Thursday 23 September 2010

, , , ,

Review: Entangled by Cat Clarke

Entangled by Cat ClarkeEntangled by Cat Clarke (review copy) - 'The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?'

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?
A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.
From Amazon UK

When I received this book for review, I was extremely excited. Not only did it sound brilliant, but I've met Cat Clarke - she came along to the book bloggers meet up back in May, and is active enough in the blogosphere that many consider her "one of us". But I was also worried. What if I didn't like it? I pride myself on my honest reviews, but how could I possibly be negative about a book someone I know wrote. It scared me.

Fortunately, I was hooked from the very first page. Why was this girl locked in a room? Will she ever get out? What is her abductor planning? But after a while, I worried some more about negative review writing as it looked likely. I did not like Grace. She was too much of a typical teenager; she was loud and brash and had didn't seem to have a nice word to say about anything. She really wound me up, and I kept wanting to tell her to shut up. Yet I couldn't put the book down. Her circumstanced were just too strange, and I needed to know what was going on.

As the pages turned, my feelings towards Grace changed. As I got to know her better, understood her better, I liked her more - even if she did/said things that still annoyed me. But her story was so intriguing. The secrets, the strange behaviour. I read and read and read. Since I've started work, it has taken me well over a week to finish a book, but I was so caught up in Grace's story, it took four days. And now I'm finished, and I can really only say... wow.

The plot is just fantastic! Such a great way to tell a story, having Grace write it all down almost like a journal. The twist is just awesome, I didn't entirely see it coming. I had theories and assumptions, but they weren't completely correct, and I was just blown away with the actual outcome; just why Grace was abducted. But the story of all that happened before she was abduted really touched me. I laughed, I cried, I sympathised, I fell in love, I got mad, I had fun. It was just fantastic!

In total, there were seven characters in the book, but the three main ones are Grace, Sal, and Nat. Sal is Grace's best friend, and as nice enough as she seemed, I never really liked her. Not that I disliked her, I just didn't feel I knew her well enough to base an opinion on. Grace is the narrator, so we only know what she tells us, and as she's writing months after most of the events happen, so we don't get every detail. We don't need every detail, I just didn't feel enough of a connection to Sal to like her, though there was enough for me to care what happened to her.

Nat on the other hand you couldn't ask for me detail on. And I think I might just have to say, move over every other fictional guy I've ever read about, I have a new fic-guy to have a lit crush on. It's like Clarke crawled into my head, saw who my perfect guy would be - well, pretty much - and put him in her book. He was just so lovely! He was just awesome! The only thing I can complain about really, is not having enough conversations with him about nothing. They're not necessary for the story, but I would have enjoyed them!

Then came the end. Oh my god, the end. When everything fell into place, and we knew what was what. Some of it I was hoping desperatly wouldn't turn out like I thought it would, but it did, and there were tears, and a whole lot of anger. And the actual end! Simply amazing, but I wish it hadn't ended there! I wanted more! What happens next, Cat?

Entangled is simply fantastic! I loved it! I want to pick it up and read it over. I want to climb into the pages. Seriously, this book is just amazing, a stunning debut, and if you don't get yourself to a bookshop in January and grab yourself a copy, well, I suggest you go see a doctor. Another to add to the list of favourites. I can't wait to read whatever Clarke brings us next!

Thank you to Quercus for sending me a review copy.

Published: 6th January 2011
Publisher: Quercus
Pre-order from Amazon UK
Pre-order from The Book Depository
Cat Clarke's Website
Cat Clarke's Blog

Other Reviews of Entangled:
Portrait of a Woman
Entangled

13 comments:

  1. Great review Jo!!
    I felt exactly the same, I can't believe how powerful the story is!!
    Can't wait for Cat's next book :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brilliant review! I can't wait to read this one! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Caroline - Thank you! How amazing is it?! I absolutely loved it! So good! And I'm just in complete awe of Cat now. Simply brilliant!

    Melissa - Thank you! Oh, it's great, I'm sure you'll love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm trying to save this until nearer the release date, but if I keep reading reviews like this I don;t think I'm going to be able to.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haha, I couldn't wait! And since Quercus said they'd rather I posted my review now than in January, here it is! It is BRILLIANT! Don't wait! Read and schedule! It's by our Cat, how can you wait?! Lol. I'm kidding :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Entangled sounds like a fabulous read, thanks for your wonderful review, Jo.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you, and no problem! It is fantastic! I absolutely loved it! I really hope you enjoy it if/when you read it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fab review Jo! I've signed up for the tour on UK book tours & can't wait to get my hands on this one :o)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I keep hearing the most amazing things about this book, I am so excited to read it!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sarah - Thank you! :) You are going to love it! It's just brilliant!

    Michelle - Because it's fantastic! As you'll see when you read it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just finished reading Entangled... and I don't have enough words to describe it. It's the best book I ever read and I read a lot :) the book is so emotional and intriguing and just amazing. Thank you for such an amazing review Jo, and I feel exactly like you...
    but, I want the story to go on!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, it's such a fantastic book! I absolutely loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry anonymous who posted today. I had to delete your comment because it was spoilery. And on the off chance anyone saw it, I'm not going to answer it for you. However, I'm pretty sure if you ask on Twitter, someone will DM the answer for you.

    ReplyDelete