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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid book with great tension and buildup, but:
1. There's no way this isn't fan fic about Hozier.
2. There's no way there were no consequences forlying to immigration.
3. The ending scene left too many things unresolved.
1. There's no way this isn't fan fic about Hozier.
2. There's no way there were no consequences for
3. The ending scene left too many things unresolved.
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Gotta love a story when the girl gets her man and her self-confidence! The quest to find happiness in her career is just as important as snagging a great guy.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing is actually pretty great. Vivid and poetic in parts and witty and humorous in others. This book is right up my alley... except for the surreality of the plot. I mean it's fiction, so I try to go along with it. However, for this book, I couldn't quite sink into the unrealisticness of it all--that is, faking a marriage as a workaround for overstaying a visa. I'm sure the authors did some research, but the legal holes are too glaring. I just couldn't swallow it. And I don't quite get how Collin illegally stayed in the States waiting to get his "big break" but then had to disclose he couldn't accept this huge job opportunity when it was handed to him because of his illegal status. It's a puzzler--enough so that Holland multiple times in the book explains how she understands how he just stayed longer and longer waiting for something profound to be handed to him. Still, Collin's not really helping his cause there. There's perhaps a subtheme of self-delusion here from both Collin and Holland--a sense that the "big break" just happens to you--something I honestly understand. No need to actually go about ensuring that it happens. For one of them, it somewhat works out that way. For the other, the opposite happens.
What I love about the book though is Holland's character development and the depiction of her struggle with finding her place in the world. I can relate to her so well in this area, especially with that stagnation that some people go through before they decide to actually move and become the person they want to be. Her fear of doing the one thing that she had wanted to do for so long really strikes a chord in my own life right now. The emotion is complicated enough that I don't even know how to exactly describe it, but Christina Lauren does a good enough job that I instantly understood her feeling of being lost in life and at the same time her resilience in wanting to prove her self-worth. The book is an adult romance, but I can certainly see the new adult influence peppered throughout.
In any case, I can see why this book is in the final round for the year's best romance in 2018. Despite my misgivings, I recommend this book.
What I love about the book though is Holland's character development and the depiction of her struggle with finding her place in the world. I can relate to her so well in this area, especially with that stagnation that some people go through before they decide to actually move and become the person they want to be. Her fear of doing the one thing that she had wanted to do for so long really strikes a chord in my own life right now. The emotion is complicated enough that I don't even know how to exactly describe it, but Christina Lauren does a good enough job that I instantly understood her feeling of being lost in life and at the same time her resilience in wanting to prove her self-worth. The book is an adult romance, but I can certainly see the new adult influence peppered throughout.
In any case, I can see why this book is in the final round for the year's best romance in 2018. Despite my misgivings, I recommend this book.
Well written story about a forced marriage.
Some terrific comedic moments and heartbreak.
Some terrific comedic moments and heartbreak.
