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proofofruin's review
1.0
The word “lesbian” only appears in this book one time and it’s part of a joke.
youmeandem's review
2.0
this novel's approach to diversity, both in terms of race as well as gender, was pretty much a white lesbian on stan twitter preaching about the importance of diversity whilst only consuming predominantly cis white media
also delilah green is many things but one thing she is absolutely not is butch so idk where the author got that idea but uh no sorry that one doesn't fly either
edit: i originally gave this book 3 stars but in retrospect i hate it more now so i bumped it down a little
also delilah green is many things but one thing she is absolutely not is butch so idk where the author got that idea but uh no sorry that one doesn't fly either
edit: i originally gave this book 3 stars but in retrospect i hate it more now so i bumped it down a little
studio_rat04's review
3.0
rereader33's review
2.0
2023 June Reading Rainbow Pride Challenge
Prompt: read an LGBTQ+ book with a purple spine/cover
I'm done. I'm washing my hands of romcom novels. I am so FUCKING sick of getting my hopes up, thinking maybe, just maybe, this book will be the one to get me into the genre, and it always ends in disappointment and bitter resentment. I read this for a friend and because I genuinely thought I would enjoy it, and unfortunately all that I got was seven hours of my life wasted and another reading-induced headache. So, with that being said *deep breath* let's get this nightmare started.
Oh right, before that *pulls out megaphone, turns it on* THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS! THIS IS YOUR FIRST AND ONLY WARNING! *turns off megaphone, puts it away*
First and foremost, let me tell you one of the biggest issues with this novel: the pacing. I'm not just talking about the pacing of the relationship, though that's awful as well, I'm talking about the pacing of the actual events in the novel. Let's go through some of them, shall we?
-Delilah makes a bet with Astrid that she can sleep with Claire before the wedding (put a pin in that, we'll get to that later) at around 50-60 pages. When does this obvious set up for drama get revealed to Claire? Around page 320. May I remind the audience this book is 375 pages, 371 of actual story. I don't know about you, but 50 pages doesn't seem like a whole lot of time to reconcile that. Oh wait, it gets resolved in about 10 pages? Nevermind!
-When do we actually meet this douchiest of douchebags that Astrid's marrying? Around page 120. Why are we, the reader, meeting was could be considered the main antagonist, almost halfway through this novel?! Oh, because we need pages and pages of cringey dialogue, "comedic banter," and pining? Right, that's why. And when, mind you, does Astrid break up with King Douchecanoe? Around page 298. Reminder, book's only 371 pages long, seems a little late to do that and wrap everything else up.
- Finally, when do Delilah and Claire become a couple? Around 360, you know, CLOSE TO THE END OF THE FUCKING NOVEL. I thought I was reading an adult romcom, not a Shounen Jump manga series!
In short, this book likes to leave all of the relevant stuff to the very end of the fucking novel and drag the story out with bullshit just to keep you reading, which I fucking HATE.
Second biggest issue is the characters themselves. I have no idea why people actually like characters like Delilah and Iris, but it boggles my mind that either can be seen as good people, much less fun characters.
Delilah convinces herself (and Herring tries to convince the audience) that because she has a Sad, Tragic Backstory, its okay for her to be a petty, spiteful, mean-spirited asshole. Not only does she make a bet that she can sleep with one of Astrid's best friends, who is already in a vulnerable place emotionally because of her unreliable ex (put a pin in that, we'll get back to that later), but she also purposefully knocks over an entire pyramid of champagne glasses out of pure spite and says horrible things just to get under people's skin. And she's...the...protagonist? Like, how am I supposed to root for her? Oh, because she's going to go through some development throughout the book and become a better person, of course! Except that never happens. She gets two laughably quick heart-to-hearts, one with Astrid and one with Claire, and suddenly she's a good person!! Haha, NO. You can't have someone be an awful person for 95% of the book, then give them a short epiphany and a handful of heart-to-hearts and call it a day. Not how it works.
Iris, holy shit Iris, was the absolute FUCKING WORST. She's, I'm assuming, supposed to be the sassy, crass, shit talker of the group, but you know what she really is? A rude, nosy as fuck bully! She cannot keep her nose out of her friends' sex lives (why its even her business is beyond me), she rarely has a nice thing to say about anyone and when she does say something nice, its buried under mountains and mountains of her shit talk, most of which sounds like a teenage redditor uses. What's even more grating about her, and possibly one of the greatest sins this book commits, is if you removed her from the story, nothing would change. She does absolutely nothing throughout the entire book, despite "leading the charge" to break up Astrid and Sir Douche-a-Lot, all she ever does is shit talk him, threaten violence against him, and acts as "comic relief" but interjecting every serious conversation with sex talk and swear words. She serves no purpose other than to piss me off and make me question why the fuck people like her so much.
I'm not going to talk about Astrid and Claire that much, aside from the fact that they had a lot of potential to be great characters, but that potential never manifested. In the end, they were just one-dimensional characters that were only ever allowed to express one or two emotions or thoughts, but nothing more. Its a shame, they were the most tolerable of the bunch.
The third and final grievance I want to address is the lack of fucking adulting that is USING YOUR FUCKING WORDS. Iris and Claire keep insisting that they "talk" to Astrid about breaking up with Douchie McDoucher, but never do. Delilah and Astrid have a lot of pent-up resentment and bitterness towards each other that they really need to talk about, but never do. Why? Because God forbid they actually act like responsible adults and TALK about their problems, lest the story end too soon! This is one of the biggest gripes I have with adult romcoms, mostly because its a cheap and contrived reason for dragging out the story. Writers, take this to heart: if your story's entire conflict can be resolved by one adult sit-down conversation, go back to the drawing board because that's not gonna cut it.
