SEEKER
by Arwen Elys Dayton
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pub Date: Feb 10, 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Length: Audiobook
Spoilers: MARKED
Goodreads ♦ Amazon($7.99)
Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.
Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin’s new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.
Don’t Care
So… aren’t you supposed to have at least one character to care about and root for in the book? Isn’t that like… the whole point of the story? To connect with one or more character? Yeah… I didn’t. I didn’t connect with ANY of the characters in this book. Honestly, I was hoping they’d all die! Every. Last. One of Them. -.-
Random Flashback Time!
Woo! It’s random flashback time! This book isn’t long enough or boring enough or slow enough yet, so we’re gonna just have an interlude! (literally, it was labelled ‘interlude’ in the audiobook.) In case you can’t tell, that was 100% pure, unprocessed SARCASM! My god! What was with the flashbacks in this book? Not only were they annoying and slowed down the already slow pace of the book, but they literally did not offer anything to the story! Nothing! They were pointless wastes of space.
1D Characters
Um… Whatshisface wants the thing. He wants it REAL bad… Yup. That’s it. That’s all we get for the character. No like… depth or complexities or anything. Just so-and-so wants this and will be a total idiot over and over… and over again to get it. -.- aka I just watched the same scene repeat at different points in time throughout the course of the story.
Random POV
Honestly, I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to give all the teenagers POVs, but it did NOT enhance this book. In fact, it hindered it. Why? Well, first off see ‘don’t care’ above. Second off, at least two POVs did not offer anything to the story. They were just extra, random information that slowed down the already glacial pace of the plot. It’s like these POVs were thrown in for shits and gigs. Or perhaps book one was literally just a way-station to book two, (which I will not be reading after this book.)
Love & Desire
Are. You. Freaking. Kidding. Me?! You’re telling me that John loves Quin soooo much, but won’t run away with her and he isn’t willing to accept her desire to not help him steal back her family’s property? That despite his undying love for her, he’s okay with tracking her down, commanding thugs to beat her up, kidnapping her mom, and forcing her to help him with this thing because he thinks he’s efing entitled to it?! Dude! Had I been in that book, I would have shot him at the end of his first POV chapter. UGH!
Melanie Noell Bernard 
Yep yep yep!!! Never finished it and I doubt I ever will. Honestly I sort of forgot this book existed until I saw your review pop up lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bahahaha! I actually forgot I wrote this review until people started commenting on it. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oops, something went wrong there and my previous comment was sent while I was trying to fix that 1D typo. 😅
What I was trying to say was: Wow, random flashbacks and 1D characters? I never though I’d find that in a published book. 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! No worries. That happens to all of us. :p
Bahahahaha! Published or unpublished, bad writing is still bad writing. Such a shame! sigh
LikeLiked by 1 person
😛😛
I’m just surprised bad writing can get published. Then again, I’m not at all experienced with the publishing process. 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
BAHAHAHAHA! The only thing publishers care about is whether or not it will sell. It obviously had an interesting enough concept for people to pick it up and want to read it, but I can’t honestly imagine wanting to ever read anything by this author again. o.O (Trust me. I’ve seen a LOT of bad writing published, especially in YA. It’s a reason the age group has such a bad rap.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
I would have thought good books will sell more, but I guess having an interesting enough concept will lure people to buy the books too. It’s a materialistic world, after all. 😅
It’s sad that YA books have a bad rep; personally I like reading books with teenage or young adult protagonists, probably because of manga influence. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honestly, how many books sell has a LOT to do with marketing. If a publisher advertises the book like crazy, more people know about it, so more people are likely to buy it. Unfortunately, not all books are marketed equally and some of the better written books don’t seem to get as much hype. (Something about marketing trends and what the readers want, blah blah blah.)
Hee hee! I love reading YA, too. I mean, I’m still technically a young adult. So I can kind of get away with it. 😉 But the books are shorter and honestly the stories just feel more raw than adult stories, you know what I mean?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, thanks for taking the time effort to explain publishing issues to me! One certainly learns new stuff everyday. 😀
I’m not a young adult anymore, but I hope being young at heart counts. 😛
I agree YA stories feel more raw than adult books, and I think some adult books just have too much drama for me. 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hee hee! You’re very welcome. I have spent many months dissecting the publishing world as I’m currently querying and need to know these things. :p
And I think being young at heart counts. You still can understand and connect with those characters because you were that age at some point in your life. I think that’s why YA appeals to such a wide variety of people. 🙂
Hahahaha! Adult books do have a lot of drama and they tend to be heavier in regards to the topics they deal with. But YA is also… simpler? :p Not to sound horrible, but they don’t deal with certain topics and that allows the story to focus on a couple things instead of being overly convoluted.
LikeLike
O.M.G.
We AGREE!!
I think the world is going to end…
(I kept reading and read Traveler and it just gets worse and worse – the magic system makes no sense and the sword traveling thing makes no sense and NONE OF IT MATTERS! It makes NO SENSE!)
I can’t believe it. We both hate a book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! I guess that means it’s a truly awful book, eh?
LikeLike
Bahahahahahaha! Is this what you meant by critical reviews because this was an awesome read! 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Um… cough Maybe? >.>
This… may have been a bit over-the-top… Ahem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha, the Anti-hero of bad books strikes again! 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
epic music plays in the background 😂😂😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I despise random flashbacks. They’re rarely written well enough to not confuse or disinterest me. But to call it “interlude” on top of that?……. 😒😐🙄
LikeLiked by 1 person
RIGHT?! Interlude, my ass! What is this? A freakin’ theater production? Uh-uh! No! Fill a book with meaningful content or learn to write better. Flashbacks are SUCH a writing cop-out! RAWR!!!! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bwahahahaha!!! Omg this is rant/review gold!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂 Well, at least some people enjoy my anger. Hahahaha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I laughed so hard it make my son ask if I was crazy – if that makes you smile lol
If someone is going to look back to the past in a book – make it relevant! Offer something to the story.
….. you said it better lol! 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
BAHAHAHAHA! That’s awesome! 😀 I’m glad I could make you laugh.
Personally, I think a good writer should be able to implement past information into the present without requiring a flashback. But that’s just me. :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you 100%
LikeLiked by 1 person