Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Caution, this may contain spoilers.

So, Impossible by Nancy Werlin. I saw the book Unthinkable in the bookstore, and it looked so intriguing, and I really wanted that, but I read it was part of a series, and so I read this first. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't really what I was expecting.

What I Didn't Like:

• (Major spoiler ahead.) Rape and teenage pregnancy. These are not things I like to see in my YA novels. I hate reading about things like that, serious, "issue" type things. It's why I avoid contemporary novels, because I assume they'll all be like Go Ask Alice or something. I just don't enjoy this type of reading. I like to identify with my heroines at the beginning, and have the person they are by the end be someone I can emulate. This is not the case with Lucy. 
• Lack of folklore. The inclusion of a seventeenth century ballad about elves at the beginning got me all excited. I was expected a level of "faerie" presence on par with Ballad and Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, and I did NOT get that. The "elfin knight" from the ballad, Padraig Seeley, has very little back story, and seems to function as a dark shadow in the back of the character's minds, as opposed to having a solid story arc. Little mention of the extent of his powers or motivations are present. He's just "the evil guy". Other than his character, there are no other aspects of the fae world in this book. (I've purchased the major works of Katherine Briggs, renowned folklorist, literally wrote the book on faeries etc. etc., so I kind of look out for those sorts of things.)
• Unrealistic attitudes. I'm sorry, I really am, but I cannot wrap my head around a twentysomething guy wanting to marry a girl who is pregnant with another man's child. Maybe I'm cynical, but I just can't see that happening. (Frankly, no one should have to take on all of someone else's baggage like that.) And he proposed to her out of the blue, and everyone's all happy about the baby...hello! High school, college, career? You know, the life you're supposed to be living? Both of their lives (all, really, considering the implications for the parents) have been derailed and their all sunshine and rainbows about it? I can't buy that.
• Pacing. The end felt rushed to me. A bit anti-climatic as well, when Padraig just sort of whooshes away. I wanted a little more about that. 

What I Did Like:

• I like that Pierre, their dog, immediately disliked Padraig. Always a good idea to avoid people the dog doesn't like in a supernatural environment. Also, that his last name was "Seeley," which looks a lot like "Seelie" and "Unseelie" (the two different fae "courts," which I'm sure you can look up)...that immediately let me know he was the "knight" from the ballad. I like things like that, little clues. 

Final Thoughts:

• I've purchased the other two companion books to this one, Extraordinary and Unthinkable, already. If I hadn't, I probably would not buy them after having read this one. 
• I suggest you give this a try, as it wasn't so much the book was bad as it was not what I expected and not something I would have picked up had I known what it was really about. 
• I'm trying to read the next one with an open mind, as I really, really wanted to like this series.