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Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Affair: A Novel by Danielle Steel

1 review

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I was not a fan of this book. First, the entire premise is cheating. Multiple characters have cheated on their spouse (FYI if you're sensitive to that). Second, Nicholas had absolutely no redeeming qualities. He cheated on his wife. He's an absentee dad. He's a bad husband and boyfriend. At no point did I understand why Nadia liked this man. The secondary cheating plot felt very shoehorned in to me. The neglect of the new baby was really sad to me and isn't really addressed at all. The author really just hand waved away the fact that the mother who chose to have the baby didn't love him at all, and the father never wanted him to begin with. Truly terrible people. The other thing that bothered me on top of all of these awful people is that the author also chose to write multiple instances of body shaming throughout the book. This was also labeled as a romance novel and it really isn't in my opinion.  At least 80% of the book is devoted to how these relationships are in shambles. That's not really what I'm looking for if I see a book is marketed as a romance novel. I would highly recommend skipping this one. 
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