League of Strays

Wow, so where do I start? Well, I can honestly say that this book is not at all what I expected. I was intrigued by the cover at first. Just his eyes were enough to pull me in. Then I read the blurb on the back cover...I thought that this would be a pretty good read. And don't get me wrong, it was good, but it wasn't as great as I thought that it would be.

The writer is very articulate and the way they wrote this, it was not hard to imagine everything. I enjoy a book where you can visualize the story unfolding. If I can't visualize it, it's lost to me. Unfortunately for me, I had to put this book down a few times in the beginning before I could finally get lost into this book.

The characters are complex, but that's what brings this story to life. At first Kade's motives are questionable, but soon realize that there is something more to the story. Once the story starts to unfold we start to see the struggles the characters have to face and what Charlotte will do to try to stop them.

Charlotte's character is actually quite strong and she is the main one that can see Kade for what he really is worth once she can make it past his mesmerizing eyes. Zoe is one of my favorites, however, with her intense attitude toward things and people.

My final thoughts on this book are that this is a good read for people that enjoy mysteries, slight thrillers and contemporary pieces. I would recommend this book to anyone 13 years of age and older.

This book really, really pissed me off. Most of the characters were stupid, but Charlotte definitely takes the cake. Now, I understand when you first see a super cute guy you're not really seeing any flaws since you're blinded by all the charm and cuteness. But girl, you cannot use that excuse for the entire book. There comes a point when you should be able to notice how creepy and controlling your major crush/boyfriend is. If you find yourself thinking “I don't really like this anymore” that often, then hey, maybe it's time to listen to your instincts. By the end Charlotte was feeling pretty sorry for herself, but the amount of sorry I was feeling was the size of a grain of salt.

Charlotte is your typical sees-a-guy-and-turns-into-mush girl. When Kade comes into the picture she stops making any decisions for herself. At one point she actually says she can't look into his eyes if she wants to say what she really thinks. Seriously, Charlotte? Are his eyes super-powered hypnotism rays? No, I didn't think so.

Then there's the revenge plot. Now, I love me a good revenge and some of the characters had some really bad things happen to them (i.e. Richie and Zoe) but nothing can justify the things the League of Strays were doing. They were despicable and I really don't understand how the others in the group could just go along with everything seemingly without a second thought.

Oh, Kade. Obviously, there's something wrong with him past his giant douchery, but does anyone see that? No, they don't. Instead of trying to get him some help, they all just go “Oh, his major mood swings are nothing. His tendency towards violence? Pshh, he's just mad because other people are stupid.” Seriously, people! Barring his craziness, though, how can anyone be okay with the way he orders them all around like his little pets? The story's told from Charlotte's POV, so it's not like the reader knows anything the other characters don't. You can just TELL he's a slimeball from the moment he enters the story. I spent most of the parts with him in it with a disgusted look on my face (I'm a very expressive reader.)

The Nutshell: If you can get past the stupidity of nearly every character in League of Strays, especially Charlotte's, then you may enjoy it. I simply couldn't look past the way everyone conveniently acted like idiots and did whatever Kade said. There's nothing wrong with the writing, but the story and characters just didn't work for me.

Miss