Your opinion on Cynthia's character

Use this forum to discuss the June 2019 Book of the month, "Cynthia and Dan: Cyber War" by Dorothy May Mercer.
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BuzzingQuill
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Re: Your opinion on Cynthia's character

Post by BuzzingQuill »

Monet_va wrote: 22 Jun 2019, 12:46 I definitely agree. To me, Cynthia's character was very underdeveloped and too often I questioned her actions. The cheating rubbed me the wrong way, and her general nativity and simple mindedness bothered me too. Wish the author had spent more time on properly developing her
Yes! I have no issue with having a character be naive but her being naive just completely contradicted what her character should be like to be in the position she is in. Thank you for commenting :D
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Post by Aniza Butt »

Insensitive characters are an act ofinjustice on the author's part and they surely take away the charm of the book.
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Post by kdstrack »

I found Cynthia's character quite confusing. She was presented as a professional who was in charge of the cyber war plan and head of security for a senator. This professional woman turned into a geeky teenager in her relationships (treatment of Dan, sleeping with Sky and not believing there could be consequences). It made me think she had emotional/psychological issues. She would swing from being a top-notch professional to being an insecure, weepy mess.
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Post by tristenb »

I agree with you completely also. Cynthia's character was supposedly in love with Dan and even wanted him to be a partner with her and Dan, but she slept with a guy that she had just met. I think in general, she was very shallow and didn't care about anyone except for herself. I think the author might have had better luck getting us to like Cynthia if she had shared something more about her relationship with Dan before she jumped right into cheating on him. Overall, her character and the whole story didn't make a lot of sense.
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Post by Lucas Kalinic »

I hated and loved Cynthia in equal measure. She has a fair share of her flaws and strengths. The low point was her cheating on Dan. That was a betrayal to womanhood.
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Post by SunVixen »

Nena_Morena wrote: 14 Jun 2019, 20:46 Cynthia was described as a great chief of security, investigator, and bodyguard. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of the characteristics associated with a person in that line of work. She knows that because of her job, she could be targeted; nevertheless, she decides to leave her car and keys with a complete stranger, allows another person that she doesn't know to prepare her drinks, and has sex without protection. Her boyfriend easily puts a tracking device in her car which is never discovered even though Cynthia is a security officer for a government official, and she just takes for granted the information about Sky without digging deeper. She was not only shallow but also naive, volatile, and careless.
She seems like a very bad Head of the security of the senator. How can a girl who cannot take care of her own safety work as a Head of the security?

How did she get such a job at 25? Perhaps she had powerful relatives or friends?
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Post by AntonelaMaria »

Vivianne Nat wrote: 21 Jun 2019, 10:58 Cynthia's character for me is not as strong as i thought a protagonist could be embodied. My standsrds seem to be a little high for this kind of story and she didn't make the cut. There is a wonderful storyline here but the leading lady was written to be confused. Doesn't bag an award for me.
I don't think we should say our standards are high if we expect a heroine of the story to be strong and smart especially considering her profession or simply not considering it lets say can we have a leading lady who is all that just because she should be. This was a very disappointing book for me regarding her character.
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Post by AntonelaMaria »

Lucas Kalinic wrote: 26 Jun 2019, 11:56 I hated and loved Cynthia in equal measure. She has a fair share of her flaws and strengths. The low point was her cheating on Dan. That was a betrayal to womanhood.
Please explain what you mean that her cheating is a betrayal to womanhood?! People cheat not just women or just man and they betray people they are cheating not entire womanhood or manhood o whatever.
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Post by hancocktara »

esp1975 wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 21:02
Julie Petitbon wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 19:43 I completely agree. She wasn't the most likable character. I hated the way she treated Dan. Very shady! I also didn't like how easily she was led by men. For example, who in their right mind would leave their car in the middle of the street and go have lunch with a strange (and pushy) man? And then go back to his apartment? For a woman that is supposed to be highly intelligent, she acts pretty foolish and puts herself in dangerous situations.
I am so there with you. I am not done with the book yet, but right now, I feel like Cynthia is two different characters. I seriously don't know how to reconcile this young woman who thinks of her ass as cute, is driving her first new car (which is apparently brand new), and allows herself to be pushed around by a man, who takes her to his apartment and makes her a drink out of her sight with the woman who is supposed to be head of security for a Senator.
You don't get to be head of Security for a Senator at 25. You just don't. But the rest of her character, at least so far (and I am not super far into the book), feels more like 25 would a stretch for how old she is. I mean, she doesn't even know what Plan B is?

I am having a hard time with my suspension of disbelief.
Yes I totally agree! I thought it was bizarre that she would feel comfortable when she first met Sky. I thought he was very creepy at first so was shocked when she went back to his apartment. Perhaps if she wasn't the Senator's Head of Security it would have been more believable, yet for me Cynthia's actions regarding Sky at the start of the book are too contradictory.
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Post by Manogna Thumukunta »

Just like every person in real life, Cynthia isn't perfect and I like that about her.
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Post by Chrystal Oaks »

I thought Cynthia was "wishy-washy" and perhaps a bit arrogant. If I remember correctly, she had a black-belt in martial arts. Maybe she took risks because she believed she could protect herself if it became necessary.
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Post by juliusotieno02 »

Her character development wasn't really pleasing. I mean being portrayed as an upright individual only to end up cheating on her boyfriend without any regret at all.
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Post by Sanju Lali »

The flaw in the character make it appear realistic, but it should be within moral limits. In case of Cynthia's character seems like just crossing the moral limit.
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Post by cvetelina_yovcheva87 »

I also share your opinion about Cynthia's character. She is quite controversial. Maybe, if she experienced some remorse regarding her mistakes, her character would be more influential.
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Post by Letora »

She was initially introduced as this strong female character, but then never acted like it. She was naive and clueless. Aside from security I felt like she didn't even really know how go do anything. And even then, when working security she trusted people way too much.
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