DNF Review: The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

Some books just aren't for everyone. This is one that wasn't meant for me.


The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
Narrated by Ellen Archer
Romantic Thriller
Audiobook
Released November 2016
AmazonGoodreads
In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. 

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. 

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. 

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. 

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. 

In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she's one of the world's bestselling authors.

DNF! Here's Why:

My friend, who probably has better taste than me and far more in the way of patience, graciously allowed me to borrow her hardcover copy of this tome. Me, being me, knew I would never finish it in this decade and decided to read it the old fashioned way and in audio so I could speed my way through it.

That did not happen.

Juliana AKA Alex is a chemist/torturer/super smart lady who is on the run from her former employer who was up to nefarious deeds. They have already murdered her mentor who was the only person she cared about in the whole wide world. She fears she’s next because, well, her mentor is dead! So what does she do next? She accepts an assignment from her former employer hoping they will now leave her alone and she can live a somewhat normal life and won’t have to suit up with toxins and weaponry and sleep with a gas mask on her face every night. I was a little confused on this logic but I could’ve mixed things up because I might’ve been daydreaming a little when the many boring details began to lose me.

Anyway, her next assignment includes abducting a man suspected of carrying a biological weapon capable of starting a plague. He is a handsome, long haired, hazel eyed school teacher whose wife left him years ago because he wasn’t able to give her the life of luxury she felt she deserved. He even builds houses for Habitat for Humanity in his spare time. Clearly a good guy, right? But wait. Alex has pictures proving he is up to no good! Even though it seems improbable, she has proof that he’s been having secret meetings with the nefarious evil-doers who, along with his help, will unleash a devastating plague upon the population.

Yes! Count me in.

Alex doesn’t usually speak to her targets but she makes the mistake of chatting up this one and it turns out he’s quite alright. Seems like a nice guy even and he’s really cute. But she has a job to do and she jabs him with an ecstasy/truth serum blend she’s cooked up for the occasion and she learns that he is most likely innocent and that he likes her face. I suppose I can guess where this is going and it won’t end with the plague.

Darn it all!

It’s here that things went from a little boring to insta-romancy in the blink of an eye and I’m left wondering where the “gripping page-turner” the blurb promised me ran off to.

But I plundered on and wish I hadn’t because, call me a wuss if you will, dogs have now died. Smart, loyal, beautiful, innocent dogs have lost their lives for these two incompetents and I am pissed off, sad for the doggies and disappointed with the way this book is going and doubt it will ever recover enough to grab my attention. And though the narrator is competent, this story has dragged out for way too long.


I’m calling it a day at just over the 50% mark. My dear friend had good intentions but this book was not meant for me.


Comments

  1. Ah this stinks this didn't work. Plus the poor dogs!

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  2. Okay, dead dogs. Damn this author. Sounds horrible. I heard there were cool dogs in this book! I've been misled. No one said the cool dogs died!

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    Replies
    1. Apparently your review has me so shook up I can only speak in choppy sentences!

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    2. Haha, I write comments that way most of the time. The dogs were very cool dogs but a terrible thing happens to some of them. Be warned!

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  3. I've only ever finished her Twilight books though I think I might find them too slow if I reread them now. I DNFed The Host as well.

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    1. I never tried The Host and doubt I will now :(

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    2. I read the first chapter of The Host....don't even think that technically qualifies as DNF.

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    3. I DNF'ed The Host this past week. One chapter of that book totally qualifies as a DNF.

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    4. lol, I need to learn to DNF much sooner!

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  4. This one didn't work for me either. :)

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  5. Yeah .... I can totally do without this book.

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  6. It's almost a deal breaker for me when the dogs die for no good reason except to get me riled up. And insta love gets old too. Darn it. This looked good too. Thanks for your review.

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    Replies
    1. You probably wouldn't enjoy this one then. My friends love it though . . .

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  7. Oh yeah - I can't read this with the dog thing.

    For What It's Worth

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  8. WTH??? first sparkling vamps [like REALLY WHY WHY WHY would you do that to my most adored dark and scary creatures??? After Meyer made them sparkled.. there were not scary anymore for me LOL) and now killing beautiful dogs for the sake of insta-love???? YGBKM!!!!

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