Early Review – Glitter by Aprilynne Pike (2/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 25, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-1101933701
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for review
Rating: 2/5 stars
“Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.
When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.
Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.
But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.”
This book was had an interesting premise but the beginning moved slow and was boring. Just when things start to pick up the book ends. The ending is just…well…pretty much awful. I am not sure if this is the first book in a series or what; but this was more like part of a book than an actually full story.
I read this book after reading Yesternight by Cat Winters and was struck how both books were fairly boring with awful endings. I don’t think I’ve ever read two books this bad in a row like this.
I don’t think the synopsis did a very good job describing this. Basically this book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a corporation saved humanity. The corporation has taken over the Palace of Versailles and their board members live as nobility in the palace. They do have some technology, but try to adhere to the traditions of Versailles at the time of its creation.
Out heroine Danica comes off as selfish and naive; she basically decides to make a whole bunch of innocent people addicts so that she can buy her way out of a marriage to the murderous King. There really aren’t any likable characters in this book. Even the romance between Dania and the guy who assists her in getting the illegal drug, Glitter, feels very hollow.
My biggest issue with the story is the ending. At the ending nothing is different from the beginning, the book just ends. It makes this feel like half of a book instead of a whole one. I am not sure if this is first in a series or what? Even if it is first in a series I wouldn’t recommend. It’s boring and the story is clumsy.
Overall an interesting concept but poorly executed. The story is boring, the ending is awful, and the characters are selfish and unlikable. The writing style itself isn’t bad but I still wouldn’t recommend. This is the worst book by Pike that I have read.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge