1 out of 4 stars
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Darwin Hastings is going to live with his new guardian, Luther Pennelli, after his aunts passing. He hopes to find the love that he seen in his parents before they died, and at the same time, strive to become a doctor like his father. What he really finds when thrown into the company of his famous athlete cousin and upscale neighborhood are crooks, unworthiness, and people who will do whatever it takes to climb the social ladder. In his quest to become a doctor, he discovers that the funding behind scientific studies is managed by money mongrels with financial gain in mind.
Where should I start with this book? I will admit, I have a "love, hate" relationship with it. Personally, I find conniving, self-righteous people abhorrent. It was difficult for me to read about degrading people because of their bank account and social status. Reading lines like, "She liked the idea of making him feel bad about not being good enough for Exeter," and "How irritating! Her father supporting this Midwestern Hayseed," really hit a nerve for me.
What I liked most about the story is the concept. In every aspect of life, you will come across people who manipulate for personal gain. This story showed what it is like to struggle through these kinds of people while trying to succeed in life. It showed that, sometimes, it is hard to distinguish who is truly there for you, or who is there for what they can gain from you. Everyone's true intentions show eventually, but at what cost in the end? Darwin had these people coming at him in every direction. His cousin, mentor, friends, and love interest had it out for him in some way. He handled himself very well in situations. He never let these people hold him back from what he wanted in life. Even with the everyone stacked against him, he still fought to come out on top. However, this is the only thing I enjoyed about the book.
What I didn't like about the book was the execution. Most of the time, it would jump from one topic to another without any natural flow to it. I had to reread sections at times to figure out how I got from subject to another. This seems to contain major time lapses, and I felt there should have been more details for the present before jumping a few months ahead. It left me wondering what the outcome of situations was and if I would be given a conclusion to them. There were times when the author would switch from one character's thoughts to another in the same paragraph, without a smooth transition. This caused me to reread sections to figure out what was going on, and who was speaking. It became very tedious just to keep track with what was going on. In the end, I was disappointed. Between the time hasty time lapses and chaotic character narrative, the story felt rushed.
I give this book a 1 out of 4. The only reason I am able to rate it, at all, is the idea behind the book. I really believe it would've been a great story to behold if it was written differently. A presentation is everything.
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Guardian of Deceit
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