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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sorry but how is this book a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Romance? I am losing hope for this site, I have to admit. So, if you know my reviews, you know a rant is coming on, and it won't be short.
Let's start with this book's length: 900 pages! Mind you, this is not a fantasy world Emily Rath had to build, she didn't write a futuristic science fiction novel or an in-depth biography. This is a romance novel. And unless, there is some severe trauma, drama or other difficulty a character has to overcome, 900 pages is too fucking long. This seems like an epic fail not just on the author's side but also the editor's, because how can you not see the issue here?
Because what happens if you have 900 pages but no story to fill that much space? Right, you get severe pacing issues. It gets even worse when you realise that the whole "love story" is based on an instant-love trope. I mean quite literally the minute Rachel arrives, she has all the guys wrapped around her finger. So again, why the hell would you need 900 pages to write an Insta-love story? The short answer is you don't. I think I made it about 300 pages before I gave up and just read the end because I was bored and could take another 600 pages of nothing happening.
So now that we've established that there are severe issues with pacing and a lack of any sort of plot, let's look at the next blaring issue: the characters.
Rachel is the typical Mary Sue. She is so beautiful, so funny, so smart, so witty, so talented, so good... Please just spare me from these uninteresting Mary Sue characters. There's nothing interesting about her. Her biggest drama is that her dad is a super famous rock star and she grew up in the spotlight. That's it. Ironically, even though the author tried so hard to make Rachel perfect, she failed. At least if you're older than 13 and actually have a functioning brain. Because the perfect Doctor Price is a weak, pathetic and unprofessional mess who clearly cannot do her job because she is too caught up in her romantic drama and has no hold over her libido. She goes from making a grand speech about how she will not jeopardise her career for a guy to having phone / video sex with one guy, a threesome with said guy and his best friend to full-blown living in a polyamorous relationship within the span of a few weeks. She thinks coming home from work at 5 in the evening is a stressful day, apart from drooling over the men while they work out and poking at their knees, she does nothing and she cannot keep her emotions in check for one goddam second. Frankly, I found her to be a pathetic character, who claims to have worked hard on her career to earn it, but frankly, I don't see it.
Also, can we talk about how there is a glaringly obvious timeline issue? Rachel is supposed to be 27. She's a doctor. She's worked in sports medicine for a few years. She also apparently spent 3 years trying to be a model, went to rehab and only then discovered she could be a doctor. Does anyone else have difficulty making that math work? Because the way I see it, it's an impossibility. But again, Rachel is a Mary Sue and nothing is impossible if you're a Mary Sue...
Let's move on to Jake. Childish, needy, naive little Jake. He was annoying and didn't make sense. Basically, he is only needed as the humorous sidekick to drool over Rachel. There's nothing more to him.
Caden wasn't much better. He was just the moody counterpart to Jake's sunny disposition but there really wasn't much more to him.
Ilmari may have been an interesting character, but frankly, I was done with this story before I could have learned more about him (I did give it 300 pages, remember that, so I don't think this one is on me...). But frankly, I found it ridiculous to think that within a few short weeks, three guys have puppy eyes only for Rachel who was just such a vain and superficial character. Listen, if you have a whole bunch of characters you want to write a romance novel about, go right ahead. But at least give them their own stories, because starting with 3 straight guys (which changes at some point, but I didn't read that) who are so hung up on a girl they have nothing in common with to the point they all start to have three- and foursomes is just unrealistic and bad and cringe and bleh.
So to sum it all up, you have a book that should be about 600 pages shorter than it actually is, you have Insta-love, Mary Sues, boring two-dimensional love interests and no plot driving this trainwreck. To me, this book is a failure on every conceivable level and I cannot get over the fact that this was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.
Let's start with this book's length: 900 pages! Mind you, this is not a fantasy world Emily Rath had to build, she didn't write a futuristic science fiction novel or an in-depth biography. This is a romance novel. And unless, there is some severe trauma, drama or other difficulty a character has to overcome, 900 pages is too fucking long. This seems like an epic fail not just on the author's side but also the editor's, because how can you not see the issue here?
Because what happens if you have 900 pages but no story to fill that much space? Right, you get severe pacing issues. It gets even worse when you realise that the whole "love story" is based on an instant-love trope. I mean quite literally the minute Rachel arrives, she has all the guys wrapped around her finger. So again, why the hell would you need 900 pages to write an Insta-love story? The short answer is you don't. I think I made it about 300 pages before I gave up and just read the end because I was bored and could take another 600 pages of nothing happening.
So now that we've established that there are severe issues with pacing and a lack of any sort of plot, let's look at the next blaring issue: the characters.
Rachel is the typical Mary Sue. She is so beautiful, so funny, so smart, so witty, so talented, so good... Please just spare me from these uninteresting Mary Sue characters. There's nothing interesting about her. Her biggest drama is that her dad is a super famous rock star and she grew up in the spotlight. That's it. Ironically, even though the author tried so hard to make Rachel perfect, she failed. At least if you're older than 13 and actually have a functioning brain. Because the perfect Doctor Price is a weak, pathetic and unprofessional mess who clearly cannot do her job because she is too caught up in her romantic drama and has no hold over her libido. She goes from making a grand speech about how she will not jeopardise her career for a guy to having phone / video sex with one guy, a threesome with said guy and his best friend to full-blown living in a polyamorous relationship within the span of a few weeks. She thinks coming home from work at 5 in the evening is a stressful day, apart from drooling over the men while they work out and poking at their knees, she does nothing and she cannot keep her emotions in check for one goddam second. Frankly, I found her to be a pathetic character, who claims to have worked hard on her career to earn it, but frankly, I don't see it.
