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binreads's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Finished this so quickly! I am a lover of all things vampire and since spooky season is rolling around, I wanted to start it off with something light and fun. It was a funny, lighthearted read.
I will say though, heavy trigger warning regarding weight, body self image, disordered eating etc. It's a constant throughout the book and can be hard to read.
I feel like this lacked in the story building for the vampire rules and such. I've read a lot of vampire books, all with different lore, but this one seemed to rely heavily on those callbacks to pop culture references to other vampire franchisees (Twilight, Buffy..) so I feel like it didn't really stand on its own. But, as someone who unapologetically loves Twilight, I LOVED all the twilight references made in this book, I was laughing so hard.
There also was a lot of plot holes, or things that just didn't make much sense or were just a waste of information. Like why did Tristan change her in the first place?? I know he says like it's against the vamp rules to turn a newborn without prior approval granted from the vampire council, but he never states why he even changed her in the first place?? I know he tried to use his vampire influence on her and he thought she gave him permission but again why? Or was it because she bit him back that caused her to become a vampire.....I feel like either I missed that or it was never answered.
I will say though, heavy trigger warning regarding weight, body self image, disordered eating etc. It's a constant throughout the book and can be hard to read.
I feel like this lacked in the story building for the vampire rules and such. I've read a lot of vampire books, all with different lore, but this one seemed to rely heavily on those callbacks to pop culture references to other vampire franchisees (Twilight, Buffy..) so I feel like it didn't really stand on its own. But, as someone who unapologetically loves Twilight, I LOVED all the twilight references made in this book, I was laughing so hard.
There also was a lot of plot holes, or things that just didn't make much sense or were just a waste of information.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Blood, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, and Death
risquish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Definitely reads like a first novel; I really enjoyed the first half, but a lot of the relationship and communication issues didn’t get solved by the supposed resolution of the book. Also, despite “learning to love her body” reading this book was a test of my patience as our protagonist hates herself for 75% of the book. And the supposed resolution with her fatphobic mother was… a) unrealistic b) disappointing and c) practically a footnote for something that felt like such a large part in her personal journey. Also, Tristan (our ML) needed far more depth in understanding of Lily in both her motivations and her body related traumas; it doesn’t feel like he really learns much by the end of the book.
WHY IS EVAN’S BFF MARRIED TO A CONSERVATIVE???? WHY IS LILY’S DAD A BIG CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLET CEO???? These things are not met with nearly enough skepticism nor are they interrogated with any moral questioning….especially considering that our cast is all white and the only real diversity we see is our fat mc who hates her body most of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Abandonment, and Fatphobia
headbangerhijabi's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
CW: this book discusses internalized fatphobia, low self esteem issues, and weight issues and does a mediocre job at addressing the actual issues. If that is something you struggle with I would probably go pick up something else
I really wanted to like this book, the back made it sound really interesting but there were way too many things I kept stumbling over.
Spoilers below
1) Lily, the FMC, constantly down talks herself. I understand that we live in a society that prioritizes thin-ness and non-straight-sized people are the target for a lot of ish flung at them; but when your entire personality seems to be taken over by this negativity it's hard to empathize with the character.
Especially when Lily's down talk is shown to negatively impact those around her. Her best friend Cat calls her out on it around 75% of the way through the plot, and she's absolutely right to. Lily, conversely, doesn't even realize that her best friend is hurt by everything she's saying, too. Additionally, Evan (one of two antagonists) tells her at one point that the reason he always hated her is her off handed remarks to his plus-sized friend about what they were both eating that hurt his friend badly. Just about every woman outside of her mother that is introduced is given a "she's so pretty because she's skinny and I can't compete with that" statement as a means of describing the character. Cat is "Tall and skinny" Raven is "Curvy and skinny" Marianna is "Pretty, blonde, and skinny". The only other plus-sized character is killed off after we have one conversation with her.
A good chunk of Lily's inner dialogue is caught up in thoughts of "I'm going to be this weight forever" it even becomes a tagline of sorts. In the last couple chapters, Lily finally "accepts" the body she's going to have for the rest of her vampire life, but it kinda falls flat given that it's in the final pages of the book and considering the percentage of the book that was devoted to her down talking. If you asked me to name three things non-weight related that Lily likes as a character I would say "Tequila and writing for her job and idk"
2) Tristan is boring. Genuinely, if you replaced him with a Ken Doll I probably wouldn't be able to tell. Also, I understand that the "Vampire Influence" thing is a thing in vampire books, but with the way Lily is constantly telling him it's skeevy and he never even acknowledges that gave me the ick.
