Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

2 reviews

wilybooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

This was such a lovely queer Regency romp. I adored both Philippa and Tommy, and how their relationship was full of communication and acceptance. For once, the meddling relatives didn't annoy me (well, the Wynchesters didn't — Philippa's mother did but she was actually supposed to). The manuscript/cipher plot kind of bored me and it takes up a lot of page-time. The fact that it was on behalf of a secondary character who appears in like, two or three scenes rather than one of the MCs just removed any sense of urgency and resulted in my lack of interest. I wasn't a big fan of the resolution of said plot either, nor the final confrontation with Philippa's parents. 

There were some more modern phrases and vocabulary that I found quite jarring (e.g. ‘a cog in the machinery’ or 'lesbian'), but otherwise the language was fairly accurate. The cover is gorgeous but not representative of the MCs at all; Philippa is described as plump and curvy while Tommy is taller, skinnier, has short hair, and doesn’t like wearing dresses. I believe the cover photo was shot early during the pandemic though so I appreciate they had to work with what they had (I think the couple on the cover are an actual real-life couple). 

Although the terms obviously did not exist at the time, to me Philippa read as demisexual and Tommy as non-binary or possibly genderfluid. Just to note since I've seen a lot of people label it as lesbian or F/F, which lacks the nuance of this particular book IMO.
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jackie_recommends's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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