Review: Hypothesis
College sophomore Gabrielle Bridge is falling for the wrong guy. One would think a physics student would be smarter than that. In her defense though, he was wearing the most surprising disguise.First Sentence:
We meet our geek girl while she is plotting to win the Nobel prize one day. But with an absentee father and an alcoholic mother, she knows her chances are next to zero.
To achieve her goal she tries to recruit her current crush, the brilliant Toby Harker, as a partner. Sadly her big stupid mouth lands her pretty but dumb William Wyseman, instead. This unfortunate pairing though turns out to be enchanting -literally.
William is a wizard, magic is real.
There is a secret world hidden in plain sight, a world at war with Sekeem Soulless a sorcerer powerful enough to destroy it all.
William unable to beat him with his powers was posing as a science student to seek a human weapon to stop him. And turns out that Gabrielle might be what he needs: she is immune to magic.
William promises to help her prove to the world that witchcraft is real. The Nobel will be hers with this breakthrough. That is if they find out how to use her strange 'gift' before Sekeem kills her, with his own hands if magic won't do.
Gabrielle thinks she will learn the mysteries of magic. However, her most shocking discoveries are going to be about herself.
Maybe because it was the most unreachable goal a woman like me could attain, I decided, the day my father left, that I was going to win the Nobel Prize one day.
Hypothesis had been sitting on my review TBR pile for maybe four months, and the luck of the draw selected it as my next read recently. While I enjoyed quite a few pieces of this book, like the different magical abilities that certain characters possessed and back-story of those who posses magic in the book, there were some things that did not work for me as a reader.
What I found most interesting about the story would have to be the world the world, or should I say society, that William is from and the history behind why they have, mostly, closed themselves off from the rest of the world I really enjoyed the way the author wove their history in with some actual historical happenings, like the witch trials the swept the world, because it gave it a more plausible explanation for why more people weren't aware of them.
The world building was definitely one of the things I enjoyed most about Hypothesis because the author, Ana Bastow, did such a great job bringing it all together into a whole. So, for the whole magical world angel and the mystery behind why Gabrielle is immune to magic makes this an interesting read.
Finally, what really kept me reading on, even with my annoyances over too much romance, was seeing Gabrielle come to terms with a hard truth she learned. While it was difficult to see her hurting so, I enjoyed watching the way the author slowly gave her room to grow throughout the book in many ways. From dealing with the disappearances of her father years ago, to the trouble with her mother, and finally how much she learned about herself and what she wants. It was interesting to say the least to watch her change throughout the book.
Even though I enjoyed this one quite a bit, there are a few things that I did not like about this one. For the longest time, I was annoyed by Gabrielle's friends and their views on sex, as well, as how the main character felt that she had to hide being a virgin. It was quite annoying, frustrating to think she would continue to hang out with them even when she couldn't be honest about something like that. While I know not many people are going to share my opinion on this bookish annoyance with me, I felt the need to say it anyways.
My second problem with the book would have to be the love angle(s). I'm just not that into books were the main character, be they female or male, is always thinking about falling or avoiding falling in love. It just doesn't work for me as a reader especially when there are other more important things happening in the book other than their love life. Even though I wasn't much for the romantic aspects of this book, I know that they will appeal to others.
Alright, so best thing about Hypothesis would have to be the character growth and the world-building. These two things are what really made this an interesting read for me. At first Gabrielle was a little nutty and obsessive, but she grew on me as she came to peace with her past and moved forward.
The world-building paired with the author's ability to weave an interesting story that pulls you in. I actually enjoyed seeing William learn about physics, which is saying something because I loathe science.
My least favorite thing in this book would have to be the romantic portions as I plainly guessed from the beginning who was no good and who would prove to be interesting. While the romantic bits didn't do it for me, it would probably appeal to those who like lots of kissing in their books and seeing a fledgling romance bloom between two unlikely people.
Final Verdict: Hypothesis- While definitely an interesting read when one takes into account the collision of the magical and real world with good writing, this one could use a little more polishing up. Although, I do believe that the world and characters and the writing (with some cleaning up) would be quite enjoyable to most readers.
Hypothesis earns
Thank you. <3
ReplyDeleteAna, thank you for the opportunity to feature your book on my blog. =)
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