Reading Right Now! (#37)

Title: Rook

Author: Sharon Cameron

I'm on page 264 of 456, which makes me 58% of the way through this beast.

So what I'm Reading Right Now! for this week is Rook by Sharon Cameron. I saw this on my library's new shelf and decided to pick it up. Then I heard that Regan and Sasha set up a Goodreads bookclub called Perustopia Book Club and Rook was the first book they had decided to read for it and it would be their book for August. Now I had already decided that Rook was going to be my next read, but hearing that they were going to be reading it too and it was their first pick for their bookclub, made me a little more interested in it.

I wasn't really sure what this story was about when I first went into it. The cover evokes a certain Paris in ruins feeling which it is. For a little summary as to what this is about, Rook is set in a future world, but it's a future world that has regressed to a distant past. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but somehow parts of Paris sunk and satellites fell, flaming from the sky. The world decided in that time of great tragedy that technology was the problem and technology took jobs away from the masses. So in this future, civilization has decided to do away with all technology, make it illegal, and live in a kind of 17th-18th century feeling world. Paris has been taken over by this crazy guy named Allemande, and he has brought the guillotine back in service. Allemande has convinced the masses that the rich are to blame for everything and they end up being the victims of the guillotine. But there is a savior in the city, someone who rescues prisoners before they reach the guillotine, and leaves a red rook feather in their empty cells. Our story also involves a girl named Sophia Bellamy who has been put into an arranged with a Parisian named Rene Hasard. Sophia ends up finding out secrets about her new fiance, secrets that make him a tad more interesting.

This book and I have not been the best of friends. I was very interested in the premise, but the overall story is just sooooo boring. I've even contemplated DNFing it, which I don't do with books. I'm also not really sure about the world. I'm not sure I understand the decisions that were made to get it to the point it is in this book. I wouldn't want to live in a time without indoor plumbing or internet. So even though this is a book set in a distant future, it reads and feels like a book set in a distant past. I'm just not the biggest fan of this book. It's dull, kind of drags along at a slow pace, and there's not as much action as the synopsis lets you think there will be. Also, I'm not in love with the love story in this book. If I have to hear one more time about Rene Hasard's hair powder and blue fire eyes, it's not going to be good. 

Sorry for my Debby Downer Reading Right Now! post, but the whole point of my blog is to share my honest thoughts on what I'm reading. I give each book a fair shot to wow me, and so far Rook is not wowing me at all. So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Tell me what you're Reading Right Now! in the comments below because I love talking books with people. Also, if you've read or are reading Rook, what do you think of it? Do you feel the same way as me or am I way off the mark?