3) There was way too much going on in this story. I like when books give themselves room for a sequel to come along, but the way it was executed here just felt like the author was trying to cram everything into one go. Introducing Gideon as the main antagonist would have been enough, but adding in Evan the way that he is introduced felt like the author had a eureka moment and threw him in because she wanted the extra pages his character would add. Having a Slayer in the mix of a vampire story is interesting, don't get me wrong, but when you randomly say he's got fire powers and goes feral when he's around vampires and then that's it, it leaves the reader disappointed. Also introducing Evan as the secondary antagonist took away from Gideon's character. I would have liked to see more into Gideon's head, not necessarily a POV chapter or anything but just a bit more into why everyone is scared of him. Develop him more, talk about what he's done in the past to get to be Grand Master of the vampires. Even talk about who his inner circle is and how they came to be. Instead we get a weird "everyone file off the elevator dramatically" scene and then Evan burns the whole building down and then Lily explains to them that "they can evolve and be modern" and basically reminds the grunts that democracy exists and Gideon lets them go home? idek, it was weird and anti climactic.
4) The writing style started to drive me crazy after a while. If this is how you like your books go for it, but for me Lily's internal monologue sounds like the author was trying to emulate how Cady narrates her life in Mean Girls. it's like shes talking to an audience, but there's not an established/consistent fourth wall break method to when and where she breaks it. I like 4thWBs but if they're done badly they're grating. She uses filler words in her internal monologue to emphasize herself, but again, it doesnt feel like a 4thWB and reading sentences like "the room was filled with, um, *fire*" just felt a bit childish and it got on my nerves. If I never have to read the word "natch" instead of "naturally" again it will be too soon.
Also the author uses product placement at every opportunity. It's never "I charged my laptop/phone" it's always "my MacBook" or "Cat's iPhone" or whatever else. Like, are you looking for a sponsorship or something? At this point in time, most people think of a smartphone when they read the words "my phone" so why emphasize that constantly? It reminded me of the writing rule about pants. "Unless there's a reason to mention it, always assume the character is wearing pants." Like, if it was a shocker that she has an iPhone or she's going for a sponsorship or something else plot related go ahead and include it, but you don't need to specify that she has an iOS phone or an Android or whatever.
5) maybe this is just because I live in a big metropolitan city myself, but the way that NYC is described sounds like it's deserted. There's no one just randomly walking on the street, there's only one or two mentions of people on the subway, and Tristan can always find parking for some unknown reason. like i get that it's night when she's out and about but COME ON NYC has more people than that randomly walking on the sidewalks at night.
I hope this didn't come off as catty or mean spirited. I really am just trying to leave an honest review. If you are someone who likes the book ignore me :)
I really wanted to like this book, the back made it sound really interesting but there were way too many things I kept stumbling over.
Spoilers below
Especially when Lily's down talk is shown to negatively impact those around her. Her best friend Cat calls her out on it around 75% of the way through the plot, and she's absolutely right to. Lily, conversely, doesn't even realize that her best friend is hurt by everything she's saying, too. Additionally, Evan (one of two antagonists) tells her at one point that the reason he always hated her is her off handed remarks to his plus-sized friend about what they were both eating that hurt his friend badly. Just about every woman outside of her mother that is introduced is given a "she's so pretty because she's skinny and I can't compete with that" statement as a means of describing the character. Cat is "Tall and skinny" Raven is "Curvy and skinny" Marianna is "Pretty, blonde, and skinny". The only other plus-sized character is killed off after we have one conversation with her.
A good chunk of Lily's inner dialogue is caught up in thoughts of "I'm going to be this weight forever" it even becomes a tagline of sorts. In the last couple chapters, Lily finally "accepts" the body she's going to have for the rest of her vampire life, but it kinda falls flat given that it's in the final pages of the book and considering the percentage of the book that was devoted to her down talking. If you asked me to name three things non-weight related that Lily likes as a character I would say "Tequila and writing for her job and idk"
2) Tristan is boring. Genuinely, if you replaced him with a Ken Doll I probably wouldn't be able to tell. Also, I understand that the "Vampire Influence" thing is a thing in vampire books, but with the way Lily is constantly telling him it's skeevy and he never even acknowledges that gave me the ick.
