Reviews - Blind Ambition | The StoryGraph

19 reviews for:

Blind Ambition

Lutishia Lovely

3.57 AVERAGE

raelin's review

3.5

emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A compelling read about family, secrets, death and what to do once you uncover the skeletons in the closet.

I would not classify this as a romance at all, even though there is technically a small subplot that contains a relationship but it is very minor to the story. It is definitely more of a family drama than anything.

I always find it interesting when a character has a messy divorce, primary custody, and the kid plays a significant part of the first part of a book, but then the kid shifted out of the story for the most part, and all the sudden the character trusts the cheating drug addiction ex with their child for extra time without worrying that will be used against them in a FotC custody hearing.

emilysbookblog's review against another edition

4.0

Blind Ambition by Lutishia Lovely (4 stars) tells an interesting story about two sisters; Chantel and Jett, who have very different lives. Chantel is a single mother and local lounge singer in Missouri, meanwhile her older sister Jett is a singing superstar living in LA.

“Blind ambition can lead towards a path not worth taking. It's best to live life with eyes wide open and, bravely authentic, and unapologetically out loud.”

The two sisters are brought together following the death of their mother and a web of secrets that Chantel discovers. I enjoyed how this book was an unconventional story about family and the relationship between Chantel and Jett. Lovely does a great job in characterization between the cast and despite their flaws, I liked both Chantel and Jett. I enjoyed how the story flip- flopped between their lives and perspectives; often with a bit of overlap about a situation.

The opposing views lead to lots of laughs along the way, complimented with a dash of the ridiculous celebrity lifestyle and a couple spicy scenes; Lovely created a well-rounded story. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to be an early reader with the ebook ARC! If my review peaked your interest, I hope you check it out when it's released in May.

girlmeetsbooks_'s review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed this story and the progression of Jett and Chanel's relationship over time. I won't give any spoilers but I could see the initial plot twist from a mile away. After that, the story definitely took us on a ride of two women both trying to figure out essentially who they are in different ways. The death of their mother forced them to both address things from the past, with Chantel being thrown for a loop and Jett facing the things she left behind for blind ambition. I like where they ended up ultimately, although I think there was more to be desired into the specifics of their growth so it felt a bit rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

hopeys_journey's review against another edition

1.75

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Blind Ambition is about two women, Chantel and Jeanette aka Jett and the familial relationship between the two after their mother has died.
I thought I really would like this, since it does follow two artist seemingly on different stages of their careers and it's about family. However I could not get invested into the story, really.

I didn't really like the way that "the mystery" was treated as some kind of Jerry Springer type of drama, but then in the end it supposed to be this super wholesome and emotional ending. However a lot of the emotional weight and nuance was told instead of being shown.
I just felt like Lovely could've leaned into that vibe more or just balanced it out.

This book also felt still stuck in the time where those types of tv-shows were all the rage and not viewed as problematic as hell, especially since Jett is supposed to be this washed-up celebrity trying to claw her way back into Hollywood, by appearing on a singing contest as a judge...? No mentions of tiktok and Instagram and Youtube just one time.
Also the fact that none of the two really seemed to write their own music or really seem that passionate about singing in the first place, but more as a means to make money or a way to get out of their hometown.

And almost all of the guys in this book are described by what they can do with their dick or just their sex life in general. Even with the "love interests", it felt like I was first introduced to that aspect of their life then what they were like as a person or what they even looked like. Since the book does take a more feminist approach in the latter quarter of the book it seemed a bit of a weird thing to do, especially since there was also quite a bit of slut-shaming, specifically towards one guy in the book. Not just men tho and there was also quite a lot of girl on girl hate.

This is a review of an arc from NetGalley.