the rest of the book either – it was like a wall of brick was around her, preventing me from going in and caring about her.
At this point, I implemented plan B. I had no friends. Nobody would miss me. At best, my parents – oblivious academic types – would see me as a ruined potential. (ARC 3)
I was expecting to like the romance in Mortal Danger since I adored the romance in Ann Aguirre’s Razorland trilogy. However, all I can say about the romance in Mortal Danger was that I just don’t get it. The romance in Mortal Danger is insta-lust at its finest – Edie is very attracted to Kian when she first met him and couldn’t help but think about him ever since then. Why would Edie constantly think about Kian when she doesn’t know Kian at all? you might wonder. The dreaded answer: Edie is constantly thinking about Kian because he’s hot. Cue the facepalms. To make matters even worse, Edie knew from the very beginning that that wasn’t Kian’s true face. How could I cheer for a romance like that? Add the fact that Edie and Kian had absolutely no chemistry and you have a relationship that I definitely don’t ship.
He had the kind of face you saw in magazines, sculpted and air-brushed to perfection. Sharp cheekbones eased into a strong jaw and a kissable mouth…His face was…haunting, unsettling, even. (ARC 5)
To make things even more disappointing (can it really get any worse?), it took a little more than halfway through the book for the revenge part to really start. The first half of the book is basically filled with info-dump about Edie’s situation, her deal with Kian, her road to gaining confidence, and her learning about the people behind her deal and how it works. The pacing for the first half of Mortal Danger was horrible and boring. I had to force myself to read on because I loved Ann Aguirre’s Razorland trilogy that much.
I don’t know if the finished copy of Mortal Danger would have this, but the ARC of Mortal Danger was full of awkward errors including missing propositions in the middle of sentences, misspelled words, and incorrect grammar. Normally, I wouldn’t say anything when things like this happens in an ARC, but the amount of mistakes in the ARC of Mortal Danger was astonishing. Besides those kind of errors, there was also an inconsistency error. For example, one moment it would say that Edie was on the phone, the next moment it says that the person who she’s on the phone with blinked (if you’re on the phone, how can you know that the other person on the line blinked?), and then it says she shuts the phone. I will definitely be picking up a finished copy of Mortal Danger and seeing if all the errors were caught.
“Do you want to hurt her?” he asked.
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. Do I want people to laugh at her? Yeah. I want her to know how feels. But I’m not thinking about carving her up or anything.” (ARC 149)
Overall, I am very sad to say that Mortal Danger is a book filled with missed potential. Mortal Danger had the opportunity to be awesome, epic even, but in the end, it definitely missed its mark.
I feel the exact same way about the Razorland trilogy, so I think that I won’t be picking this book up either. ‘Enclave’ was so good and compelling, and the second book was good too. I still have yet to finish ‘Horde’, too — I think I had trouble getting back into the series and remembering everything.
It’s sad that this book had so many flaws. Edie seems like the kind of character that the reader should be ably to connect with because of all her troubles, but the fact that you couldn’t must mean that she’s not very well-written. And Kian sounds like a lot of other intsa-loves… I feel like he doesn’t sound like anything special.
Lina recently posted…Double Review: ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ by Stephanie Perkins
Yeah, I forgot a lot of what happened in the Razorland trilogy, but all I know is I still definitely ship Deuce and Fade allll the way. <3
The way Edie was written was just so aloof. It was hard to share her feelings, even if you too went through the same thing she did.
I'm iffy about Edie and Kian's romance being insta-love, which is why I didn't use "insta-love," but insta-lust. There's also another reason why I said insta-lust instead, but if I explain it to you, it'll definitely be a spoiler. It's not a big spoiler, but I doubt you'll want to be spoiled for this book. :P
Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: Mortal Danger – Ann Aguirre
Oh no! I’m so sad to hear that!
I love the cover and summary but it sounds like a book I’ll probably hate!
Lis @ The reader lines recently posted…Pining for… Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Most people ended up DNF’ing this one, and honestly, if it wasn’t for my love for Ann Aguirre’s books, I would have DNF’d this one too.
Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: Mortal Danger – Ann Aguirre
I was really excited about this book when I first heard about it, I also really loved her Razorland series. However, I’ve been seeing so many negative reviews for it that my excitement diminished. I just don’t think I will like a book that has no connection to the characters, insta-love/lust, and a premise that starts half-way through the book. So, I think I’ll just pick this one up from the library when it releases, because I really want to read it for myself and see if I’m in the majority or minority.
