The Chemist
She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.
Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.
Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.
My Review: 6/10
This was a page turner from beginning to end. Sometimes because the story was SO good. And other times because the romance was so nauseating you just wanted to get past it as soon as possible.
I love a good love story. And I find it trite and unbelievable when the attraction is constantly denied in order to move the story along until the end when they ultimately come together. So you'd think I'd appreciate that the romance was there right away and as consistently present as the rest of the plot. However, this was unbelieveable in different ways: love at first sight, despite every natural human survival instinct that would urge a person to run, if not be filled with a healthy dose of fear, suspicion, and mistrust.
Nope.
The story itself was good. It seemed solid, well-researched and intelligent. But Stephenie Meyer clearly has a "type." An intelligent, apologetically dangerous person who is really good (Edward, Ian, "Alex") paired with a pure, innocent person who is in mortal peril by direct association, frequently at the hands of the former themselves (Bella, Wanderer, Daniel). The characters are always perched precariously on the precipice of an extreme life/death scenerio. And there is usually a cobbled-together, makeshift family of unique talents (did anyone else see a strong similarity between Emmett vs. Kevin and Valentine vs. Rosalie? How could you not). This book even had a "pack," some of whose members were featured prominently as main characters.
This story would have been outstanding if a few things were different. If the romantic depth wasn't limited to a gradeschool interaction of making out and giggling. Actually, if there was just less romance in general. And if there was any story where it would have made sense for the characters to have to overcome some serious issues that would, understandably, take the entire length of the novel and not be resolved until the end, this would be the one. The insta-love never made less sense; at least Edward was supernatural and gifted with an ability to literally draw prey in. And if the characters/relationships didn't seem to similar to those in her previous novels. Still good, interesting, but felt recycled.
Oh and the opposite twin thing. It was a dead giveaway to what was going to happen as soon as it was mentioned.
I wonder what it would be like if Ms. Meyer wrote a novel with zero romance. I think she has great potential.
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