Wednesday, May 20, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

This is a book review for Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is June 2, 2015. 

In Paris, family and friends gather to mourn the tragic passing of Charlie Price—young, handsome, charming, a world-traveler—who is presumed dead after an explosion. Authorities find only a bloodied jacket, ID’d as Charlie’s. At the funeral, two teens who are perfect strangers, Lena Whitney and Aubrey Boroughs, make another shocking discovery: they have both been dating Charlie, both think Charlie loved them and them alone, and there is a lot they didn’t know about their boyfriend. Over the next week, a mind-bending trip unfolds: first in London—then in Mumbai, Kerala, and Bangkok, the girls go in search of Charlie. Is he still alive? What did their love for him even mean? The truth is out there, but soon it becomes clear that the girls are harboring secrets of their own. 


Have you ever read one of those books where the ending made you say OUT LOUD: What. The. Hell? Yeah, that’s what this book did. This book had an awesome premise. Yes, there was a crazy love triangle. But since the boyfriend was presumed dead and the two girls were joining forces for revenge, I could get behind that.  The book told the point of view of the two girls, Lena and Aubrey. There were also a few chapters from Charlie’s POV thrown in. It took me a while to get into Lena and Aubrey’s story. First of all, they had way too many arguments about trust. Lena and Aubrey meet and the VERY NEXT DAY, decide to band together for answers about Charlie’s life. Both girls had secrets, about themselves and about their relationship with Charlie. Whenever one girl found out about a secret the other was keeping, the girl would cry and pout and talk about betrayal. Ugh. That happened way too many times. And let me repeat this again: they had only known each other ONE DAY before embarking on this adventure. Why on earth would you confess all of your secrets to a perfect stranger, especially when that stranger had been secretly dating your boyfriend? 

Despite all of this, I still became very engaged in their story and their developing friendship. They started getting to know each other and I felt like they really cared for each other. I loved that they placed their anger where it belonged: with Charlie. This could have gone in a horrible direction where the girls were pissed off and bitchy with each other, even though neither girl knew about the other.  The few chapters that had Charlie’s POV were just weird. His chapters went a little back in time to the point where he started cheating on Lena with Aubrey. I will try not to give away any spoilers, but this guy seemed mentally deranged. And because the chapters never went to far in depth with his character and because I only knew about him from Lena and Aubrey, I just didn’t get him. His actions were so far out there and I never understood what made him do all the things he did. He was a spoiled rich kid who was sent all over the world to different private schools. There was no reason for him to go as far as he did unless he was mentally ill.  But let’s talk about the ending. I can’t even deal with how messed up that was. I kept reading this story expecting some kind of closure or some kind of confrontation. WE GOT NOTHING!! Not only that, but there was a MASSIVE CLIFFHANGER with both Lena and Aubrey. Now I have never been opposed to open ended books, per se. It does depend on the circumstances, but sometimes I can understand it. But this wasn’t just open ended. I mean, this was straight up “where the hell is the rest of this book because surely this can’t be the end”. This book does not indicate whether this is a series or not. Honestly, I am not sure which answer would make me angrier. There is no reason to turn this book into a series, but then again, if this is the end, I just can’t deal. I did tweet the author to ask if there would be a sequel, but she did not respond at all. She favorited the tweet, but didn't actually give an answer. Arghhhhh!!! t swear, if this book weren’t on my Kindle, I would have thrown it across the room. My rating for the book went way down because of it.


Buy/Borrow/Skip: Skip!!!!!!

16 comments :

  1. Oh yes, I have finished many books just thinking: WHAT THE HECK DID I JUST READ? WHAT IS THIS RUBBISH. I feel you, Cynthia :( Definitely passing this one!

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    1. Ha, thanks Melanie! That was exactly my reaction. Good call on passing. :)

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  2. Ugh, that would drive me crazy to have an ending like that. Definitely a skip! Great review.

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    1. Thanks bookshelffantasies! I do know how much cliffhangers bug people (especially me), so it's good to keep people informed. :)

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  3. It's terrible when this happens. You feel cheated and outsmarted. I feel your frustration, Cynthia :(

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    1. Thanks so much Ramona. I feel like the ending just made the entire book a waste of my time.