Great review :D
Kim @ Kimberly’s Novel Notes recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday
I didn’t care for the negative reviews for this one – I was sure I would LOVE Mortal Danger. My love for Ann Aguirre’s books was THAT strong.
Hopefully you’ll love this one Kimberly, despite the problems I had with it!
Thank you! (:
Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: Mortal Danger – Ann Aguirre
I’m really sad to add your review to a list of bad reviews I’ve read for this book. I have an ARC on my shelf and I had such high hopes for it. I hate the sound of the romance and the book honestly sounds boring. I’m not sure if I’ll end up reading this one but I”ll definitely lower my expectations if I do.
Thanks for the honest review!
Katie recently posted…Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read New Adult!
I absolutely hated this book from the first page. I actually felt bad for receiving a free review copy and writing such a negative review. Everything about this book from Edie’s obsession with her physical appearance and revenge to the political battle made it horrible.
I also wanted to mention the many mistakes, but I figured that because it was a proof, someone would fix it. It made it difficult to read.
Erin recently posted…It’s Monday! What are You Reading? (1)
I was like uhhh when I read the first page. The first sentence was EPIC, but the rest of the first page, not so much. I just hate how I couldn’t connect with Edie. :l
I usually won’t mention the mistakes, but the plot inconsistencies like the phone thing was the last straw. And I agree – the errors made the book really hard to read.
Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: Mortal Danger – Ann Aguirre
wow, such a low rating. So can’t relate & a slow start. Aw, I was looking forward to the horror/ romance aspect of the book.
I love your reviewes. You are trully being honest. And I always take a peak if you read the book I wan’t to, too.
That first line seems pretty powerful, though. It would definitely want me to keep reading. The fact that you said Edie keeps thinking about Kian even if she doesn’t know him, basically just because he’s hot… yeah. No. That won’t work for me. This book does seem to have potential, though! Sorry it disappointed you.
Honest review! since I don’t know anything about this book aside from your review, I’d like to give it a try and see for myself what went wrong.
I’m sorry that you didn’t like this book. It’s really disappointing when one of your favorite author’s book doesn’t do it for you. I don’t typically read revenge books, It seems a little weird that you wouldn’t get to the revenge part til the middle of the book.
Sorry to hear the book was not good, especially since you were really excited about it. I have never read anything by Ann Aguirre so I can’t relate to your love of her books. The first line is really intriguing and the cover is beautiful but, I will not be picking this up.
Sorry that the book wasn’t all you thought it would be. There’s nothing worse than a book in which you can’t connect with the character, I’m reading one of those right now and as much as the story seems to have great potential it just can’t be captivating.
Thais Pampado recently posted…O Aniversário de Anya
I ended up DNF this one at page 50 because it was driving me nuts. I ranted to my husband about it for about 5 minutes and he said “well why are you still going to read it, if you already hate it that much?”. My blog partner ended up finishing it and sort of liking the revenge part, but agreed with everything else you said above. I expected a lot more from Aguirre, whose Razorland trilogy I loved.
Kristen recently posted…Pick Your Thon Challenge
I’ve been seeing a lot of meh reviews for this one. I actually haven’t read her Razorland trilogy (even though I think I own the first book) but the premise of this one sounded REALLY interesting. Too bad it was such a disappointment! At least I can try her trilogy, which I hear most people loved! :)
Wendy @ Book Scents recently posted…A Queen of the People
I was saddened by this one too. I enjoyed it a smidgen more than you but overall I was disappointed too. I enjoyed the Razorland series (I thought book 1 was the strongest) and had really high hopes for MD. I wonder if we had never read an Aguirre book would it have been any better? I don’t really think it would have been. The part that I enjoyed were the creepy bits (after that first half).
