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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I both loved and hated Yinka. It was a real rollercoaster. LoL. I loved her at the start of the book as the reader is getting to know her. I felt a lot of sympathy for her—the struggles she was faced with and how she was treated by family.
But then I hated her as she became completely self absorbed and obsessed with dating. Her lying/omissions spun out of control and she became a disgusting person. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be her friend and she’s lucky she didn’t alienate everyone who cared for her.
After some tough love and hard truths from her friends and family, Yinka worked on herself with the help of a therapist and she stepped into her true self. She gained the self confidence she needed to become the woman she was meant to be.
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent
fazazzle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Yinka is a very frustrating narrator, but she does feel very real (although I doubt any person could suddenly become fully actualized and a better person after only a few therapy sessions).
A fun enough read !
Graphic: Racism
katsmedialibrary's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
- 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
Although Yinka's goal is romance, the true outcome of the book is her character growth and the relationships she builds along the way. I'm only docking a star because it was a bit too long and I could feel myself growing impatient in some of the middle sections. Overall, this is a solid debut novel and I hope Damilola Blackburn is already working on her next one!
Graphic: Body shaming and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
Colorismserendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Despite its overall lighthearted tone this tackled some serious topics including the pressure on women to marry and the problems with family pressure, judgement and comparison in general. Racism and colourism were also tackled, as was the issue of whether people were obligated to be proud of their cultural heritage and what this might look like. This story gets high marks for depicting therapy as a normal part of emotional and mental well-being. I also liked that Yinka was a strong Christian, determined to retain her virginity until marriage, and that she was not interested in imposing her values on others or judging those who believed differently. Such characteristics seem out of the ordinary in contemporary fiction so I found it a refreshing point of difference. I loved the inclusion of an aromantic character, a nice balance to the pressure to marry message. I also liked the inclusion of text messages, post-it notes, computer search histories and planning charts with KPIs. They added a little fun but also provided a quick insight into Yinka’s mind.
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, and Grief
vaniavela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This story covers many topics, such as people's expectations and the pressure our family and culture put on us. It will also highlight some important themes such as colorism, and how it unfortunately influences the way relationships of all kinds (especially romantic ones) are sought and formed.
Yinka feels a lot of pressure from her family, all her friends seem to be getting married or having babies, which leads her to suffer constant comments. It was interesting to read a protagnist who saves her virginity for marriage and tries to be a light drinker.
Now on to negative aspects, I think this book is in the wrong genre. It's fine that there are mentions of religion, but since it covers so many aspects (there's praying, going to mass, even a non-believer character ends up getting into Christianity after making them reflect on it) I think the genre should have been Christian fiction, or at least something other than romantic comedy. It's not even a romance book, it's more of a self-love book. I also didn't like the pop culture references. And lastly, our main character has poor decision making skills, which made me angry at times.
Overall, I think it's a good book.
tw: death of a parent, death of a sibling, racism, mention of dieting, body shaming, cancer, fatphobia, grief.
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Grief, and Death of parent
onemorepagecrew's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, and Dysphoria
Minor: Death of parent
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Minor: Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Outing
jdamae11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Body shaming and Racism
kdailyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying
This isn’t an option in the content warnings for some reason, but this book discusses colorism at length.