Title: Existence
Series: Existence,
#1
Author: Abbi
Glines
Publisher: Wild
Child Publishing
Publication Date: December
13, 2011
Genres: YA,
Paranormal Romance
Reviewed by: Angie
Edwards
My rating: 3/5
SUMMARY
What happens when you're stalked by Death? You
fall in love with him, of course.
Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.
Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.
Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.
He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.
Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.
Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.
Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.
He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.
REVIEW
***REVIEW
CONTAINS SPOILERS***
I’m
seriously in two minds about this book. I enjoyed the story and finished it in
one sitting, but I had several unexpected issues with it. This is the first Abbi
Glines book I’ve read, and though I didn’t have any expectations going into it,
I still wanted to be wowed by it. Everywhere I turn I see positive reviews of
her many books, and thus I had a sliver of hope that it would, at the very
least, be a surprisingly different read that would leave me eagerly
anticipating reading any of her other books I already have in my possession.
Even
though there was no instant love between Pagan and Leif, or Pagan and Dank, the
romance developed lightning fast. I didn’t have an issue with that, but I felt
the love-triangle wasn’t fresh or unique, and to be quite honest, I felt it was
unnecessary. Pagan knew the entire time she wasn’t in love with Leif, but still
she kept him on a leash while pining away for Dank. And speaking of which, what
sort of a name is Dank? The synonyms for “dank” are: damp, chilly, moist,
clammy, humid, soggy, wet. I have to admit it was hard for me to like a
character whose name is the description of an “off” smell. I appreciate
original character names as much as the next person, and if it was the name of
a character with stringy hair, dirty nails, and smelly breath, it would’ve
worked perfectly. But I just can’t imagine cries of passion in the heat of the
moment going: “Dank, oh Dank, oooooohhhhh Daaaaaaannnkk!” Hear what I’m sayin’?
Anyway,
the only character I really liked was Leif. It was easy to connect with him
because he represented everything you’d want to see in the man of your dreams.
Apart from his physical appearance and the fact that he’s – predictably - a
jock, he’s considerate and extremely patient. I mean EXTREMELY patient because
I can’t imagine another teenage boy putting up with his girlfriend’s mood
swings while she’s pining away for another guy (even though Leif wasn’t aware that
this is the reason for Pagan’s mood swings). So yeah, I liked Leif because I
mainly felt sorry for him. Also, Pagan misses so much school it would be a
miracle if she moves on to the next grade. Anything that happens at school
which upsets her in the slightest, she runs home.
Pagan
is one of those extremely annoyingly one-track-minded angst-filled characters.
Her every thought is consumed by how much she needs, wants, or misses Dank. I
knew this is a paranormal romance and all that, but it just felt like the
second book in the Twilight series all over again where Bella pines away for
Edward who left her high and dry. If that book irritated you with Bella’s
dramatics and moping, then Existence
will test the limits of your patience for sure. Where in your life have you
heard of a teenager ending up in a mental institution because she can’t deal
with her boyfriend leaving her? I guess it could happen; I’ve just never heard
of it. Also, all the characters were kind of meh. None of them, except Leif and Gee, had me caring about them
one bit.
My
overall opinion is that this is an okay read if you don’t have anything better
on your bookshelf or e-reader. Glines is a gifted writer, but I don’t think
this is her best work. No, I haven’t read any of her other novels yet, but I
have two more of her books on my reading list which I want to read, even though
I’ve been disappointed by Existence.
The storyline isn’t anything new and if I had to choose between recommending
this book and recommending a book with a similar plot, I’d rather suggest The Collector by Victoria Scott which is
a phenomenal five-star read through and through. I didn’t enjoy Existence as much as I hoped I would,
but I am without a doubt going to read more books by Abbi Glines.
READ more REVIEWS
Existence by Abbi Glines has over 2200 reviews
on Goodreads. Read it here.
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Since publishing her first novel Breathe in
May of 2011, Abbi has also released The New York Times bestselling Seabreeze
Series which includes Breathe, Because of Low, While It Lasts, Just For Now and
Sometimes It Last, The Existence Trilogy that includes the USA Today Bestseller
Ceaseless. New York Times and USA TODAY bestsellers The Vincent Boys and The
Vincent Brothers. Last but not least her most popular series to date, Rosemary
Beach which includes The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers
Fallen Too Far, Never Too Far, Forever Too Far, Twisted Perfection and Simple
Perfection. Her newest book scheduled to be released on December 17th, 2013 is
Misbehaving (Seabreeze).
When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.
When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.
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