Kristen@My Friends Are Fiction recently posted…My Recommendations for 2014 (so far)
‘Cue the facepalms’ LOL. I really like stories about revenge though, and I was really looking forward to this book, but your review makes me question whether to read it or not. I would probably read this book anyway, just to see what it’s like. The first line really does intrigue me though, what does she mean by that? I’m definitely going to try the Razorland trilogy though, seeing many commenters like it so much :)
I’ve actually done this once before with an ARC – picked up the finished copy to see if errors caught. Nope. (This was The Forever Song, BTW, and admittedly, the few errors were minor. I was just curious.) :)
Yours is the first review for Mortal Danger, that I’ve read, and I’m disappointed to hear that it wasn’t great. I haven’t read the Razorland books yet – I do own the first two books, though – so I wouldn’t have anything to compare MD, too. Maybe…hopefully…I’ll have a better experience without that comparison.
Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia recently posted…Review: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Wow. Thank you for telling me this, because I was really looking forward to this book but now I’m not so sure. It sounded really good but your review was full of good pointers and tips. Thank you for saving me $20!!
I’ve been seeing a lot of mixed reviews for this, too bad this one didn’t work out for you! I’ve been debating picking it up, but I might leave it for a bit. That’s really unfortunate about all the awkward grammar etc, I know it can take away from the story (even if it’s an ARC you’re reading.) You’ll have to let us know if changes are made in the final copy! Thanks for the review.
Cyn recently posted…Review: Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones
I feel like you’ve just saved me again! I was planning on picking this book up due to the fact that I’ve heard nothing but AMAZING things about the Razorland trilogy and have been meaning to read it for the longest, but I always like to get a feel for an author before I invest in a series. So when this book came out, I felt like it was destiny! Plus, I also love revenge stories. “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are two if my favorite classics. But having seen this review, I don’t think I’m going to pick it up. Stories where you can’t connect to the character are the worst. Why would I want to read about this character’s life if I don’t care about them? And insta-love? Been there, done that, bought the tee shirt AND the coffee mug AND a keychain. So, thank you, for helping me dodge a bullet! I’m just going to exercise a bit of faith and just jump straight into the Razorland trilogy!
Good review. Too bad the book was a miss. I will have to read her razorland series though. ;)
I’m disappointed that you didn’t enjoy it! I’ve been wanting to read this one. But thanks for your honest opinion. The reasons you’ve given for not liking the book are well thought out and not to mention reasons I definitely will not like this book. Thanks again!
The synopsis makes the book seem so good. It’s upsetting that you didn’t think the book was up to par. That’s always a sad event. It especially sucks cause it’s time wasted that could’ve been spent on a better book. I personally may still give this book a try, just to see the story for myself. Maybe, at least.
Lyndsey @ Musing Fiction recently posted…Friday Reads (8.8.14)
Doesn’t sound like the book i’d read. And since it’s fantasy, i was wondering what kind of fantasy. You didn’t mention about that part, or you did? I just read your dissapointment so far. And the revenge, you should at least give us the revenge teaser. I don’t get any plot at all from your review really. But never mind, i wouldn’t read this book either way.
diyah nurhasanah recently posted…[Review] Me & My Prince Charming by Orizuka
I am sorry you didnt like it.. I am a big fan of Ann Aguirre, her YA and her adult books. I was excited from the moment she announced this book and I will definetly read it. I hope that I will love it, every reader is different after all. :)
Lea Krnjeta recently posted…In my mailbox (43)
Great review!
I read the first book in the Razorland trilogy and I did like it. But I don’t think her work is suitable for me. There’s something felt wrong about her books (at least for me)
It’s such a disappointment her new series turn out to be bad
Kevin Setiawan recently posted…Book Blogger Test | Book Tag
Oh man. I was SO looking forward to this book! I loved her Razorland Trilogy too. I’ve gotta decide whether to pick this one up or not.
Aditi recently posted…Personal Statement by Jason Odell Williams- REVIEW
I love that type of book. I never read any Ann Aguirre’s book, but now i want to.
“Do you want to hurt her?” he asked.
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. Do I want people to laugh at her? Yeah. I want her to know how feels. But I’m not thinking about carving her up or anything.”
WHOAH
I always think it’s such a shame when you read books by an author whose work you have enjoyed before and are disappointed. And it also sounds like you were excited about the revenge premise for the book, which makes it doubly disappointing. Oh well, we can’t like everything, right? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who will love this book.
I have heard such good things about her Razorland series and wanted to try this author but I’m not too sure now. This sounds great but doesn’t seem to be executed well and I finished her NA offering yesterday and honestly I still don’t know if it’s going to end up a review or a rant when I start writing my thoughts down!
