*Contains spoilers*
I really wanted to like this book. Firstly, because I spent money on it, even if it was only $0.99. Secondly, it's Australian, and I have been hanging to get my hands on a well-written Australian novel. 47 Things wasn't it, however.
The main reason why I didn't enjoy this book was because of Sarah, the main character. She aggravated me to the extreme. In the beginning, all she could rave on about was how much she hated Tyler. Yeah, yeah; we get you "hate" the guy. Hate him because he gets "everything" in life so easily. This bitch was just so darn judgmental! Constantly bitching and moaning about Tyler and how he "appears" to live his life. Making assumptions is all she seemed to do. And repeatedly went on about it. Shut up already! It was so clear that she was jealous, amongst being shallow and judgmental. I mean come on, she went so far as to go to a Uni the furthest away from her parents because it was "so horrible" living on a farm with loving parents. Not to mention, changed her entire appearance, even went as far as to get laser eye surgery so she didn't need to wear glasses anymore because apparently she didn't like being seen as a nerd. What the fuck! At least Tyler remained true to himself, you hypocritical bitch. And please, stop talking about your "chocolate brown curls" that you used to hate but now know how to contain. I don't give a toss.
Half of Chapter 4 was about Sarah doing the mundane tasks of the morning after waking up—where there were several paragraphs explaining how her arm was numb, so she moved it around a bit until she felt pins and needles, and then moved it around some more until she felt her arm return to normal—right down to the most boring and unnecessary details from her trip from the couch to her bathroom, and then even more torturous details about how she looked and how she brushed her teeth and washed her face and blah blah blah. I don't care!
I did not feel the chemistry or connection between Tyler and Sarah. They've known each other since they were young, but never actually spoken until this day, and then suddenly Tyler won't leave her side? Fair enough it was his fault (kinda) that she broke her ankle, but damn, there was no need for him to hang around for as long as he did nor care for Sarah as if she were completely incapable of doing anything for herself. It was so plainly obvious that it was just an "excuse" the author had to get these two characters together. There was nothing natural or unpredictable about it. It was forced.
Oh, and the overuse of "sweetheart" was annoying as fuck.
Everything between Tyler and Sarah, the things they did together, were as if they were straight off of Tumblr.
By the 23% mark, Tyler was already proposing that Sarah move in with him so that he could look after her. I was almost ready to DNF. She isn't dying for fuck sake, she's just got a banged up ankle! They've been talking for like a week or two and already Tyler was sleeping over.
"I have a spare room. You could stay with me until you're out of the cast. It'll only be for a few weeks."
"If you don't stay with me, I guess I'll just stay with you. This is probably a better arrangement anyway."
And again, I wanna say, why would anyone rationally feel this much need to help someone out this much after never conversing prior to the incident? It was all just moving at a very unrealistic and fast pace. Also, Tyler just sneaks into her apartment and sleeps on her couch. That's beyond weird, and definitely not right in my book.
There was a scene where they were watching a movie, and he placed a pillow over his lap...
"Sweetheart, you have a dirty mind. You said you normally watch TV until you fall asleep on the couch, so I'm assuming you like to watch it lying down. I'm just giving you a pillow. If you can't be a grown up and this is a problem, I can sit on the floor."
Um...it's got nothing to do with being a grown up or not. It's a pillow on his crotch! No normal person in this situation would find that appropriate. Not this early on in the "relationship/friendship."
There was also another scene where he was carrying her to bed, and she clung to him for dear life when he was trying to put her down.
"You'll leave if I let go."
Is she 21 or fucking 2? Jesus. Not to mention, only a week or so before, she was hating on the guy. Now she doesn't want him to leave?
"I can't believe I was so disgustingly clingy. I wasn't that girl before, why was I that girl now?"
You tell me, love. You tell me. Clingy and stupid.
"...This isn't just some guy I met in passing and clicked with. This is some guy that I've known for forever, but never been friends with. Then all of a sudden, I break my ankle and he's into me? It just doesn't make any sense."
Exactly, you bipolar woman!
The very first kissing scene wasn't far into the book either. And it was the most random of kisses ever. No build up or anythin'. It was abrupt and it lacked spark. Was a very piss weak kissing scene.
