Book Notes: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

“I don’t want him to love me because of a potion,” she said. 
 
Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre? 

But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed, years ago, by an enormous, evil serpent that’s still around—and it knows Izzie is out there." 


I was so excited to read this book when I saw it. I've always loved the story of Tristan and Isolde, and realy wanted to see how it would be retold. Sadly, this is where my positive notes end.  I have no idea what this book was trying to do at all.

Izzie was one of the most annoying characters I've read in a while. I don't know if Harrison did so on purpose, but I never got a great feel from Izzie or any of the characters. Some of the language used for students in high school felt really unrealistic. Nothing in the book really flowed naturally for me. I kept having these, "Really? Why would you do that?!" type of moments while I read.

Though the book wasn't my cup of tea, I do think Harrison did decently well with her writing. If you like books that are a bit over-the-top in imagination, you may like the story. However, I don't think I would ever recommend this book to anyone.