THE GATHERING DARK
Christine Johnson
352 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 12th, 2013
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: MEH
Keira’s hallucinating. First it’s a door hovering above the road; then it’s a tree in her living room. But with her parents fighting and her best friend not speaking to her, Keira can’t tell anyone about her breakdown.
Until she meets Walker. They have an electric connection, and somehow he can see the same shadowy images plaguing Keira.
But trusting Walker may be more dangerous than Keira could have ever imagined. The more she confides in him, the more intense—and frightening—her visions become. Because Walker is not what he appears to be. And neither are her visions.
A mix of music and hallucinations THE GATHERING DARK isn’t a book that we’ll all find intriguing.
What really disappointed me was that the synopsis says nothing about a piano. Nope, nothing at all. But that’s what the story is mainly about, Keira seeing things and her beloved piano. And I don’t really like books where the main character is obsessed with music. So yeah, THE GATHERING DARK was pretty boring for me.
It’s difficult to tell what was happening in the story since nothing really happens, except towards the end, when all the other people come in. The beginning was boring, especially when Keira gets on the piano, it was more about what was happening in Keira’s daily life than her hallucinations. The whole story basically evolves around Keira’s fantastic abilities to play the piano – piano this, piano that. If I wanted to read about a girl playing piano, I would have picked up something non-fiction.
I could picture a whole lot of ways where the story could have gone differently. But it didn’t, not even towards the middle. Like I said before, the action only happened towards the end.
While THE GATHERING DARK was slow and with the occasional pang of boring-ness, it was still an okay book. Should you read it? I’m more towards the no side, but altogether, I don’t really know.
The Bookie Monster
Is it bad that even though your review of the book doesn't make me want to read it, I would still buy it because of the cover? Yep. Pretty much.
Bonnie R
Yet another case of a beautiful cover gone wrong. Great review though! :)
Jen (A Reading Daydreamer)
Darn! It seems like that beautiful cover has tricked you. The synopsis sounds different and interesting, but after reading your review, I'm not so sure I want to pick this one up. I'm always hesitant about picking up a book about someone who is obsessed with music, too, because I can never relate. Thanks for the honest and fantastic review, Asma!
Dazzling Mage
Ooh, it's too bad you didn't enjoy it!
Adriana (BooksOnHerMind)
Don't tell me this! I really want to read this book. Although I do like reading books where the main characters love music so I may have a better chance at like it than you do.
Jennifer @ YA Sisterhood
AW!!! I wanted to read this one so bad. That sucks that it is boring. I still might give it a try, though.
Vivien
Boo!! This sucks. I'll probably steer clear of this one. I'd more than likely feel the same way.
Badass Bookie
I'm so bummed to hear this one didn't pan out. I had my eye on this one especially after seeing the beautiful cover (I'm a little bit of a cover whore!) I actually thought the blurb made it sound more like a PNR with the hallucinations but never thought it had to do with music! What a disappointment! I guess I won;t be reading this more anytime soon!
Thanks for the honest review!
The Book Belles
This doesn't sound too great. I don't like books with a slow plot, so I definitely don't think I'll be reading this. Great review! :)
Kelly
thanks for the review. My list is too long to pick up for a meh rating. I don't like music in books either, I can't hear it so I don't get it.
Kathy Martin
Thanks for your review. I think that I won't add it to my stack. I kind of like music in books. What would stop me about this one is the fact the nothing happens until near the end. I really want instant gratification in the books I read.
Christina K.
It's awful you didn't like it!! I love music in novels, so that's fine for me:)
Lovely review:)
erin
Thanks for the review! This was the first i've come across this book and the blurb didn't really catch me :(
Luisa Mesto
Thanks for the honest review! I might still read it because I really like books that have music in it!
Gaby
This one looks SO SO AWESOME. I WANT IT SO BAD. The cover looks amazing :D
Hollow May
Ding-dang!! With that amazing cover I was sure this would be a awesome read. Sorry that it wasn't for you. Thanks for the reveiw.
Jaime Lester
Well, that stinks. Seriously. This looks like such a great book, and I love the cover. It is always disappointing when a book that you are so excited about ends up getting negative reviews. Oh well… I may still read this one, but I may not. If I do, it will be because I found a copy at the library!