Review: Innocents

Innocents by Mary Elizabeth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I reviewed this already, when it was originally the fanfic Dusty and I believe I gave it 4 stars. Those primarily because I found it to be absolutely horrible, but completely unputdownable. That opinion still stands now.

Dusty: Innocents is not a book that you can like. It actually pains me to read reviews talking about how much they love Dusty and Bliss. It worries me that anyone would find anything lovable about the relationship between those two. It also worries me when I read reviews talking about how unrealistic they seem. The lives that they lead may be hard to accept, but it's not unrealistic. And that scares the shit out of me. Innocents follow Dusty and Bliss from the early stages of their friendship at 11 & 13 through some semblance of a relationship, albeit hidden, at 15 & 17. It also follows the relationship Dusty has with his other bliss....drugs, alcohol, and sex. I know people don't want to think that young teens think and act like Dusty does, but they do. I've seen it firsthand. It's not pretty but The Elizabeths really nail the harsh realities of it. And somehow they do it with a lyrical style to the writing that makes you continue reading even though every bone in your body wishes you could stop. It's kind of fitting that way since you are reading a book about addiction in all forms. Addiction to the high, addiction to a person, addiction to appearances, all of which does harm to the person dealing with it and those around them.

Anyway.

Innocents sets the tone for the series as a whole. It gives you a peak into the monster that is Dusty & Bliss. It hints at things to come with their relationship and you know that it isn't going to be good. You can feel it throughout the entire book. It gives the perfect set up to leave you wanting to find out when all hell is going to break loose and wonder how it is going to happen. It's a massive mindfuck and I can't wait to see what is going to happen. And I'm probably going to hate every moment of it and that makes me love it. Dusty and Bliss are obviously not the only ones with problems.



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Innocents by The Elizabeths Cover Reveal!

This is one of the books that I am most excited about this year.  I've actually read it before when it was the fan fiction story, Dusty.  I hated/loved it.  I'm pretty sure that my review was a huge rambling mess about how much I hated every single person in the book and how horrible it was.  But I could not stop reading it.  Thirty-eight chapters and over 1k pages, took me an entire day, a 2 hour power nap at like 6 am, and then on to finishing it after I woke up.  I then proceeded to pretty much lose my mind over the end and join twitter so I can make sure that the authors knew how much I hated them (in a good way.  Kind of).  Then I goaded my best friend into reading it also, because  misery loves company. 

Honestly, this book isn't for everyone.  When I say that there is not a redeeming character in the entire book, I'm not joking.  They all suck.  It was so well-written though and such a heartbreaking look into characters with serious flaws like addiction, narcissism, absenteeism, idiot-ism, abuse, among others, that I was hooked beyond belief to the story.  The two authors each bring something different to the writing, one who writes all of the shitty stuff and another to pretty it up.  It's a good combination. 

Anyway, the Elizabeths decided to break this up into two books for publishing, so Innocents is only the first half.  Good for the sanity, horrible for the patience.  So, if you are someone who is okay with reading a book that has absolutely no redeeming characters, all of whom you wish you could actually reach through the book to bitch slap, and actually like it, look for this on July 14, 2014.  

I'll be buying myself & the best friend a paperback copy so we can systematically torture ourselves one more time.  

Date & Title Reveal!