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elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Despite loveable characters and a plot with so much potential, The Accidental Pinup’s pacing problems hold this cute novel back from greatness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage and Misogyny
beth_s98's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really really loved these characters. While I thought the characterization of Reid was complex, but I didn’t particularly like him, and I just found how he made choices to have something missing. Something just didn’t sit right about him agreeing to oversee Cassie and take her job after years of him taking her jobs, even if he fixed it in the end. I thought the concept behind the story was interesting, but the execution left something to be desired, at least to me. The POV changes were usually pretty straightforward, but there were a couple places where I lost track of who we were supposed to be seeing things through. I loved the dedication to body positivity, and I thought the way they described the photography was well done! That’s something I’ve seen done really poorly a lot, but the descriptions did a good job at bringing it to life & explaining what made photography inspire Cassie. I really loved Cassie though, and I would read another 300 pages just on the female characters interacting and getting up to hijinks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, and Pregnancy
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book was just okay for me. The characters fell flat and I felt like I didn’t really know them other than photography. The relationship was just fine nothing crazy. I liked the whole setup of boudoir photographers. The third act break up killed me. Reid fucked I’m and it didn’t feel like he was fighting for her or groveling. the make-up was sweet but underwhelming. I also wasn’t a huge fan of this writing style. It mixed up povs sometimes and some scene cuts were not seamless. One line we were in one scene and the very next line was a different scene with no break or transition.
TLDR: overall a cute story but the execution fell flat for me
TLDR: overall a cute story but the execution fell flat for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
melodyseestrees's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
bluejayreads17's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Interesting plot, location, details and nice writing. I enjoyed the specifics of Chicago, photography and fashion. The ending did not leave enough pages and groveling for me to root for the male main character. What he did was enraging and even his redemption grand gesture didn’t feel like growth or understanding to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
piecesofamber's review
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Vomit, and Pregnancy
prof_pelon's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kharlan3's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
hellowildflower's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content
literaryintersections's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book, primarily for the body positivity, sex positivity, and Cassie. I loved Cassie, Dana, Sam and Kit - I am truly excited to see if Kit and Sam have stories (but I am a little annoyed that every romance is interracial with one person being white. Would love to interracial relationships outside of the Black/white dynamic as that is so prevalent.)
This is a great example of a book with body inclusion that is real, without a focus on fitness, losing weight, etc. There are some CWs for fatphobia, but it was most body positivity. There was a significant amount of knowledge dump in the beginning that I found annoying but once the story got going it got going. I did have some concerns about timelines (timelines of Dana's pregnancy - like she had a baby bump but then we find out she was still in the first trimester which for most people, especially plus sized folks, that is not accurate. And then later in the story, Cassie mentions her baby bump not visible yet.) But I loved Cassie's drive, her desire to give folks the ability to love feel sexy. Loveeeedddd BB.
What I struggled with most was Reid. And I truly don't think Cassie should have forgiven him. The entire conflict is built on him being shady - how do you ever trust him after that? He didn't seem all that and for me, mediocre white men need to be OUT of romance. But overall I would recommend because it's nice to have a Black woman, plus sized, body positivity not focused on fitness/food, be the focus of a romance novel.
This is a great example of a book with body inclusion that is real, without a focus on fitness, losing weight, etc. There are some CWs for fatphobia, but it was most body positivity. There was a significant amount of knowledge dump in the beginning that I found annoying but once the story got going it got going. I did have some concerns about timelines (timelines of Dana's pregnancy - like she had a baby bump but then we find out she was still in the first trimester which for most people, especially plus sized folks, that is not accurate. And then later in the story, Cassie mentions her baby bump not visible yet.) But I loved Cassie's drive, her desire to give folks the ability to love feel sexy. Loveeeedddd BB.
What I struggled with most was Reid. And I truly don't think Cassie should have forgiven him. The entire conflict is built on him being shady - how do you ever trust him after that? He didn't seem all that and for me, mediocre white men need to be OUT of romance. But overall I would recommend because it's nice to have a Black woman, plus sized, body positivity not focused on fitness/food, be the focus of a romance novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Fatphobia and Miscarriage