Also, can we talk about how there is a glaringly obvious timeline issue? Rachel is supposed to be 27. She's a doctor. She's worked in sports medicine for a few years. She also apparently spent 3 years trying to be a model, went to rehab and only then discovered she could be a doctor. Does anyone else have difficulty making that math work? Because the way I see it, it's an impossibility. But again, Rachel is a Mary Sue and nothing is impossible if you're a Mary Sue...
Let's move on to Jake. Childish, needy, naive little Jake. He was annoying and didn't make sense. Basically, he is only needed as the humorous sidekick to drool over Rachel. There's nothing more to him.
Caden wasn't much better. He was just the moody counterpart to Jake's sunny disposition but there really wasn't much more to him.
Ilmari may have been an interesting character, but frankly, I was done with this story before I could have learned more about him (I did give it 300 pages, remember that, so I don't think this one is on me...). But frankly, I found it ridiculous to think that within a few short weeks, three guys have puppy eyes only for Rachel who was just such a vain and superficial character. Listen, if you have a whole bunch of characters you want to write a romance novel about, go right ahead. But at least give them their own stories, because starting with 3 straight guys (which changes at some point, but I didn't read that) who are so hung up on a girl they have nothing in common with to the point they all start to have three- and foursomes is just unrealistic and bad and cringe and bleh.
So to sum it all up, you have a book that should be about 600 pages shorter than it actually is, you have Insta-love, Mary Sues, boring two-dimensional love interests and no plot driving this trainwreck. To me, this book is a failure on every conceivable level and I cannot get over the fact that this was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
I love a good why choose… but I think I realized polyam gets a bit too complicated for me- also imma be so for real… the FMC had almost zero characteristics other than being a doctor, being stubborn, and being in love with the guys.
Still a great book tho, I’m not upset! It just dragged a bit at like 60%… arguably many was a lil too heavy on the spice for me too? After a while I was like ok you’re established as a 4-some, I don’t really need to read another scene describing it.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
I love a good why choose… but I think I realized polyam gets a bit too complicated for me- also imma be so for real… the FMC had almost zero characteristics other than being a doctor, being stubborn, and being in love with the guys.
Still a great book tho, I’m not upset! It just dragged a bit at like 60%… arguably many was a lil too heavy on the spice for me too? After a while I was like ok you’re established as a 4-some, I don’t really need to read another scene describing it.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good amount of spice with plot to keep it running. Narrative was a little choppy at times, but still could enjoy the characters and the story (even if I’m not a big hockey fan)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Medical trauma
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sorry but I really don't see the hype with this book. To each their own, I know but this wasn't part of "my own."
The FMC, Rachel, is very hard to like. She is very emotional, which is blamed on her star sign, but instead of coming across endearing, it comes across annoying. She cried/teared up 18 times in this book and yes I kept count.
Two of the MMCs, Jake & Caleb, were very insecure. The same conversation happened so many times during this book about them feeling like they didn't deserve Rachel or that she was better off with only one of them instead of both of them. The amount of times they had to be reassured just wasn't appealing and it felt redundant. I get people have insecurities, and it was nice to see it in the MMC's for a change, but it just got to the point that it felt "old."
One of the "major" plot points is Rachel's past as a trouble child of a huge rockstar. She kept trying to put distance between herself and the men because she was bad for them and would ruin their lives. Again, the amount of times the men had to reassure her that they didn't care about her past or the paparazzi was redundant. However, despite the many times this got brought up, it literally didn't affect anything until the last 10% of the book, and even then it was hardly a conflict in their story.
Personally, and Its crazy for me to say this if you know me, but this book did not need to be why choose. I felt like Jake and Caleb needed to be together and have their story, and Rachel needed to be with Imari. Imari felt like such an outsider to the group, even when they purposefully brought him in, he clearly didn't really want to be there, but he wanted Rachel so he tried.
I feel like this book was just way too long, with too many repeated conversations/actions. It could easily be cut 200-250 pages, and it would be so much better.
I know that this book has a cult following and I'm so happy for those who love it, unfortunately that just doesn't include me.
The FMC, Rachel, is very hard to like. She is very emotional, which is blamed on her star sign, but instead of coming across endearing, it comes across annoying. She cried/teared up 18 times in this book and yes I kept count.
Two of the MMCs, Jake & Caleb, were very insecure. The same conversation happened so many times during this book about them feeling like they didn't deserve Rachel or that she was better off with only one of them instead of both of them. The amount of times they had to be reassured just wasn't appealing and it felt redundant. I get people have insecurities, and it was nice to see it in the MMC's for a change, but it just got to the point that it felt "old."
One of the "major" plot points is Rachel's past as a trouble child of a huge rockstar. She kept trying to put distance between herself and the men because she was bad for them and would ruin their lives. Again, the amount of times the men had to reassure her that they didn't care about her past or the paparazzi was redundant. However, despite the many times this got brought up, it literally didn't affect anything until the last 10% of the book, and even then it was hardly a conflict in their story.
Personally, and Its crazy for me to say this if you know me, but this book did not need to be why choose. I felt like Jake and Caleb needed to be together and have their story, and Rachel needed to be with Imari. Imari felt like such an outsider to the group, even when they purposefully brought him in, he clearly didn't really want to be there, but he wanted Rachel so he tried.
I feel like this book was just way too long, with too many repeated conversations/actions. It could easily be cut 200-250 pages, and it would be so much better.
I know that this book has a cult following and I'm so happy for those who love it, unfortunately that just doesn't include me.
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
I honestly enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, but I can’t get over how unnecessarily long it was
considering this was my first why choose book it lowkey was kinda interesting but like what was the end goal?? like it wasn’t bad but more i kept reading it just felt like rachel only kept her relationship a secret because of the media and that’s it yk??