[Book Review] Without Merit

[literaryescapes]

TITLE: Without Merit

AUTHOR: Colleen Hoover

RELEASES: October 3, 2017 by Atria Books

GENRE: Romance novel, New adult fiction, Contemporary romance, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction

AGE RANGE: Adult

RATING: 1 out 5

SYNOPSIS: Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

REVIEW: Merit Voss collects trophies and secrets that she doesn't deserve. While browsing the local antique shop for her next trophy, Sagan caught her eye. As his wit and unapologetic idealism disarm her, she finds renewed life inside her until she discovers that he is unavailable. After learning a secret no trophy can fix, Merit retreats into herself and watches her family from afar.

Getting fed up with the lies, Merit shatters the illusion of a happy family she's never been a part of before, leaving them behind. Merit's escape plan fails, and she must deal with the devastating consequences of telling the truth and losing the boy she loves.

There is nothing good about this book. The book dealt with mental illness, sexuality, suicide, abuse, and even the Syrian refugee crisis, AND it had a romance, too. All of them were poorly done.

The story revolves around Merit Voss and her family. Because their father cheated on their sick mother, they live upstairs in a renovated church with their father and stepmother. The sick mother lives downstairs in the basement. It is not surprising that Merit retreats more and more into herself as she feels further alienated from her siblings—especially her older brother, Utah, and twin sister, Honor.

One day, Merit gets kissed by a hot dude named Sagan. When she reciprocates, she realizes she has been mistaken for her twin and kisses Honor's boyfriend. To make matters worse, she cannot stop thinking about him. Even worse, shortly after, Honor moves Sagan into the Voss household.

There is a difference in writing between creating well-rounded, complex, and unlikeable characters and just creating self-centered, obnoxious characters. Voss and his family certainly behave like assholes in this book, but it is all pardoned and forgotten without consequence.

I dislike more things about this book. The characters' actions are often selfish and hurtful, yet they are never held accountable for their actions. This lack of consequences undermines the story's credibility and makes it difficult to sympathize with them. Additionally, the plot feels disjointed, with particular events feeling rushed or unresolved, leaving readers frustrated and unsatisfied.

Ultimately, the lack of accountability and disjointed plot make this book a frustrating and unsatisfying read.