How to Judge a Book

I started a new book this week (of course).  Even if I didn’t love reading at least one new book a week I would need something to blog about, right?  I had done my favorite thing and perused the Amazon.com “Free kindle books” list.  (This list is a breath of fresh air to those of us addicted to clicking that little “Buy now with 1-Click” button.)  And I guess there were all kinds of hints as to what this book would be like, but I won’t list them now for that would give away what I discovered upon reading several chapters.

I read half of the first chapter online and that was enough to get me hooked.  Seemed like a good story.  Good looking guy comes into the club where the main character is working.  They bump into each other and sparks fly.  Well-written enough to grab my attention and have me interested in what will happen next.  So I click the magic button.

By chapter 4 I was really loving this book.  The paranormal has shown up big time in more than one way and the mystery as to who the main character really is was starting to be hinted at.  All of these are elements to the kind of story I like.  Then BAM, halfway through the 4^th chapter I almost drop the book (literally). 

The point of view shifts (it’s been going back and forth a lot) to his and suddenly he’s describing the most erotic sex scene in absolutely graphic detail.  What!?!?  Where did this come from?  This is NOT the kind of thing I like to read.  I thought this was a sweet little YA novel. 

Let me be honest.   I don’t mind a little sex in books as long as it’s kept very vague or even better, only hinted at.  But this was full-on, what I term, “picture-less porn.”  

So what happened to get me into this mess of a book?  I mentioned earlier that there were several hints, but I thought it was marketed as a YA Romance.  (I tend to stick to the YA specifically to keep away from stuff like this.)  What had happened was:  a) I was looking for a specific sequel to a book I thought had a similar title to this one when I ran across it, and b) I actually bought a YA novel in the same sitting and forgot which book was which (easy to do when you’re on the Kindle because you only see title names, not the book cover).   

What were the hints I should have paid attention to?  #1 ALWAYS judge a book by its cover!  When the phrase is meant as a metaphor for people it is very true.  You really shouldn’t judge people before getting to know what they are like inside.  When you are talking about literal books (particularly modern ones), the cover is typically a good indication of what you are going to get and in this case (I had to go back and look) the cover has a picture of a man’s unclothed torso.  I have plenty enough experience to know that this should have screamed “NOT YOUR TYPE” at me.

#2 The main character worked at a strip club.  In my defense on this part, I will say that she described it in a very unflattering light.  It was obvious that she despised the place and the kind of people who frequented it.  However, the very fact that it was in the book should have been a hint.

Were there other hints?  Maybe.  I don’t honestly remember.  But those 2 should have been enough.  Needless to say, I will not be finishing this book, nor will I recommend it to others.

The book in question is:  Marked, (Eternal Guardians #1) by Elisabeth Naughton.  I recommend you steer clear unless erotica is what you are looking for and if so, by all means, have at it.  I don’t judge.  I just state my own opinion.