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  4. Gah! I just had a run-in with a horrible, horrible book too Cynthia! I only forced myself to finish it because it was a complimentary copy, and I don't want the publishing house to feel or think that I am "robbing" them, but man, I was ready to burn the book! All that to say, I know your qualms, and as a book blogger, I dread writing these reviews :/

    Claudia @ My Soul Called Life

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    1. Me too Claudia! I hate writing such bad reviews of a free copy, Ugh. But it has to be done.

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  5. Oh those type of endings are the worst and to not even know if this will be at the very least a duology is crazy. I don't mind open endings but this sounds like the back door was blown clear off.

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    1. Haha Kimba, I LOVE your analogy. Yes, that is the perfect description!!

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  6. I don't know why, but I had a VERY strong feeling that you would not like this. I haven't read it, so it was literally just a feeling, but wow. It sounds like kind of a mess, and now I am glad that I was declined on Netgalley! (Also totally random but I saw a DNF review that gave it 3 stars. How does that even make sense!?)

    As for the ending... yeah no. Not okay. And super weird that the author just favorited it! Maybe SHE doesn't know yet? Like, the pub hasn't decided yet? I don't know, it seems so weird to leave it THAT open if you dont' know for sure there'll be a sequel. And either way, she should have said! Sorry this did not work out for you, but thanks for the heads up!

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Thanks Shannon! Small blessings that you were declined, right? And yes, I guess it is possible that the author doesn't know if the publisher will do the sequel or not. But if that's the case, don't make it a cliffhanger! It feels like a cheap shot to sell more books if there is a sequel.

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    2. I stayed up late last night to finish this book as there were enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.The ending was SO RUBBISH that I have now googled this book and found your review.
      I too enjoyed the growing friendship of the girls, I actually also enjoyed the Charlie POV and you are spot on; he would have to be mentally deranged and I liked that this was explored.
      I did feel like I was reading a book that would lead to a Bangkok Hilton situation not before adding every plot twist imaginable from each Taken movie for good measure.
      The extra dramatic plot with Aubrey I feel was just too much. It was not needed even though it provided her with a reason to look for Charlie too. You knew that her ending would be a negative one no matter what happens with Charlie. Then, BAM, the book finishes as if at the three quarter section!
      I don't mind open ended books but this was NOT open ended. It was literally as if the last three or four chapters were misplaced. When I finished, I said OUTLOUD, 'What a stupid book!'
      Thank you for your review, I am glad I am not the only frustrated reader of this novel.

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    3. Peta, I am so glad someone else felt the same way I did! I saw a couple of five star reviews on Amazon and I was thinking: did we even read the same book?? I think my dog was confused because I started yelling the second I was done. Ha. I agree completely about the ending. I don't mind open endings either. Man, it was like part of the book was missing! Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  7. Dear Cynthia, I am the author of the book, and I just saw this review. To respond to a couple of your concerns: Charlie was in fact mentally ill. He was a sociopath. Regarding a sequel--at the time that you tweeted, I didn't know if there was going to be a sequel, so I couldn't give you an honest answer. Often the author isn't in total control. In fact, my proposal was probably on submission to my publisher at that exact time. I wrote the book intending for there to be a sequel; but my publishing house bought only one book. Still, the possibility remained that they might buy another. I spoke at length with my editor about changing the ending to tie up more loose ends, just in case a sequel never came to be. I even wrote a new ending (in which you find out what happens to Lena and Aubrey) and pitched it to her. It was her very strong preference to leave the ending as it was. I've found that a lot of people loved the ending. And a lot of people hated the ending. It was extremely polarizing. I did my best under the circumstances, but it's never possible to please everyone. All I can do is write the best book I can, in collaboration with my publisher. Thanks for the review. Best, Anne Heltzel

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    1. Anne, thanks for you response. I can understand about the ending, but it was just a sticking point for me. I guess this one just wasn't for me, but I wish you luck on your books!

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