Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka

1 review

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Well, the blurb definitely got one thing right: if you love The Summer I Turned Pretty and the character of Belly Conklin, you will probably love this book, or, at least, enjoy it. This book is straight up if Belly and Conrad were combined into one character and then that character spent an entire book torturing a much-less self-assured Jeremiah. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, it just gives me complicated feelings.
I actually found myself relating to Kaylee a lot. I’m really tall and am also scared of trying things I think I’ll fail. The main way I could never be her is that she chooses to actively string others (INCLUDING HER BEST FRIEND) along in her journey to never fail by barely trying. She was incredibly insufferable for most of the book, but I did love how Kaylee would often call herself things like “selfish,” basically confirming that she’s aware of her insufferableness and I have to love a character who is very self-aware in her many shortcomings.
Now, for my complicated feelings. While I have a laundry list of complaints, the book was cute. I liked Dean, even if he lacked a backbone for 87% of the book, but even that made me like him because it felt very realistic for someone blinded by love. I also thought their romantic moments were cute, even if some of them felt a little odd for a YA book. I also thought that the two of them together made a cute couple, even if I’m not entirely convinced of Kaylee’s love for Dean. I also think the addition of the beach volleyball and moms conflict was a nice addition.
Overall, this book was a fairly straightforward beach read.

Also, I do think “why” is important.

Thank you to NetGalley, Viking Books, and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka for providing me access to this book.
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