Customer Reviews

His Eyes

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Amy dreams of becoming a journalist, but fears it might be just that - a dream. Even though her parents want the best for her, the cost of college, at least the college she hopes to attend, is not something they can afford. Then a job with an amazing paycheck becomes available.

Amy is going to babysit. Her charge's name is Tristan, but there's a catch. Tristan is about to graduate from high school just like Amy. The reason he needs a sitter is because he is blind. A horse jumping accident combined with an inherited condition involving weakened retinas have left Tristan without his sight. His mother hires Amy with the hope that someone his age can convince him to take the steps necessary to resume a more normal life.

Once Amy begins hanging out with Tristan, she learns that things are more complicated than just his loss of sight. He is also grieving the sudden death of his father and the guilt that their relationship was not at its best. Amy has her own family struggles. She tells Tristan about her mother's eccentric behavior of fixing family meals to include a son who left home ten years ago.

Although the job pays extremely well, Amy begins to realize money isn't the only thing that keeps her coming back. As Tristan begins to make small gains in adjusting to his new life, a relationship develops that goes beyond employer/employee. Since their lifestyles are completely different, Amy hesitates to get too close, but soon it just might be beyond her control.

HIS EYES is the first novel for Renee Carter. Readers will sense the chemistry between Amy and Tristan immediately. Carter fills out her cast of characters with family members such as Tristan's funny younger brother and cute little sister and an annoyingly self-centered ex-girlfriend named Lexus.

Although at times predictable, HIS EYES offers a fast-paced read for readers looking for a bit of romance.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

I read "His Eyes" over a week ago with every intention of writing a review on it, but the later in the week it got, the more I felt ashamed of my views on this particular piece of work, and wanted to spare the author my thoughts. The story was actually a good one. Well thought out, wonderful characters, believable. "So what's the problem?" I'm sure your asking. Ok, I'll tell you. It needed to "be more."

Let me explain, (be more is kind of a vague thought) This was the story of a teenage girl and her quest to fund her really expensive college experience. In order to pad her pockets she does what most would do... she gets a job. This job however, is not like every other job, (flipping burgers or brewing lattes) no, this job is to be a "babysitter" for a blind boy, (who in a twist turns out to be her age). Now... we all know where this story goes, it's kind of predictable, (and that's ok) it's not always about the ending, sometimes it's about the journey, but when the journey feels as though it is at warp speed, there is a problem.

As I said before, I didn't think the book was bad, it was just lacking. Renee Carter created this wonderful world of circumstantial love, she set up her characters, she drew her audience in, and then she just... well... dropped the ball. Just when I started to really get into the story it ended. She waited way to long to introduce her 3rd act, and then only allowed herself roughly 10 pages to clean it up and make it tidy. Why? Is there some digital paper Nazi out there I am unaware of? Why would someone take such great care in creating a world, and forming a relationship with her characters just to tap out when things were getting too emotional?

I guess this is something I'll never understand, or maybe it is something I should just learn to live with...because lately it seems to be the norm, but do you know what gets me most of all? The sadness that erupts from me when I can tell an author just gave up.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: sometimes being honest hurts.

I read His Eyes awhile back. It was very well written and the characters were easy to fall in love with. The author keeps you on your toes while you're reading the novel. Amy tries to do things her way, without depending on people, but then she has to watch Tristan. The book goes through both Amy and Tristan's battles, which makes you fall more in love with them. His Eyes is a very good novel and I'm happy to see it published. I would defiantly recommend this book to everyone who loves to read.

Amy signs up for a high-paying babysitting job so she can earn enough money to go to the perfect - but expensive - college. It turns out, though, that the job pays so well because the kid being "babysat" is Amy's own age. Tristan is a hot private school guy, but he just lost his vision during a horse jumping competition. He loathes anything that reminds him of his loss - especially Amy.

The story from there is predictable, with Amy and Tristan learning to get along and more, which would have been great with the blindness twist (among others) and the characters themselves. The problem is the writing. Carter tries, and I commend that, but this is not the writing of a professional. The story is abrupt and the descriptions less than great. The conflicts within each of the families were deep, but Carter simply pulled them in when she needed another twist and resolved them (oh, so happily and easily) as soon as she was through with them. It felt like a first draft that needed to be seriously fleshed out. I loved the story (which is what kept me going) but I wish that either Carter was better or her editor would have pushed her further.

