Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Booknerds in Love Triangles: Wither


Jacque's Review: 

Rhine is kidnapped and forced into a polygamous union with Linden, the son of a wealthy physician.  She wants nothing more than to escape and return to New York, where she will live out her remaining four years with her twin brother.  She begins to devise a plan to escape with Gabriel, a young servant with whom she develops a relationship.  While she bides her time, she starts to connect with Linden on a more personal level.  By the end, I was a strong supporter of TEAM LINDEN.  Rhine discovered that Linden's life was filled with lies that he was not even aware of.  In addition, his father had controlled and manipulated him since childhood.  Ultimately, he was just as trapped as she was.  Rhine was able to appreciate Linden's talents and began to value his caring and sensitive side.  He truly loved her and was willing to do anything necessary to make her happy.  I felt that if they were given their freedom, their love for each other would have flourished.

Mary's Review:

I literally finish Wither in a couple of days.  It was a quick and fantastic read.  I cannot imagine living in this world the way Rhine has.  She is so strong and so smart, but she craves freedom.  As I was reading this book I was trying to decide my "team" and then it hit me.  I was TEAM LINDEN.  Rhine is actually married to Linden but he is not what you think.  In the beginning I thought he was just wanting all these wives to fulfill his father's plans and have babies.  I was so wrong.  Linden was one who needed Rhine.  He needed her strength and courage to bring him from the dark hole that he was in.  Soon, Rhine wanted to be with him too, even if it was just to parties and outings.  But, above all the Rhine still wanted her freedom and the one I felt bad for was Linden.  

Flo's Review:

I was the last one to finish Wither. It took me a little while to get into, but toward the middle I finally started to feel vested in the characters and what happens to them. The one thing that really struck me about this book was the idea that everyone is a product of their circumstance. You have to expect that these people will act the way they do, considering the situations they came out of. It makes it hard to blame anyone and easy to pity everyone. I already knew that Mary and Jacque were both Team Linden, and after reading their comments above, I understand their points. But, to me, I don't know what exactly his feelings for Rhine are, or how deep they go. He says he loves her, and I think he believes he does, but I don't think he does. He is drawn to her because she reminds him of his wife who recently passed. And when he needed her there for comfort, she was there. He thinks her eyes are pretty. But love? I don't think so. He doesn't know her -- he knows the Rhine that she wants him to see. And at the end of the day, if his life depended on it...I don't know that he would defy his father for her, or stand up for her in any way. I am TEAM GABRIEL. Rhine and Gabriel connect on a deep level. They are both trapped and empathize with each others situations. (Note: Linden is trapped as well, but he does not know it.)  They talk open & honestly to each other as much as they can, given the circumstances. And when the time comes that they cannot see each other regularly, he finds a way to communicate with her, and she finds a way to get to him. At the end, he inspires the fight in her, and she cannot visualize a future without him.

4 comments :

  1. I'm with Flo, Team Gabriel FTW! But great points from everyone, some of things mentioned about Linden I had not thought of before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm a Team Gabriel too, but I have a feeling the story will lead back to Linden and Gabriel will either die or somehow get out of the picture lol (Because of those same reasons mention by Jacque and Mary)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought I was Team Gabriel then Team Linden and then back to Team Gabriel and I think I'm Team Confused now, LOL.

    I can't wait for the second book to find out more about Rhine's adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was SOOO hard to call for me. I waffled back and forth, as I think Rhine did as well. But at the end, I agreed with Flo. Linden loves what he thinks Rhine is. He loves her strength, he loves her attitude, I think he even loves that she won't give in to him. But he doesn't really know her.

    I'm not sure what might have happened if she had opened up to him. Flo may be right that he would always side with his father. Who doesn't want to side with the devil you know? But a part of me wished that she had told him the truth about her past, and his father, before she left.

    Great blog, by the way. I'm a new follower! :)

    ~Tara

    ReplyDelete