Quarantined by Drethi Anis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
For some reason, this book rubbed me the wrong way, and it’s not even the rape part that did it… I can’t even put my finger on it.
Anyhow, reading the book’s blurb, I did laugh when COVID-19 was mentioned. I laughed because internally I was thinking, “Hell no! I’m reading to forget about the real world, not to get even more embroiled in Corona Virus themes.”
But alas, it said it was a dark romance, and I cannot possibly resist a dark romance.
The opening scene was interesting, and I was gleefully turning the pages to see how Raven (the female MC) will deal with being stuck in the same house as Milo (the male MC), which she hates for good reason.
BUT, the book goes down memory lane, and the rest of the story is a recollection of when they were 13, 14, 15, 16, etc etc – BORING. Yes, I wanted to know how they met and the extent of their relationship in the past, but that could have been succintly done in a couple of chapters, showing some pivotal moments.
But what we get is a storybook of their early teen actions, then mid teens, then later teens… You get the idea.
Milo was actually a great character – he was smart and so mature. After a bit, I was double-guessing myself: did I really read what he did on the first chapter?
Yes, I really did. His ‘inner monster’ came out eventually towards the end. Up until then, I would have called this book a tame romance filled to the brim with lousy sex.
Raven was… I don’t know. Sometimes she came off as a robot. She had emotions, but she didn’t at the same time? I know it makes no sense, but her character was so confusing. Milo describes her as a very intelligent and strong person that is not afraid to say ‘no’, but I did not see that.
Like I said in the beginning, I just didn’t feel it with this one. It could have been the COVID-19 mention, it could have been the rape scene in the first chapter, it could have been the boring childhood details thereafter, it could have been the mentally draining arguments between the two MCs, it could have been Mia-the-bratty-selfish-moronic-younger-sister (I really, really didn’t like her), it could have been the successive rape scenes towards the end… It was probably all of them combined.
Suffice to say, I think I would still pick up the second book as I want to know what happens next. But it might take me some time.
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