Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher

3 reviews

infjkiki's review

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emotional 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

5.0

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allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If You Ask Me shines a light on a woman going through a major, life-altering transition. It's a shift that seems 100% terrible at its inception (the end of a 12 year marriage when Violet walks in on her husband and another woman), but ultimately leads to a lot of growth and even happiness. Violet's rage and letting go of her perfect, poised image was a freaking delight. She sets her cheating husband's valuables on fire in the street, rear ends her sanctimonious mother-in-law, and writes some biting responses in her advice column. She also makes some mistakes on her forced journey of self-discovery, ones that teach some valuable life lessons. 
The book deals with some heavy topics from infidelity (of course) to infertility and miscarriage, loss of a sibling (in the past), panic attacks (on the page), sexual assault, and brief mentions of racism and homophobia. A big theme that I don't know how to sum up in one word is the pressure to have a picture perfect life, to seem happy, to look put together and rely on no one. These aspects of the book were thoughtfully addressed and had a satisfying arc as Violet comes to terms with toxic aspects of her life (very much so including her erstwhile husband) and looks to the future. 
This is a romance novel, and there is an expected degree of attention given to that part of the story (fyi it's fade-to-black for those who shake their fists at such a tease). Dez is a kind and supportive love interest, a welcome change from Violet's past. This part of the story was perfectly fine but lacked the emotional oomph of the other story elements, in my opinion. It's a whirlwind romance, something that makes Violet uneasy at times because it's so unexpected, and largely uncomplicated despite the surrounding fallout of Violet's life. I didn't find anything problematic or upsetting (whew), but I didn't end up terribly attached to the love story. 
This is a reflective piece of fiction depicting important challenges while offering a light at the end of the tunnel. It's a worthwhile read. Thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review! 
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madeline's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Violet has what looks like a picture perfect life, with a handsome husband, a beautiful home, and a wildly popular advice column that’s about to be nationally syndicated.  But everything comes crashing down when she returns home early from work one day to find her husband and her neighbor in bed together.  Suddenly, Violet’s finding it very hard to be the composed, polite woman she was raised to be, much to the chagrin of everyone who knows her -- everyone, that is, except the handsome firefighter who showed up to put out a small bonfire of her husband’s possessions.  Dez likes her just the way she is, and she likes him too.  Dear Sweetie: does moving on mean Violet has to rebuild her facade of perfection, or can she find love and happiness while being her true self?

I love an advice column, so I was really eager to see where this story would go with it.  Unfortunately, what I thought was a great premise was really let down by flat characters.  No one really gets a fleshed out story besides Violet, and I even still have questions about her motivations.  Sam is just the Evil Ex-Husband (to be clear, I don’t want him redeemed, he’s an ass), his mother is the Evil Mother-In-Law, there’s a lot of unresolved threads with her parents, and even key pieces of who Dez is aren’t dropped until the final moments of the book.  A lot of characters tell Violet she’s essentially overreacting to literally finding her husband engaged in the act of cheating, and I am firmly Team Violet here.  Burn his shit, babe.

This book is fairly White Feminist-y: there were a couple of moments that made me raise an eyebrow, but Violet specifically remembers an instance with some neighbors where a newcomer was revealed to be a liberal (Violet is a Democrat who says she’s been hiding as a centrist independent), and when this newcomer rightfully calls someone out for wondering if soy formula will make her sons gay, she’s shunned out of the group.  Violet does nothing to intervene, and while she doesn’t ignore the woman going forward, she certainly doesn’t make any effort to befriend her.  There’s another pretty yucky moment with a coworker and a revenge plot, too.  These bits didn’t do a ton for the story, and they left a bad taste in my mouth.

This was my first Libby Hubscher, and while I’d pick up more of her work, I’m not rushing out for it.  If you’re looking for a hot firefighter and some totally sensible reactions to finding your husband of over a decade cheating on you, though, this is the book for you.  Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:
infertility, pregnancy loss discussed on the page, panic attack on the page, death of a sibling, infidelity, a truly horrific mother-in-law

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