Flow of the Book and Development of Characters

Use this forum to discuss the June 2019 Book of the month, "Cynthia and Dan: Cyber War" by Dorothy May Mercer.
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Allyseria
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Re: Flow of the Book and Development of Characters

Post by Allyseria »

The flow was so odd. Nothing's worse than having a bad flow and weird transitions. It just took me out of the story each time and made it that much easier to put the book down.
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Post by Paige Alvarado »

Yeah I feel that this book is meant to appeal to a younger audience. It was very bizzare how Sky and Cynthia met and then suddenly were in love.
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Post by lauren3cats »

I really enjoyed the flow of the Cyber War portion of the book. It caught my attention and pulled me through. I was really disappointed with the romantic development, however. Her relationship with sky was not allowed to develop in a realistic manner and that bothered me.
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Post by kristib44 »

I definitely don't feel like there was any "flow." The development of the characters was nearly non-existant; I felt as if I were dumped into the middle of someone's life and was expected to know their life story. It didn't get any better as the story progressed. I have no idea why Sky was so quick to fall in love or if Dan had stalkerish tendencies before Cynthia, and I have no idea if falling for Sky was out of character for her or not.
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Post by shravsi »

I am also halfway through the book but I don't think I am too much keen to complete it. There isn't anything motivating enough. Not the storyline nor the characters.
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Post by RachelRovere »

pshaw1414 wrote: 22 Jul 2019, 13:44 Yeah I feel that this book is meant to appeal to a younger audience. It was very bizzare how Sky and Cynthia met and then suddenly were in love.
It definitely has a Young Adult feel to the simplistic way it was written but I really hope no teen ever picks up this book. Dan, Cynthia and Sky set a HORRIBLE example of what a healthy relationship looks like. Stalking, cheating, and manipulation isn't something that needs to be equated to romance for teens.
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Post by Paige Alvarado »

RachelRovere wrote: 03 Aug 2019, 17:46
pshaw1414 wrote: 22 Jul 2019, 13:44 Yeah I feel that this book is meant to appeal to a younger audience. It was very bizzare how Sky and Cynthia met and then suddenly were in love.
It definitely has a Young Adult feel to the simplistic way it was written but I really hope no teen ever picks up this book. Dan, Cynthia and Sky set a HORRIBLE example of what a healthy relationship looks like. Stalking, cheating, and manipulation isn't something that needs to be equated to romance for teens.
Absolutely agree!
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Post by dcw »

I just recently finished this book and I agree with you completely. The main characters seemed to lack development. I felt as though the storylines were rushed, particularly between Cynthia and Sky. And at times, it became unrealistic. for me. I finished reading the book but unfortunately, I did not particularly enjoy it.
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Post by Bretagne »

I'm not sure I'd feel confident saying that the characters really develop. I felt like they didn't really undergo any revolutionary changes. There are some intense moments and scenarios in the book, and yet the characters felt unchanged. The flat characters was actually my biggest complaint with the whole story.

As for the flow of the story, I didn't mind the bouncing between story lines too much, especially since the author does bring all the characters together everyone once in a while. However, I do think the story would have benefited from more attention on one story line rather than the sporadic updates.
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Post by Brandy C »

I agree the plot is choppy and all over the place. I could not connect with any of the characters. In my opinion, the chapters seemed undeveloped and flat. Cynthia’s character is very contradictory. One minute she is strong and independent and the next she is clueless and dependent on Skye! I tried hard to get into this book but sadly I could not.
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Post by Felicity Granger »

I saw little to any development of any of the characters. At all. Sky kinda has this lecher, creep thing going on and the whole instant love trope was just not blended with the story. When Cynthia tries to justify her cheating, I was just fed up. The plot was convoluted and evoked too many negative feelings when it came on to the three's relationship hubble-bubble.
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Post by Sana Rabbani »

maggi3 wrote: 02 Jun 2019, 01:25
heatherashley7 wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 17:08 It also bothered me how one minute Sky was the perfect gentleman and than the next was more like a childish teenager. Example, calling himself "sugar daddy", and then upon meeting again in Glenn's office rushing to her and kissing her hands. I'm not sure about you but that does not scream manly, much less someone of high importance in the military.

Overall this book seemed like a good read for a teenager, minus the whole pregnancy and miscarriage.

What are your thoughts on Sky's multiple characteristics?
I wonder if the childish characteristics were intended to make him more relatable to younger people. It didn’t work out that way, though. I thought he came off as creepy and a bit obsessive to be honest.
I agree to this completely. Although, I'm half way through reading it but still it seems quite like it.
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Post by Adina Lutinger »

I agree. There were so many things about the characters and the flow of events that didn't make sense. Maybe if we got the chance to see what happens in the minds and hearts of the characters we would understand them better and relate more to the story, but it didn't happen.
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Post by JGretz-7 »

I am glad to see that others felt that the character development was lacking. Typically I can find something about the various characters that I can relate to, but they were shallow and just made poor choices. I agree that Sky came off as creepy and obsessive. There was nothing in Sky's and Cynthia's initial meeting that made me think it was a soul-mate match. I don't know that I'd read another book from this author.
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Post by Hiruni Hansika »

heatherashley7 wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 10:14 Admittedly I am only on Chapter 6, but is anyone else having a hard time with the flow of the book and the development of characters? So far I feel as if the author is jumping around in the plot. She is not providing enough back story or detail to really make me vested in the outcome. The character of Sky is very disappointing to say the least. One minute he sounds like a proper english gentleman, the next just your average guy looking to sleep with someone. Am I the only one who feels like this?

Hopefully this book will get better! :?
The book does not have a flow at all. I waited for a climax and it had none. I was dissapointed by the book. Cynthia and Sky's characters were very conflicting. And why was the book named Cynthia and Dan after all? OK if the writer wanted not to give too much detail about Sky, she should have named it merely Cynthia!
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