Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison

2 reviews

abeaninapod's review

Go to review page

Summary: a well off black girl described as being uppity and "white" because she listens to lame music (Lana del Ray) and is dating a white boy is reintroduced to her used to be childhood friend, a poor black boy from "the hood" who was shot alongside his mother (now orphaned) and is now staying with said uppity family in surburban utopia. Add in a bunch of borderline racist stereotypes and cliches.... everyone assumes he's a gangster, he's dressed hood but look at that he's actually smart (who would have thought), he hangs with actual gangsters but he doesnt actually shoot people or smoke or drink and oh yeah he's super super hot but his dirty cornrows take away from that effect for the first 2 chapters.


Sigh. I don't think I could go on. Then this little girl just said France is overrated. She wants to learn Spanish instead and go to the Caribbean islands. Which caribbean islands sis? How many caribbean islands you think are speaking Spanish? 

Either a white women ghostwrote this or the most obtuse black American to ever use a keyboard.

As someone from "the hood" and from a Caribbean island (that doesn't really speak Spanish) I would say to Ms. Whitney please stop writing about things you don't know about.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

spearly's review

Go to review page

dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I'm such a sucker for those cartoon covers, and enemies to lovers is my SHIT, but this is now my second DNF of the year.

A Love Hate Thing reads like a 2003 Wattpad story that the author edited together into some semblance of a manuscript.

A Love Hate Thing follows a guy, Tyson Trice, who's from the ~wrong side of the tracks~, who had to hustle to survive and has a secret heart of gold, who goes to live with a rich, hoity-toity family after his grandpa dies because... his grandpa used to be their gardener? And he asked them to? And they said yes? Because I guess he used to be friends with their daughter, Nandy?

Anyway, Trice shows up to their house and Nandy is judge af because he's from liNDEnwOod and that means he must be a thug or a murderer or a r*pist or something. But, surprise! They actually used to hang out with each other when they were 7 and Trice's grandpa used to bring him to their house on jobs. And, at the ripe age of 7, they were each-others first ~crushes~ and first ~kisses~ and first goddamn HEARTBREAKS?? (i can't remember the name of literally anyone I knew when I was 7, but ok)

And after an ~icey reception~ from Nandy, a big blow up fight like, 20% into the book, it's revealed that Trice's dad
killed his mom right in front of him, shot Trice, and then killed himself
So Nandy feels like a b*tch (cause she was being a b*tch), and then they...make up? Sort of? If that's what you call that God-y, yoU GoTTa hAve FAITH in our LORD AND SAVIOR filled chapter. The literal next day, Trice has to do some illegal job in Lindenwood cause their his family, and Nandy walks into his room and he's gasp shirtless. So, she sees his bullet scars. And she... let me just show you.

Drawing my gaze back to the wound, I found myself leaning closer and placing a kiss on it, as if that could make it go away or be better. By some instinct, I knew it was an exit wound, and I went around and placed a kiss on the other side, too.

GIRL. You literally JUST because ACQUAINTANCES YESTERDAY(!!!!) and you have a BOYFRIEND (who's a dick but still) and you're... kissing his scars. Um. Okay.

Mind you, we're like, 25% into the book at this point and I just know the whole "enemies" part of enemies-to-lovers is probably done, and now so am I.

This book is RIDDLED with stereotypes. The black-kid-with-a-shady-history-and-an-icy-exterior-but-a-saint-at-heart, and the black-rich-girl-who-acts-snobby-but-ALSO-has-a-heart-of-gold-and-just-suffers-from-internalized-racism. <i>Nandy hates her name and has never read The Color Purple!!! She must hate herself!!! </i>

I only got like 30% in, so you can read some of the other critical reviews for a better picture. But apparently,
Trice and Nandy have actually been in love since they were 7!!! So that makes everything okay!!!


Yawn. I hate not finishing books but I couldn't' do it. Sorry.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...