Review: The Improbably Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

The Improbably Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, Geeky

[Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound]

It all begins when Ana Watson's little brother, Clayton,
secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the
Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.

If slacker Zak Duquette hadn't talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn't have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak's devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…

  Read that synopsis. Doesn't that scream geeky goodness and cutesey romance? Well, that's exactly the opposite of The Improbably Theory of Ana and Zak. I have SO much to say about this book.

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  My biggest issue with this book was Ana. At first, I felt a bit of sympathy for her because her parents seemed so overbearing and demanding. That's gonna put anyone on edge, you know? But the way that Ana handled that stress straight up pissed me off. She let it turn herself into a monster who judged and belittled every. single. female in this book. It was tiring. Ana was supposed to be intelligent, but all I got from her was insecure and bitter. I'll let Ana speak for herself.

Ana meets a bald, female friend of Zak's. Here are a few of the gems relating to that.
"Cue ball snaps to attention."
"Baldy wasn't bad-looking, and yet she was all awitter over Zak."
"What the hell was up with this place? First Baldy, now this."

  Mind you that Ana never once considered that perhaps there was a medical reason why the girl was bald. Nope, she went straight to harsh and just pure mean judgement. But it doesn't stop there. Zak, the other main character, wasn't safe from her. Throughout the entire book, she put him down and discounted his feelings because he enjoyed the geekier side of life. At one point she wonders why such a geek like Zak can be liked by his fellow geeks.

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  I know I'm all over the place, but I have to return to the issue of Ana judging and criticizing other women. I marked nearly every time she did it on my Kindle. I could post pages and pages of her horrible attitude. In one part the only description she uses for another girl is "fatso". There's one girl that she meets that she doesn't say anything about her looks (!), but in the next sentence she's pissed because the girl's laugh is irritating. I just can't you guys. There is NO REASON to judge other women like that. It's unfair, ugly, and unneeded. She's the epitome of an insecure person who has to bring everyone around her down for some sense of comfort in her own mediocrity. GO AWAY, ANA. No one likes you.

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  Okay, enough ranting about Ana. Let's get to the rest of the book. The story could have been great. The premise of two teenagers running amok throughout a convention could have really shined. But towards the end, things spiral out of control. It goes from humorous, geeky fun to some weird and unbelievable wanna be thriller. The amount of Star Trek and LotR references couldn't save this book from itself.

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  This is seriously my least favorite read of 2015. I don't even know a single person I'd recommend this book to. It was such a let down. I enjoy all manners of geekery. But I just don't enjoy women being criticized and judged endlessly. No thank you. Never again.

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**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

Review: Forgiven by Rebecca Brooke

Forgiven

(Forgiven #1)

by Rebecca Brooke

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

What happens when one moment changes the course of your entire life? Do you sit back and accept it, or fight to live the life you choose? Caleb Jacobs has a past that has haunted him for two years. Knowing he can never forgive himself for the events that led to his departure, Caleb chooses to live a quiet life—concentrating on school, sports, and shots. But when he is paired with Angie for a history project he realizes that no matter how much you try to hide from your past, one way or another it will find you.

Angelina Powers knows what she wants from life. Growing up with only an alcoholic father for company, Angie learned early on in life that you can only count on yourself. But that doesn’t stop her wishing for her white knight. She’s confident, happy and focused…until she meets Caleb. So how will she feel when her potential white knight turns out to be more of a black shadow?
  -Forgiven on Goodreads

First Sentence:

Beep, beep, beep.

  I'm usually overly nice and generous with reviews. Especially with Indie books. This time? Nope. Not gonna happen.

  I don't know where this whole trend of putting these abuse boyfriends into books and then romanticizing their behavior started. But it's disgusting. I can look past some "Alpha" tendencies. Some girls like that edge and aggression. I get it. But whenever there is blatant and unapologetic abuse? No. Get out. This book is full of it. I would get sick to my stomach while reading this. I don't know what book everyone read who gave this five stars, but can I read it instead, please?

  The worst part about this book? This guy, Caleb, knows he's an abusive asshole. "Put in a good word... I don't get it? I was a total asshole to her." Yes. Straight out of the book, y'all. But wait, that's not all! There are so many references by multiple guys in this story about how they want to have sex with Angie. Does anyone realize she's more than a vagina on legs? No? No one? Right. Let's continue. Caleb is full of anger. Not like the sign yourself up for anger management classes anger. It's more of the how much longer until we get to the scene where Angie is covering up her black eye from him? "Rage coursed through my veins like acid." "I could still feel the jealousy eating away at me. I needed to hit something." "I threw myself into the passenger seat and punched the dashboard." But Caleb's anger isn't limited to just other men and Angie. Here's his thoughts on Angie's best friend and roommate: "I was going to throttle that girl if she didn't let me talk to Angie." 

  And now for the part that absolutely had me finished with this book before I even reached 50%. Caleb sees Angie in a club dancing with another guy. He immediately goes to Angie and grabs her arm. The other guy is telling him to back off because it's clear that Angie doesn't want Caleb around. After threatening the other guy, Caleb turns his aggression on Angie. "I pulled on my arm. "Get. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off. Of. Me." I said, enunciating each word so he understood. "Not until we talk!" he snapped." Yep. Later on, Angie notices how there are red marks on her arm from where his fingers had dug into her. I'm not even making this up. It's this bad.

  So. Can we talk about the moment whenever Caleb stalked Angie and kidnapped her? She goes out on a date with the other guy from the scene before. He waits all night until they return to her apartment building. Caleb winds up breaking the other guy's nose. He then chases Angie as she tries to run inside. "I reached the door just as she was trying to shut it in my face-- but I was quicker, and placed my foot between the door and frame." "I used this distraction to push the door open and wrap my arms around Angie's waist. I picked her up and carried her toward her room. "We're going to talk...even if I have to hold you down so you'll listen to what I have to say." She tried to kick and slap me as I walked through the apartment, "Put me down, you asshole!" she yelled." Then she proceeds to forgive him and give in to his demands. That's the moment I was done.

  Somehow, I finished the book. It never redeemed itself. The secret from Caleb's past? Lame and glaringly obvious. In no way did it make up for his actions and demeanor. It was an excuse for him to act the way he did. In all honesty, the only way I would recommend this book is to someone doing a study on Stockholm Syndrome, because that's the only way I can believe that Angie willingly got into a relationship with Caleb. I was too disgusted and upset while reading this book that I can't even comment on the author's writing. Though, I will say the excessive cursing took away from the story. I don't mind cursing at all; I am guilty of having a potty mouth. But there was so much in this book that it was comical. My goal throughout this book was to not throw up.

  I'm sorry I ranted a bit. This book really got under my skin. If you liked it, I honestly want to know why. Explain it to me. If you haven't read it, take my review and every other review with a grain of salt. Read it yourself and see what you think of it. But as far as recommending it to anyone, never. 

**I received a copy of this for free in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Rebecca Brooke and Book Enthusiast Promotions.

Find Forgiven on: Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

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