If you want to read the book, borrow it. It's not worth reading again.

4 out of 5 stars. Inspiring, sweet, romantic, and funny ... what more could you ask for in a book .. let alone a YA novel! The chemistry between Tristan and Amy (even if their lives where so different) just sparks off of the page! Also, I loved Tristan's family ... I wished I could hang out with them myself! =0)

Reviewed By: From Me to You ... Book Reviews

(read more of this review and a teaser on my blog)

His Eyes by Renee Carter: DIDN'T LOVE IT...DIDN'T HATE IT!

There were certain aspects of this story that I enjoyed. At the same time, there were some elements of this story that I didn't particularly care for.

Let's start with the positive... Renee Carters debut novel, His Eyes, was a fun, easy read. This story has an original plot and some great characters. I especially liked Chris, Tristan's younger, annoying-but-loveable brother. (Having one of them myself, Chris made me smile countless times throughout the novel. He actually reminded me a lot of my own little brother).

Now on to the negative...(I am going to be very vague because I do not want to give anything away!!) For one, the subplot was a bit far-fetched and melodramatic. Also, I had a few issues with the major conflict in this novel. It, too, was over-the-top and unrealistic. Plus, it was one of those situations where the entire thing could have been avoided with this new thing we call communication!! Basically anything pertaining to Lexus, Tritans ex-girlfriend, irked me. Her character was ridiculous, stereotypical and not at all realistic.

The biggest disappointment was that His Eyes had so much potential, mainly Tristan's character, yet it was lacking. Carter didn't dig deep enough into the emotions of her characters. She also didn't exhibit the seriousness of Tristan's physical handicap. In fact, throughout the novel, people test Tristan, laugh at him and ask him ridiculous questions pertaining to his blindness. (Let me ask you a serious question. If one of your friends became blind tomorrow, would you laugh at them if they tripped? Would you give them a drink they detest to see if they were really blind or if they were faking? I know I wouldn't. And, in my opinion Carter didn't give us enough credit...)

Overall I thought His Eyes by Renee Carter was a decent book, and I think there is an audience out there that will really enjoy this book. I enjoyed certain aspects of it. It isn't a favorite, but I am still curious to see what else Renee Carter will bring into the world of Young-Adult Literature. My recommendation is to follow my 2 STAR advice: If you can get this book for free from a family member, friend, etc. then maybe read it, but I wouldn't pay money to read this book and I would put it on the bottom of my to-read list.

-XOXO

READING, EATING & DREAMING

TO READ MORE YA REVIEWS CHECK OUT MY BLOG ON BLOGSPOT: READING, EATING & DREAMING I WAS BLAIR WALDORF

I wasn't sure if I was going to give this book a 2 or 3 star rating . I liked the basic premise of the story - girl with different background (Amy) is set up to "babysit" a wealthy, blind boy (Tristan) who is her age but who is difficult to work with. I was even prepared for a predictable outcome. Unfortunately, the book just didn't deliver against its potential. Besides the cute family members (Tristan's siblings), everyone seems rather one-dimensional and the entire premise of the story seems unrealistic at best (Tristan seemingly in a few short days/interactions changes from who he was before he was blind just by being around Amy although there is very little understanding why). However, this is a cute, light read if that's what you're looking for.

His Eyes is a touching story, with good characters and its a sweet read.

Renee did a great job making me wonder what would happen next, and what the characters were going to do or say. The romance is sweet and simple, until a mystery gal comes on the scene and challenges what Aimee thinks about herself and what she thinks she knows about Tristan.

Tristan himself is a confused, but underneath it all good guy. He learned a lot from his accident and it changed how he thought about himself and other people.

His little brother is a funny character, and plays a cute role in the book.

This is a nice read and I'd recommend to give it a try.

I've been waiting for a long time to read this story, and it came heavily recommended to me by friends when it was first on fictionpress. I liked the story and the writing was very good. I would recommend it again to anyone who's looking for a "warm-fuzzy" type of read.

I read this story when it was originally on [...]. I feel in love with the story and the characters so much. I ended up putting the entire story on my PDA, so I could carry it around with me and read it without a computer. Then, the author took down the story while she was trying to get it published. I no longer had access to it. I have been waiting a good few years for it to be published so that I can read it as many times as my heart wishes. I will most definitely be buying a copy.