The Chemist

When I heard that Stephenie Meyer was releasing another book, I just knew I would have to read it. Not because I was “particularly fond” of Twilight or because I wanted to review it simply to drag it, but I loved her other book, The Host, and I was genuinely interested to see what The Chemist would be like. Whilst I was looking forward to giving this one a go and I do quite enjoy crime novels with a bit of thrilling element, unfortunately this one fell short for me. I wanted to be swept off my feet and shown just how much Meyer has improved and developed as an author, but instead I just found myself bored and uninterested in the predictable plot and the unoriginal, dull characters.

Although the first twenty pages seemed very promising for me, the compelling beginning quickly dropped off and maintained a slower pace that was much less interesting for the entirety of The Chemist. The premise of this novel made me really intrigued and I wanted to see how things would work out, but the frankly boring nature of the way this story was told meant that when I got half-way through, I just couldn’t care less and had to force myself to read the rest at an infuriatingly slow pace. Nothing of the real importance seemed to happen for chapters on end and when there was a “twist” the reveals were predictable and almost cringe-worthy. It was very disappointing.

But I suppose a slow plot would have been okay if the characters were half-interesting. Alas they were not. Our main character was a non-descript Mary Sue with no likeable characteristics or distinguishing factors. The love interest was a “nice guy” who was all the more repulsive by his unbelievable kindness that seemed completely sappy. Worst of all, there;s absolutely no romantic tension between these two characters and their relationship felt forced and excruciatingly simplistic. These two boring, one-dimensional characters meant that paired with the slow plot and predictable reveals, The Chemist ended up being an unsatisfying book that I can only hope hasn’t tarnished my views of The Host. If you’re looking for a book to read and you haven’t read The Chemist, I highly recommend picking The Host up.

Ultimately, The Chemist is a slow, dull novel with a predictable plot and one-dimensional characters that was simply very disappointing. If you’re interested in reading a Stephenie Meyer book, I’d recommend The Host, and if you’re looking for a new and exciting crime novel, I encourage you to pick up anything by Fleur Ferris, Rebecca James, or Ellie Marney.