Tyler continues to treat Sarah as if she's a baby lamb with no control of its legs. Is Sarah a fucking invalid or something? No! Pretty sure she's capable of doing everything herself, even removing her own damn ankle cast! Just cliche and unnecessary bullshit. He even goes as far as to strip her of her clothing and place her in the bath...and shave her leg! Seriously? Good God. So pathetic. Is this supposed to show me how caring and sexy Tyler is? Because it failed, miserably. This was also there first "intimate" scene where Tyler feels her up in the bath. Lilliana Anderson royally sucks at writing sexually related scenes. It was cringe worthy. Every sexual encounter these characters had were pathetic. Kind of like a young teenager trying to write a sex scene for the first time and not actually knowing how.
Oh, and this is Sarah complimenting Tyler:
"I swear the gods spun you from golden thread and put the water from the most picturesque island on the planet in your irises."
LOL!
Then further into the book, comes Tyler's weird and random disappearances for indefinite periods of time. His best friend Alex knew of his secret, about why he was disappearing. Alex was dating Janesa as this point, Sarah's best friend. Alex won't tell Sarah about Tyler's secret, say's it's "not his secret to tell." But, he tells Janesa...
"I withheld sex until he told me. I wanted to tell you but once Alex explained Tyler kept it a secret so he could be normal for as long as possible. I knew he had to choose to tell you himself. I'm sorry."
Wow, really? Alex blabbed his best friends secret just because his fucking girlfriend was withholding sex? Great friendship, mate! First Alex tells Sarah it's not his secret to tell, and yet he goes and tells Janesa anyway? What a tool. And then Sarah was upset that Janesa didn't tell her after she found out. It was just fucking stupid. I felt sorry for Tyler in that moment.
Once Tyler's secret was finally out in the open, I wasn't all that shocked. Nor did I feel much sympathy or any kind of emotion. I was just not feeling these characters. Especially not the romance between Tyler and Sarah. I was withdrawn from it all, and therefore Tyler's horrible secret didn't leave me feeling much of anything. I think this was the moment where the author tried way too hard for us readers to connect with these two characters during Tyler's condition. There was, I'm guessing, supposed to be quite a few sweet but heart breaking moments, but none of it worked for me. I wasn't invested. And that was because the author started this book off terribly, and didn't give us enough time or build up between Tyler and Sarah. So I felt nothin'.
Tyler eventually asks Sarah to marry him...
"Because I want everything with you. I want to live my life with you as if my life isn't about to end. I want to stand before God and proclaim to the world that you are my perfect mate. I want you to be my forever."
What the fuck? That's a shit fucking reason. You're gonna marry a girl knowing full well you're willingly going to leave her as a widow? That's fucking selfish and cruel. And no matter how hard he tried to explain his reason, no matter how hard the author tried to sway us into understanding this, it just angered me more.
They got married. Tyler's condition worsened. Sarah stuck by him through it all; the author tried way too hard to try and make us see Sarah as this beautiful and loving character who stuck by her husband until the very end. But I didn't feel anything for Sarah. I truly hated her character, and nothing she said or did changed that. Tyler eventually dies, and it's supposed to be this gut-wrenching scene, I'm assuming I was "supposed" to cry...but nope. I wasn't affected. Maybe that makes me sound cold, but it is the authors job to bring out these emotions in people. If I'm not feeling anythin', then the author clearly did a shitty job. She didn't give us two likeable characters. She didn't give us time to connect with these two characters. She rushed everything. She completely bypassed the romance and the chemistry that was supposed to be between these two characters. It was all just one big fail.
This book had promise. I liked the idea of the plot line. But Lilliana Anderson just didn't do the idea justice; she didn't bring it to life. There was also way too many grammatical errors. Missing words and the wrong use of words. The writing style was also very juvenile. Incredibly disappointed in this book.
I'll end this review by posting the only two quotes I liked in 47 Things.
"Why does everything always have to end? [...] Because forever is really only a short while."
"It's funny how you can go through life, thinking and feeling as though you're completely invisible to all those around you, and then one thing happens that lets you know that you have, and always will be, completely visible - the invisibility you experienced was entirely in your head."