Okay, I've rambled long enough and I'm tired. I'm done with romcoms, the genre can burn in every circle of Hell for all I care, I'm not wasting my time with them anymore.
Prompt: read an LGBTQ+ book with a purple spine/cover
I'm done. I'm washing my hands of romcom novels. I am so FUCKING sick of getting my hopes up, thinking maybe, just maybe, this book will be the one to get me into the genre, and it always ends in disappointment and bitter resentment. I read this for a friend and because I genuinely thought I would enjoy it, and unfortunately all that I got was seven hours of my life wasted and another reading-induced headache. So, with that being said *deep breath* let's get this nightmare started.
Oh right, before that *pulls out megaphone, turns it on* THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS! THIS IS YOUR FIRST AND ONLY WARNING! *turns off megaphone, puts it away*
First and foremost, let me tell you one of the biggest issues with this novel: the pacing. I'm not just talking about the pacing of the relationship, though that's awful as well, I'm talking about the pacing of the actual events in the novel. Let's go through some of them, shall we?
-Delilah makes a bet with Astrid that she can sleep with Claire before the wedding (put a pin in that, we'll get to that later) at around 50-60 pages. When does this obvious set up for drama get revealed to Claire? Around page 320. May I remind the audience this book is 375 pages, 371 of actual story. I don't know about you, but 50 pages doesn't seem like a whole lot of time to reconcile that. Oh wait, it gets resolved in about 10 pages? Nevermind!
-When do we actually meet this douchiest of douchebags that Astrid's marrying? Around page 120. Why are we, the reader, meeting was could be considered the main antagonist, almost halfway through this novel?! Oh, because we need pages and pages of cringey dialogue, "comedic banter," and pining? Right, that's why. And when, mind you, does Astrid break up with King Douchecanoe? Around page 298. Reminder, book's only 371 pages long, seems a little late to do that and wrap everything else up.
- Finally, when do Delilah and Claire become a couple? Around 360, you know, CLOSE TO THE END OF THE FUCKING NOVEL. I thought I was reading an adult romcom, not a Shounen Jump manga series!
In short, this book likes to leave all of the relevant stuff to the very end of the fucking novel and drag the story out with bullshit just to keep you reading, which I fucking HATE.
Second biggest issue is the characters themselves. I have no idea why people actually like characters like Delilah and Iris, but it boggles my mind that either can be seen as good people, much less fun characters.
Delilah convinces herself (and Herring tries to convince the audience) that because she has a Sad, Tragic Backstory, its okay for her to be a petty, spiteful, mean-spirited asshole. Not only does she make a bet that she can sleep with one of Astrid's best friends, who is already in a vulnerable place emotionally because of her unreliable ex (put a pin in that, we'll get back to that later), but she also purposefully knocks over an entire pyramid of champagne glasses out of pure spite and says horrible things just to get under people's skin. And she's...the...protagonist? Like, how am I supposed to root for her? Oh, because she's going to go through some development throughout the book and become a better person, of course! Except that never happens. She gets two laughably quick heart-to-hearts, one with Astrid and one with Claire, and suddenly she's a good person!! Haha, NO. You can't have someone be an awful person for 95% of the book, then give them a short epiphany and a handful of heart-to-hearts and call it a day. Not how it works.
Iris, holy shit Iris, was the absolute FUCKING WORST. She's, I'm assuming, supposed to be the sassy, crass, shit talker of the group, but you know what she really is? A rude, nosy as fuck bully! She cannot keep her nose out of her friends' sex lives (why its even her business is beyond me), she rarely has a nice thing to say about anyone and when she does say something nice, its buried under mountains and mountains of her shit talk, most of which sounds like a teenage redditor uses. What's even more grating about her, and possibly one of the greatest sins this book commits, is if you removed her from the story, nothing would change. She does absolutely nothing throughout the entire book, despite "leading the charge" to break up Astrid and Sir Douche-a-Lot, all she ever does is shit talk him, threaten violence against him, and acts as "comic relief" but interjecting every serious conversation with sex talk and swear words. She serves no purpose other than to piss me off and make me question why the fuck people like her so much.
I'm not going to talk about Astrid and Claire that much, aside from the fact that they had a lot of potential to be great characters, but that potential never manifested. In the end, they were just one-dimensional characters that were only ever allowed to express one or two emotions or thoughts, but nothing more. Its a shame, they were the most tolerable of the bunch.
The third and final grievance I want to address is the lack of fucking adulting that is USING YOUR FUCKING WORDS. Iris and Claire keep insisting that they "talk" to Astrid about breaking up with Douchie McDoucher, but never do. Delilah and Astrid have a lot of pent-up resentment and bitterness towards each other that they really need to talk about, but never do. Why? Because God forbid they actually act like responsible adults and TALK about their problems, lest the story end too soon! This is one of the biggest gripes I have with adult romcoms, mostly because its a cheap and contrived reason for dragging out the story. Writers, take this to heart: if your story's entire conflict can be resolved by one adult sit-down conversation, go back to the drawing board because that's not gonna cut it.
Okay, I've rambled long enough and I'm tired. I'm done with romcoms, the genre can burn in every circle of Hell for all I care, I'm not wasting my time with them anymore.
frejajep's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
This freaking book is a masterpiece and the best love story I've read this year.
destinyk0718's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
herrinderwespen's review against another edition
Reads like a hallmark movie but with a lot of non-explicit lesbian sex. Deeply enjoyable, kinda cute, very predictable, but it’s a romance novel so I expected nothing less. Gonna be reading the next two installments as well.
michellefrances's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked it, it’s a rare treat to read lesbian love stories that feel like they were written by someone who understands what it’s like to be in one. Story was a bit predictable and I found the characters were stereotypes in a way that verged on being cheesy, but it was a lovely lighthearted read.
bo_ran's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5