I really wanted to like this book. This Idea is good but that was it.

Hooked. Thrilled.

I had to DNF this one. I just couldn't take it anymore. Normally I try to at least finish every single book I begin to read but this is the first book of a trilogy so I don't even get a real ending to the story and I know that I will never, ever, EVER pick up the second book in this series. Probably the most boring book I read in my entire life and it actually made me fall asleep. Full review soon. ____________________________ I try to always finish the books I start reading because I hope that maybe when I read on I might end up enjoy them. I read (or rather listened to) about 70% of Matched and I'm suprised I even got that far. At this point I knew that I just had to stop because I wouldn't get a real ending and I was sure as hell I would never ever pick up the next book in the series. Matched in one word: BORING. This book put me to sleep while listening to the audiobook. But still, I have to say that it wasn't completely horrible. The one thing that actually made me read up to the 70% mark was the overall premise of Matched. A society in which everything is controlled by the covernment: what you eat, what you read, what you do in your free time and most importantly who you are supposed to love. Especially in the first couple of chapter the world building is what kept me interested, to see how everyone deals with the limitations of the society and how it influences the everyday life. Unfortunately, this is also were the problems started. Instead of giving the readers an overview of the society while moving on with the actual storyline, the author focuses to heavily on certain aspects of the world that do nothing to move the plot forward. We basically get to follow around the characters in their everyday life. That might be exciting the first time around but it becomes stale and boring when you have to read about it over and over again. I felt like the world consists of four buidings, the main characters house, the Arboritum, the school and the leisure activity center, instead of the large society it is supposed to be. Ally Condie's writing made it even worse. I'm not saying that she isn't a talented writer, she actually crafts really beautiful prose that is easy to read. The problem is that in a dystopian novel, I expect a more fast paced approach instead of long paragraphs of description of wool seeds, clouds and the color of the love interests eyes. It feels like half of the book just consists of unnecessary description and this is just not what I was hoping for in a dystopian read. To top it all of the main character Cassia Reyes is probably the most bland character I ever read about. Cassia is nice, polite and sweet and while that might doesn't sound bad, it is for me. I like diverse characters that have their own identity and that stand out from the crowd. Cassia, the "hero" of the story, was just one in a million. The same goes for all the other characters in Matched. They're all so one dimensional and without any unique personality that it bored me to death. And you could might argue that this is how the people in this society are meant to be but isn't it the point of the story to see the characters evolve and see them realize that this society is not the good and safe place they were led to believe? Because I think Cassia had no character development at all. I don't really want to waste to much time on the romance because I just didn't feel it. I was rooting for no one in this love triangle and I couldn't care less who Cassia will end up with. The relationships felt forced, especially the one between Cassia and Ky. This romance is shoved down the readers throat so hard and takes way to much space in the actual plot. Overall I would definitely not recommend Matched. It's boring, bland and just brings nothing new to the dystopian genre. And while the overall premise is interesting, the plot is underdeveloped, the descriptions are to long and there is way to much focus on the irritating romance.

This was an amazing book and i am still reading the second book