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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
At the end of the day, I really appreciate that Olivia Dade writes romance novels that incorporate fandom, neurodivergence, and plus women and the men who love them. It's really hard to be mad about this.
I couldn’t get into this one and enjoy it as much as much Spoiler Alert. Tge relationship between Alex and Lauren felt really forced. I did not like the blatant fat phobia either.
Unfortunately I think me and Olivia dades writing just don’t mesh. I tried spoiler alert and didn’t really like it and thought maybeeeee Alex’s story would be more my cup of tea, but I think Dade just enjoys writing really immature characters who are supposedly 40 but act like they’re 16 years old without jobs and mortgages. The last 50 pages were good but does that make up for the 350 pages of NOTHING before we got there. I didn’t care for their romance or relationship, the whole bird face looking thing was weird literally barely anything worked for me so unfortunately unless I’m feeling real shitty and the third book is the only thing near me to read, I don’t think I’ll be picking up anything else from Dade in the future.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
I love these reads. This one is Cupid and a stabilizing intrusion. So fun and silly.
funny
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:
Yes
I found Alex very unlikeable. I would not tolerate a man repeatedly calling me a shrew, dolt of a woman, intolerable harpy, the worst, et cetera, even if he was only teasing. It’s not cute. And good lord the whining! Laurrennnnn. Pay attention to meeeee. Perhaps it would have been more tolerable if i was reading a print copy instead of listening on audiobook. I feel like the author doesn’t know anybody with ADHD, so she gave Alex the personality and mannerisms of a second grade boy. As an ADHD adult, I did not think it was an accurate depiction.
Also, the author apparently only knows one word to describe fat women: round. I wrote it off as a quirk in the first book, but to keep using the same descriptor in the second is just lazy. Attn Olivia Dade: thesaurus.com is free.
I enjoyed the first in the series, was disappointed by the second, and i will not be reading the third.
Also, the author apparently only knows one word to describe fat women: round. I wrote it off as a quirk in the first book, but to keep using the same descriptor in the second is just lazy. Attn Olivia Dade: thesaurus.com is free.
I enjoyed the first in the series, was disappointed by the second, and i will not be reading the third.
This second book in Ms. Dade's Spoiler Alert series was also delightful, although not quite as magical as her first book. Despite not clicking with Lauren and Alex as quickly as I did with Marcus and April, I still really loved their dynamic.
One thing I want to make absolutely clear: ALEX IS NOT NEGGING LAUREN
Negging involves backhanded complements (i.e.: You're pretty for a fat girl, or I wouldn't normally go for girls like you). What Alex is doing is an ADHD related behavior tic where you can't or don't understand what something is going to sound like to the people around you because you went on a whole journey about it in your head. Olivia Dade actually portrays this EXTREMELY well, and I cannot tell you how much I loved Alex's ADHD being portrayed as something he constantly has going on but that doesn't require fixing.
My only critiques are that Lauren does the whole dramatic flee back to LA twice, which seemed unnecessary and made it hard to tell what the plot was building to, and that there's never any consequences for Ron's shitty behavior. Normally that wouldn't bother me, except that Ron has been getting away with being a cruel, bullying bastard to Wren for her entire life, and is set up to be her emotional arc's antagonist, but he's dealt with via a throwaway line or two in the epilogue and never appears onscreen again after his initial appearance. It felt like there was an important piece of Wren's emotional journey missing because of this--Alex got to reconnect and heal with his mother, and I wanted a similar moment of emotional release for Wren too.
That said, this was absolutely fun and light and perfect summer reading. Can't wait for Peter and Maria (and Carah? Please say we get a book about Carah!)!
One thing I want to make absolutely clear: ALEX IS NOT NEGGING LAUREN
Negging involves backhanded complements (i.e.: You're pretty for a fat girl, or I wouldn't normally go for girls like you). What Alex is doing is an ADHD related behavior tic where you can't or don't understand what something is going to sound like to the people around you because you went on a whole journey about it in your head. Olivia Dade actually portrays this EXTREMELY well, and I cannot tell you how much I loved Alex's ADHD being portrayed as something he constantly has going on but that doesn't require fixing.
My only critiques are that Lauren does the whole dramatic flee back to LA twice, which seemed unnecessary and made it hard to tell what the plot was building to, and that there's never any consequences for Ron's shitty behavior. Normally that wouldn't bother me, except that Ron has been getting away with being a cruel, bullying bastard to Wren for her entire life, and is set up to be her emotional arc's antagonist, but he's dealt with via a throwaway line or two in the epilogue and never appears onscreen again after his initial appearance. It felt like there was an important piece of Wren's emotional journey missing because of this--Alex got to reconnect and heal with his mother, and I wanted a similar moment of emotional release for Wren too.
That said, this was absolutely fun and light and perfect summer reading. Can't wait for Peter and Maria (and Carah? Please say we get a book about Carah!)!