Books like The Bracelet

Originally posted on www.yareads.com, reviewed by Nichole.Humanitarian aid Abby Howell and reporter Nick Sinclair find themselves in the middle of a human trafficking ring in Pakistan. When Abby realizes she may have witnessed a murder by a high-ranking official, she and Nick must break the story before she becomes its next casualty.I was really nervous to read The Bracelet because it discussed such a terrifying topic for me: sex trafficking. I live very close to Seattle, WA, which actually has a large amount of sex trafficking, and trafficking in general going on. I also learned quite a bit about human trafficking in one of my college courses, which scared the living crap out of me. Not to mention, the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson. Obviously, I didn’t handle that very well either.When I read the prologue for The Bracelet, I was expecting a rather strong novel from Roberta Gately. It was pretty intense witnessing Abby watch a girl get thrown off the roof, and I expected high action throughout the rest of the novel. Unfortunately, I ended up being bored throughout most of the book.The novel is set in Pakistan, which, honestly, is not a book for me. I don’t mind reading about other cultures, but I often find those types of books to be really educational and long, which is exactly how The Bracelet turned out for me. I also felt that the book was very repetitive.I cannot express how much I disliked the main character, Abby. I really don’t have any logical reason for disliking her, I just didn’t. She got on my nerves so much! Not to mention, I thought she was an absolute idiot. I know that Gately was trying to educate her readers on what sex trafficking is. However, it really made Abby look bad when she had no idea what sex trafficking was. Seriously? What grown adult has never heard of sex trafficking or human trafficking? I know it’s not widely discussed, but I definitely scoffed at that. I also found her to be very obnoxious, and I felt that she whined way too much. I really did feel pity that her boyfriend of three or so years broke up with her. I did! But….going clear to Pakistan to recover, which is basically what she did, from a break up? REALLY? That’s a little over the top in my opinion.Unfortunately, while reading this book, I found myself doing something that I never do. I skimmed a bunch of pages, and I ended up skipping whole paragraphs because I was that bored. It really did feel like a history lesson/educational novel, and I felt that this book could potentially be assigned to me from one of my professors. I read enough for school as it is, I don’t want my luxury reading to feel like school also.Now, here’s the thing. Roberta Gately is a great writer. I understood that while I was reading The Bracelet. To make me a fan, though, Gately needs to take that great writing and make it interesting. Give me a plot that’s going to catch my attention and make me a loyal reader. The Bracelet is more of an adult novel than a young adult novel, but I read both. My books don’t have to be full of fantasy or paranormal activity. I’m fine sitting down and reading an adult romance novel or action/thriller.In the end, I can’t tell readers whether or not they should read this book, because it really wasn’t for me. However, it did have great writing and this concept may appeal to some. I would encourage fans of this genre to give the book a chance. You never know, you may really enjoy it. Unfortunately, the book just was not for me. Pages: 304Publisher: Gallery BooksPublication Date: November 6th, 2012Rating: : 1 Teaser Quote: “There is a lot to tell.” Nick was suddenly serious. He leaned across the table. “Trafficking is a big business. It’s a damned bonanza- third-biggest illegal business in the world behind arms and drugs, and it has an endless supply of resources. While the supply of drugs and arms could dry up, there’ll always be girls and women to exploit. It’s a thirty-two-billion-dollar-a year business.”