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Synopsis:
Rebecca DeMeyer is an heiress, but oblivious to the real world. All she knows is the private life she had grown up to... fancy dinner parties, private school, and she's a total good girl. But what happens when she meets Beau, Jai, and Kal? These boys live in a world of drugs, sex, and brotherhood... and they've got plans for 'Becca'.
Rating: 3/5
Assalamualaykum to all you lovely people!!!
Hope you are all doing great. Today I have for you a review of an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) I was asked to do a while ago. It was a book by the wonder Maggie Au and she was such a pleasure to talk to. When she asked me if I’d like to read and review an ARC of her book, of course, I agreed to it.
It was my first ever ARC and I was so excited. I got to it right away and I was speechless to say in the least.
Before I start with my review, let it be known that I read a draft copy of this book and it may undergo more changes before it is published so this review is based purely on what I’ve read and felt.
Let’s start with the plot of the story. It was a really good story overall because you never knew where the events were going and what was all of this drama leading to? I could paint a picture in my head of the environment of the characters and that’s the whole point of reading, so you can see it in your head and make your own movie. Maggie nailed that aspect.
The story itself took you on a journey and I quite enjoyed that. However, the story seemed very cliché from beginning to end. Sometimes I saw what was coming, but sometimes I was hit in the face with something unexpected.
The journey the main character takes was definitely a rollercoaster.
Now for the characters. You know that side character in tv shows that are unbelievably gullible and so naïve and innocent. That was the main character for me in this book. Rebecca DeMeyer was a sweetheart no doubt about it. But wow, was she oblivious. She was unbelievably naïve and you may be thinking, it’s understandable but for a 17-year-old female who happens to be incredibly rich, it just seemed very unlikely. It bothered me a lot but as I continued to read, it made me feel bad because people took advantage of the girl’s intelligence and money which was not okay.
I was shocked at how horrible people could be to this one innocent girl. What really made me sad was how Rebecca believed something was wrong with her and tried to change herself for acceptance. That was a questionable aspect for me because it is the 21st century, I was hoping everyone would be a bit more helpful and accepting, and well, not so cliché.
I do think Maggie may have been trying to show that for some people in this world, like the 3 brother’s I’ll be talking about now, it’s every man for himself.
Beau was not my favourite. He was the first brother we met and even though you like him at first, you soon start to see right through his façade. Jai was questionable but I don’t recall wanting to punch him in the face so that’s a good sign. Then there’s Kal, the classic gentleman/bad boy we all love. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t lowkey dying over Kal. But I’ll let you decide about them when you get a chance to read the book.
I am not going to comment on the other characters because my feelings of them might give away what occurs in the book and again, I’d rather let you decide how you feel about those guys because, I’m not feeling so good about them hey.
Overall, I don’t know if I quite enjoyed the message this book gives. Rebecca is not a good bookish role model. Book characters can be idolised the same way as real people and for young teenage girls to want to have a similar story as Rebecca’s is scary to think off. Although the story provides some sort of mental escape like most books do, Setting the World on Fire, in my opinion, needs a little bit more work before it is published.
Thank you again to Maggie for the ARC and I really hope you guys give her book a chance because maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
Be sure to give her a follow on Instagram!!! Here’s the link:
You can also find Setting the World on Fire on Goodreads!!!
Don’t forget to sprinkle kindness wherever you go!!!
-zestasià
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zestasia_reads/
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