3) There was way too much going on in this story. I like when books give themselves room for a sequel to come along, but the way it was executed here just felt like the author was trying to cram everything into one go. Introducing Gideon as the main antagonist would have been enough, but adding in Evan the way that he is introduced felt like the author had a eureka moment and threw him in because she wanted the extra pages his character would add. Having a Slayer in the mix of a vampire story is interesting, don't get me wrong, but when you randomly say he's got fire powers and goes feral when he's around vampires and then that's it, it leaves the reader disappointed. Also introducing Evan as the secondary antagonist took away from Gideon's character. I would have liked to see more into Gideon's head, not necessarily a POV chapter or anything but just a bit more into why everyone is scared of him. Develop him more, talk about what he's done in the past to get to be Grand Master of the vampires. Even talk about who his inner circle is and how they came to be. Instead we get a weird "everyone file off the elevator dramatically" scene and then Evan burns the whole building down and then Lily explains to them that "they can evolve and be modern" and basically reminds the grunts that democracy exists and Gideon lets them go home? idek, it was weird and anti climactic.
4) The writing style started to drive me crazy after a while. If this is how you like your books go for it, but for me Lily's internal monologue sounds like the author was trying to emulate how Cady narrates her life in Mean Girls. it's like shes talking to an audience, but there's not an established/consistent fourth wall break method to when and where she breaks it. I like 4thWBs but if they're done badly they're grating. She uses filler words in her internal monologue to emphasize herself, but again, it doesnt feel like a 4thWB and reading sentences like "the room was filled with, um, *fire*" just felt a bit childish and it got on my nerves. If I never have to read the word "natch" instead of "naturally" again it will be too soon.
Also the author uses product placement at every opportunity. It's never "I charged my laptop/phone" it's always "my MacBook" or "Cat's iPhone" or whatever else. Like, are you looking for a sponsorship or something? At this point in time, most people think of a smartphone when they read the words "my phone" so why emphasize that constantly? It reminded me of the writing rule about pants. "Unless there's a reason to mention it, always assume the character is wearing pants." Like, if it was a shocker that she has an iPhone or she's going for a sponsorship or something else plot related go ahead and include it, but you don't need to specify that she has an iOS phone or an Android or whatever.
5) maybe this is just because I live in a big metropolitan city myself, but the way that NYC is described sounds like it's deserted. There's no one just randomly walking on the street, there's only one or two mentions of people on the subway, and Tristan can always find parking for some unknown reason. like i get that it's night when she's out and about but COME ON NYC has more people than that randomly walking on the sidewalks at night.
I hope this didn't come off as catty or mean spirited. I really am just trying to leave an honest review. If you are someone who likes the book ignore me :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Murder, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
britt281's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Child abuse, and Blood
mar_gier's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I didn't hate this book, but it wasn't perfect the best either. I loved Lily and thought that she was hilarious, though I wish she didn't take until the like third to last chapter to fully except herself and tie up literally every other plot thread at the same time . Her use of... I want to call it internet speak, was also quite annoying, even though I enjoyed her sass. I have grievances about aspects of her personality, but that's what character development is for, and I liked the Lily at the end. I quite enjoyed Tristan as well, and wish the book had more of him, as I had some trouble believing that he and Lily had anything beyond physical and sexual attraction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Violence, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Grief
princesspaige's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Unfortunately this book reads like a Boomer wrote what they expected a Millennial to sound like, AND like a thin person was trying to imagine how a fat person feels. So not my fav.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Misogyny
tearexmama's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fun vampire romp. I liked the idea of a plus-size vampire dealing with her insecurities in the light of FOREVER. I really appreciated the times when the lead got called out for the way her constant bad-mouthing herself affected those around her. I did not appreciate the fact that her mother's body-shaming and abuse got fiddle-dee-deed away as if she hadn't been the main source of the leads body-image issues. I also didn't like the introduction of another plus-sized character only to have her fridged for motivation.
I thought it was silly that in all the "I'm too fat for him to like me" it never once came up that he was hundreds of years old and might have a different concept of the "ideal body" than modern men would. He was repeatedly described by the lead as having old-fashioned views but it never occurred to her that those views might also extend to sex appeal?
I liked the various characters and it seems as though maybe we're being set up for sequels which I wouldn't be against reading.
I thought it was silly that in all the "I'm too fat for him to like me" it never once came up that he was hundreds of years old and might have a different concept of the "ideal body" than modern men would. He was repeatedly described by the lead as having old-fashioned views but it never occurred to her that those views might also extend to sex appeal?
I liked the various characters and it seems as though maybe we're being set up for sequels which I wouldn't be against reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Blood, and Body shaming
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
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