Triangles
Author: Kimberly Ann Miller
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?
In the Bermuda Triangle—a lot.
Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life–her father’s death years ago, her mother’s medical problems, and the loser who’s practically stalking her–seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she’s gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser’s suddenly claiming they’re a happy couple… a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying “Happy Anniversary”… and suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship’s doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she’s warned that these “alternate realities” could become permanent.
She just has to ask herself one question—how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?
Review:
Autumn is a 16-year old girl with some serious issues: her father died when she was young, ripping her family apart, and her mother is now in a coma from a car accident. Autumn and her older sister Jessica have had to fend for themselves for the last year or so.
Now they have a cruise coming up – one that their mother saved for and planned for the whole family for years. Unfortunately for Autumn, her co-worker Joey is also on this cruise. Joey is a blue-collar dude who works hard and is totally in love with Autumn, even though Autumn just finds him annoying (although she admits that he’s attractive). To complicate things, there’s another dude on the cruise, a rich guy named Marcus who’s hot for Autumn as well. Even though Autumn knows Marcus is bad news because her sister went out with him once and he lied about his age, she’s still super attracted to him.
Weird things start happening around Autumn – she starts cycling through two realities because, obviously, they’re in the Bermuda Triangle, and she’s not sure how to get out of it.
Honestly, guys, that’s about all I can say about the synopsis because I could not finish this book. At all. I could barely get through my requisite 25-30% of the book that I insist on reading before I review. And I try not to DNF books most times, but this was one I could not continue reading, because, well, I didn’t like it at all.
Autumn is one of the whiniest, most selfish, and most annoying characters I’ve ever encountered. I was horrified by the way she treated her sister, Joey, and even Marcus, the guy she actually liked. Her topsy-turvy emotions were grating, and she seemed totally ungrateful for the opportunity to be on this cruise. She seemed to give a lot of “exaggerated sighs” whenever she spoke to her sister:
Jessica grabbed my arm. “God, Autumn, wait. Please. Just try dinner tonight. If you don’t like it, the rest of the trip you can have room service or go to the buffet.” She took my hand. “Please? I’ll buy you something nice in Bermuda. I don’t want to be here alone the first night.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh and pulled my hand away. “Fine, I’ll do it just for you. And because I got the bed. But I’m eating and leaving. And I do not plan on talking to anyone, got it?”
A few pages later…
“Hey Autumn, can you do me a favor and leave me a note or something when you leave the room? I didn’t know where you were.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Really, Jessica, we’re on a ship in the middle of the open ocean. You would have found me sooner or later. Joey has no trouble sniffing me out.”
Mostly, I just didn’t believe her character at all. She felt like a character, not like a real person. I didn’t relate to her complicated feelings, I definitely didn’t relate to her “problem” of having too many boys like her, or having a perfect body or hair. The guys on the boat just seemed like cardboard cut-outs of characters: Joey was this puppy dog who loved Autumn no matter what, while Marcus was this slick rich dude with nothing but bad intentions.
Honestly, I think the biggest problem was the writing. The interactions never felt real to me – it was like the characters were reading from a script of cliches.
Joey leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You didn’t have to hit my shin to get my attention. Just being you is enough.”
When there was more creative description, the description just felt awkward to me:
He winked. The look he gave me made me feel like he hadn’t eaten in years, and I was the first edible morsel he’d seen.
I really felt like I couldn’t swallow (ha!) these descriptions, and that, along with Autumn’s characterization, was what made me put down Triangles.
The Final Word
Overall, I think Triangles had an interesting concept – I loved the idea of the Bermuda Triangle and parallel worlds. A really solid substantive edit would have helped to beef up the writing and make the characters a lot more believable. I truly believe the concept had a lot of potential, but as it stands, I can’t recommend this book to anyone.
You know, honestly, unlike many readers, I really like reading love triangles if they're done well and what? The Bermuda Triangle and parallel worlds, you say? This definitely sounds like an interesting read and es, your review has me interested and very curious. I'm glad you liked the book and lovely review!
Sarika @ The Readdicts
I wholeheartedly agree with your review. Wish I'd abandoned it *exaggerated sigh* Autumn doesn't get any better either, there's maybe the tiniest bit of growth but she still clings onto her selfishness. Struggled the whole way through, even with the different realities because the conflicts would be resolved too quickly and just…..yeah it needs a good edit 🙁
Great review though!
I hate whiny main characters, I was definitely intrigued by the synopsis of the parallel worlds, but after reading your review I'm not as interested. It sounds like Autumn is someone I would want to throw off the boat if I was with her. Thanks for the honest review!
Ouch, i dislike main character that whinniest and selfish, after read your review, i think i'm gonna pass
The book's blurb and title is quite intriguing. I would have picked this book up if I saw it on a bookstore but thanks to your review I'd avoid making that mistake. It's too bad it's not as good as it sounded. Thanks for your review 🙂
I love the font on that cover! The cover did sound interesting. When I first read your comment about she has 2 boys that like her but she knows she shouldn't be w/ both . . . you late confirmed my suspicions. I have nothing against characters, but by the 25-30% mark there should be some changes in attitude. Thanks!
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