Review: Four in the Morning by Christi Goddard

Title: Four in the Morning
Author: Christi Goddard
Publisher: Immortal Ink Publishing
Pub Date: May 2012
ISBN: 9780985081843
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

SYNOPSIS ( Taken from Goodreads )

Kathleen Hayson thinks her biggest problem is her mother. The only runner up—her mouth. With a wit sharper than her mother's perfectly manicured nails, her clever remarks create more problems than they solve.

But it's not her clever remarks landing her knee-deep in trouble. This time, Josh Colby is to blame. Kathleen's former childhood friend has become the school's most stuck up jerk. Before, she'd have told him to piss off and write his own stupid letter to the town slut/minister's daughter. Now Kathleen's escalating problems at home force her to reevaluate how flexible her principles are. She agrees to write the controversial letter Josh has requested.

Enter Rigel, a smartass magical creature who invades her room one night, promising he has come to help. When a boy Kathleen hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing, the letter becomes a key piece of police evidence—implicating Kathleen. As she fights her way out of a web of lies, the trust she has in those closest to her shatters. In the end, she's pushed to a terrible choice: who lives, and who else dies.

REVIEW

I wasn't quiet sure what to make of this book. Christi Goddard is a wonderful storyteller, and I enjoyed her writing style but the story as a whole was a little strange. It was unique in so many ways, which kept me reading, but I just can't help feeling like there should have been more to it.


I initially liked Kathleen for her quick wit and sarcasm but after a while she just became annoying and precocious. Yes, she's had a hard life with a more-absent-than-not father, a control freak mother, and having to live in the shadow of her beautiful, charming sister, but some of the things she did, and the way she treated people, especially her friends, made me dislike her. At one point she even insulted herself in the process of ridiculing everyone else.

Some of the events in Kathleen's life were brutal, and I would hate to see anyone suffer the way she did, so naturally there were times when my heart ached for her. I just wish I could have warmed to her a bit more.

At first glance Josh Colby seems like a real jerk, he doesn't particularly care about Kathleen and his only interest in her is so she can help him get into another girl's pants. But then something happens and his interest shifts to her. I wasn't sure what his intentions were so I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but then he became stalkerish and after a particular phonecall, I ruled him out as being a good guy.

Aka, on the other hand was wonderful the entire time. He was the typical good guy, a friend you can rely on in any situation. He really deserved a medal for putting up with Kathleen. He was just so genuine and I was aghast when she chose to believe Rigel over Aka. For all her quick wit and smarts, I thought Kathleen would have known better - her best friend or the magical creature that appeared so suddenly...hmm...

When the truth about Rigel is revealed I was thrown for a loop. I was not expecting it at all. The explanation for his appearance seemed a little odd. It wasn't too farfetched, but it just didn't fit into the rest of the story. It felt like a bit of an afterthought.

For the most part, this book flowed well. There were times when it lagged in pace, and then there were times when it was so rushed, I felt like I had missed something. The latter refers to the ending, when the answer to all the strange happenings jumps into focus and then the story is over.

I had such high expectations with this story but in the end it failed to impress me. I wish I could have loved it more, but as I have learnt, not every book is for every reader...

Thank you to Immortal Ink Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review Four in the Morning.