Danielle recently posted…The Monthly Round Up | The July Edition
I haven’t read anything from this author but I’ve heard great things. This book sounds right up my alley though I’m sorry to hear that it wasn’t as great as it seems it could be. I’m still excited to read it though and hope to enjoy it anyways :) (Btw, I’m huge on first-lines and I find it so cool you put that in the review. I have a rule that if a book doesn’t have a snag-your-attention-immediately line, it’s not worth reading. This first line sounds intriguing though…)
Haven’t read any book in this pace for a while and haven’t read any book from this author. I always love the way you write these lines from the books. Some lines looks intriguing and I might check this book out once I have time from all the school works from school. Sorry that you weren’t satisfied enough when you read this Kelly!
It’s so unfortunate to see a plot full of potential being poorly executed. The summary sounded spectacular and so did the first sentence (I’m a sucker for great opening lines), but when I read your review and noted the narrative of the protagonist, I was instantly disappointed—definitely didn’t appeal to me. I haven’t read anything by Ann Aguirre, but the Razorland trilogy sounds great, so I’m definitely going to check it out! Great review.
Sad to see you didn’t enjoy this book, it sounded like an awesome read but I don’t think I’ll be picking it up now.
Kristen recently posted…Book Spotlight: Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee (Author Interview)
I absolutely hate insta anything in books, and it’s so common it’s hard to get away from. I hate it more than I hate love triangles.
I was also really looking forward to this one but recently I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews, especially about the insta love- why do authors do this? :/
Safah @ Midnight Pageturners recently posted…YA Recommendations – BY GENRE What are your favourites?
I was looking forward to read this book because of the cool cover (i am a person who judges books by their covers…It’s not cool i know…) The summary was so good but i saw a lot of negative reviews on goodreads and on other blogs, so i guess i’m not going to read it…
I never read Ann Aguirre’s books but I really liked this cover and the plot of Mortal Danger. I don’t care with negative reviews. Sometimes, I have different opinions. :)
Having a faustian contract hasn’t been used much on books. I would like to read this book too and your review was quite helpful. :)
Alexandra recently posted…Review+Giveaway: “Ruin and Rising” by Leigh Bardugo
Hi :)
I feel sorry that this book disappointed you but I liked your review. I haven’t read the book and I didn’t know the author but I liked Razorland trilogy so when I improve my english a little bit, i’ll give it a chance!
Laura.
PD: Sorry for my bad english… I just started to read books in english so i’m still practicing writing.
Laura recently posted…Resumen del mes: Julio
An unlikable main character and instalove, count me out. Such a shame this book had promise too. Sorry you didn’t like it. I hope your next read was better. Nice review. :) I chuckled at your facepalm, that’s what I’d do.
Molly Mortensen recently posted…Between By Megan Whitmer
I was so excited to read this so when it finally came in for me at the library I immediately brought it home and began to read. I liked the very beginning and I was hopeful but then when Kian came in it slowly began going downhill for me. I ended up DNFing around page 60 or so. I just had to many other books I was also excited for to give this one anymore time. I am really happy for everyone that did enjoy it though. It just wasn’t for me.
I have quite a few friends who liked this though and I’ve noticed your not much of a fan of Ann’s…
But maybe I’ll give it a shot if someone gives it to me as a gift or something
Jayvee @ Writer For Misfits recently posted…ARC Review: Random by Tom Leveen
mhh,,, the cover is gorgerous!
Maybe i will read it…….. i don’t know
This seems good!
Samantha recently posted…Anna and the French Kiss
^Uh posted on the wrong thread above, but this seemed like it would be a good book,but after reading your review not no much. Which sucks because it seemed like it had so much potential!
Samantha recently posted…Lola and the Boy Next Door
The book sounds great!! Thanks for the awesome review!!
Another disappointing release that I was really looking forward too.. :( I loved her Razorland Trilogy too and Deuce was easily on of the best MCs I’ve read. When you cant relate to the main character, the book never really works out. Disappointed about the romance too when the Razorland romance was perfect.
Oh this is disappointing :(
Since I read the sinopsis, I got so excited to read it! The book have such a good premise, so it’s sad that you didn’t like it:(((
Great review, anyway!
I have never read any book from Ann Aguirre and sorry you didn’t like the book.
Since it book has already been published for a month it might be in the library so I will be getting it there instead of buying it just in case I don’t like it.