Title: Treasure Darkly (Treasure Chronicles #1)
Author: Jordan Elizabeth Miereck
Publication Date: February 15, 2015
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Rating: 1.5 stars
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captain is absinthe… until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead.
A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged, mining tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he.
Sixteen-year-old Amethyst Treasure loathes the idea of spending the summer away from her bustling city life to rot on her father’s ranch, but when a handsome young man shows up claiming to be her secret half-brother, her curiosity is piqued. He’s clever, street smart, and has no qualms jumping into the brawl between the Treasures and Horans. Caught in the middle, Horan kidnaps Amethyst, and all she gets is this lousy bullet through her heart.
When Clark brings her back to life, however, the real action starts, and Amethyst joins him in his fight against the Horan clan—whatever the cost. Defeating the Horans may seem easy at first, but going up against men with the same fighting vengeance as Clark, and a Senator with power he’s obtained by brainwashing the masses?
Well, Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark.
A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged, mining tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he.
Sixteen-year-old Amethyst Treasure loathes the idea of spending the summer away from her bustling city life to rot on her father’s ranch, but when a handsome young man shows up claiming to be her secret half-brother, her curiosity is piqued. He’s clever, street smart, and has no qualms jumping into the brawl between the Treasures and Horans. Caught in the middle, Horan kidnaps Amethyst, and all she gets is this lousy bullet through her heart.
When Clark brings her back to life, however, the real action starts, and Amethyst joins him in his fight against the Horan clan—whatever the cost. Defeating the Horans may seem easy at first, but going up against men with the same fighting vengeance as Clark, and a Senator with power he’s obtained by brainwashing the masses?
Well, Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark.
Review:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I don't really know where to begin with this review because I really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous, and obviously shows this book is steampunk. Right away, that got me excited because I love me some steampunk. While I've never read a western in my life, I thought it was an intriguing idea to mix the 2 genres, so I thought, why not give it a shot? Well, the cover and the summary were the first of many deceptive things about this book. I definitely didn't get what I expected, and that is really unfortunate as this could have been a great book. I know I'm in the minority here who didn't really enjoy this book, but there was just too many things in this book that I couldn't get over.
I'll start with the characters. The prologue was actually pretty interesting and made me want to keep reading, and it is in this prologue that we meet one of the lead characters, Clark. It was also in this prologue where we learn that Clark is pretty stupid. That's a little harsh, but I thought this could have just been a one-time-deal, but throughout the book he constantly reminded me that he wasn't someone I was going to like. He did have his redeeming moments though, so I will give him that. The biggest problem I had with Clark was why he was attracted to Amethyst, our female lead. Now I will admit that Amethyst is the biggest problem I had with this book. I couldn't stand her from the moment we met her, and that disgust (yes disgust) continued for the rest of the book. She is vapid, stupid, an shallow. I could barely stand her chapters because of her nonsense rambling. It bothered me because Clark's chapters were filled with the (actually somewhat exciting) plot and her chapters just put the book on hold with babble. I could go on and on about her character but I want to keep this review as short as possible. Ultimately, the biggest problem with the characters was that they weren't developed enough, and I could never truly connect with them in anyway. I was waiting for some sort of inner struggle with Clark's character and his ability, but there was nothing. Plus, the characters don't grow throughout the book, so they didn't change how they acted or who they were as people, which both leads needed.
The romance between Clark and Amethyst disturbed me a bit. I know that (view spoiler), but their romance was forced and I never thought it was actually necessary for the story. Originally, I thought it was going to be pretty cool that Amethyst and Clark teamed up...they would be a brother/sister butt-kicking team. Clark would rub off on Amethyst and she would become less spoiled and stronger and willing to fight. But then the story went in a completely different direction and had them get together as a couple.
It bothered me from the start, because while I had a feeling that there would be a revelation with this relationship, I didn't think either character acted in the way they should have. Amethyst seemed to be enticing and encouraging Clark just for the sake of it, and Clark just liked Amethyst because she was attractive and naive. Personally, I think it's kind of nasty.
Lastly, I don't know if this book knew what it wanted to be. The start of the book was steampunk/western, but then about halfway in it turned into a straight up teen romance novel, which is not what I expected at all. Ultimately, this is were I was most disappointed because if I'm reading a steampunk/western, I want this to be continued throughout the book. The jarring switch confused me at first because I truly wasn't expecting it.
Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I was tempted to DNF it, but by that point, I was invested and I kept hoping the book would get better. The plot was actually kind of interesting, it was other aspects of this book that made me dislike it. It's a shame because this book could have been phenomenal, and to some, it might be. But that person is not me.
Happy reading :)
I don't really know where to begin with this review because I really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous, and obviously shows this book is steampunk. Right away, that got me excited because I love me some steampunk. While I've never read a western in my life, I thought it was an intriguing idea to mix the 2 genres, so I thought, why not give it a shot? Well, the cover and the summary were the first of many deceptive things about this book. I definitely didn't get what I expected, and that is really unfortunate as this could have been a great book. I know I'm in the minority here who didn't really enjoy this book, but there was just too many things in this book that I couldn't get over.
I'll start with the characters. The prologue was actually pretty interesting and made me want to keep reading, and it is in this prologue that we meet one of the lead characters, Clark. It was also in this prologue where we learn that Clark is pretty stupid. That's a little harsh, but I thought this could have just been a one-time-deal, but throughout the book he constantly reminded me that he wasn't someone I was going to like. He did have his redeeming moments though, so I will give him that. The biggest problem I had with Clark was why he was attracted to Amethyst, our female lead. Now I will admit that Amethyst is the biggest problem I had with this book. I couldn't stand her from the moment we met her, and that disgust (yes disgust) continued for the rest of the book. She is vapid, stupid, an shallow. I could barely stand her chapters because of her nonsense rambling. It bothered me because Clark's chapters were filled with the (actually somewhat exciting) plot and her chapters just put the book on hold with babble. I could go on and on about her character but I want to keep this review as short as possible. Ultimately, the biggest problem with the characters was that they weren't developed enough, and I could never truly connect with them in anyway. I was waiting for some sort of inner struggle with Clark's character and his ability, but there was nothing. Plus, the characters don't grow throughout the book, so they didn't change how they acted or who they were as people, which both leads needed.
The romance between Clark and Amethyst disturbed me a bit. I know that (view spoiler), but their romance was forced and I never thought it was actually necessary for the story. Originally, I thought it was going to be pretty cool that Amethyst and Clark teamed up...they would be a brother/sister butt-kicking team. Clark would rub off on Amethyst and she would become less spoiled and stronger and willing to fight. But then the story went in a completely different direction and had them get together as a couple.
It bothered me from the start, because while I had a feeling that there would be a revelation with this relationship, I didn't think either character acted in the way they should have. Amethyst seemed to be enticing and encouraging Clark just for the sake of it, and Clark just liked Amethyst because she was attractive and naive. Personally, I think it's kind of nasty.
Lastly, I don't know if this book knew what it wanted to be. The start of the book was steampunk/western, but then about halfway in it turned into a straight up teen romance novel, which is not what I expected at all. Ultimately, this is were I was most disappointed because if I'm reading a steampunk/western, I want this to be continued throughout the book. The jarring switch confused me at first because I truly wasn't expecting it.
Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I was tempted to DNF it, but by that point, I was invested and I kept hoping the book would get better. The plot was actually kind of interesting, it was other aspects of this book that made me dislike it. It's a shame because this book could have been phenomenal, and to some, it might be. But that person is not me.
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
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