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nicolelis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
good book, but not great :) i liked the way it's formatted for the most part, but it was occasionally confusing; the characters are relatable, irritating, and off-putting all at once. not a book i'd recommend to everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Drug use
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
mattiestayreadin's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I got through 75% of this and hated myself for continuing just to see how the nonsense ends instead of walking away before it was too late.
This might be one of the most frustrating and infuriating books I’ve ever read. It genuinely made me mad. I wanted to like this book so badly because I worked in the same restaurant group this book orbits around and perfectly understand the culture within that company, but this just was not it.
Tess started out as expected. Young, naive, blah blah blah, but she got increasingly less sympathetic with every “season” that passes. She really started to lose me with the drugs, fucking one of her very few friends, and then really lost me when she licked the blood off her very toxic love interest’s arm out of the blue (at work!) and then turns around and let’s him finger bang her in a cab right after he called her a whore. I accidentally discovered an event that happens towards the end (she sleeps with her boss that is twice her age) and that was the knockout blow that made me drop it for good.
I was in my 20s when I worked within this restaurant’s sphere. I am very familiar with the chaos, messiness, and the drama of it all. But Tess has got to be one of the most pathetic characters I’ve read in a long time. I almost hesitate to even say so because this book is basically the author’s autobiography of this period in her life, but somehow she is the most awful character in her own story. I should’ve put it down and left it alone earlier (like Tess should’ve done with Jake), but I was halfway in and just started to hate-read it instead of enjoying it.
One star because she does world build the city and the restaurant culture really well, but that’s the beginning and end of my praise. If you want to read a great book about restaurant culture, read Kitchen Confidential (or probably anything else) instead. It focuses more on back of house than front of house, but you will not want to claw your eyes out from reading it like this one did for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
reginahafner_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
2.0
i hate you jake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
mollywill's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
time_travel_tragedy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is like one of the most depressing books I've ever read. She goes to New York and we find out way later she was supposed to be pursuing creative aspirations but she spends the entire book drinking and doing drugs, and overall wasting away. Even the ending, when she realizes the reality of her situation, she doesn't make it better, she does something in line with all her other self destructive actions and then the next day it's like on to better horizons. The ending could have been uplifting, but this character was broken in so many ways, and we get no glimpse into what her future might hold. I needed something a little more at the end to believe there's hope for the character after the novel ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
sleeson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I didn’t really understand it. Graphic sexual content but not in very romantic way. More so, working in a restaurant hookup kind of way. Lots of swearing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual content
evelynashworth's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship
janice_sumka's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content and Gaslighting
maartabarrales's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I hate that this is quickly becoming my to go criticism, but I think this book was in desperate need of some ruthless editing.
While the premise sounds fine to me, “Devil wears Prada of the restaurant industry” it is not enough to carry an entire book, especially not a three hundred paged one.
I would have been pleased to just spend a year in the life of this girl, without any major conflicts, just watching her learn and grow. I’m trash for that most of the time. But with books of that sort you’re usually allowed some color beyond the gimmick, you get to see different aspects of the protagonist’s life or become invested in the people that surround them. In Sweetbitter though, the entire book is comprised of stumbling at the job, drinking and snorting at the closest dive bar and pining over a guy that is exactly the kind to complain about hipsters and girls who wear makeup.
I was simultaneously exhilarated and puzzled at the main character’s shock when her relationship goes sour, her refusal to see this guy as the dick he is was amusingly frustrating.
Tess’ relationship with Simone was definitely more interesting, never to the point where either of them become more than mere sketches of people, but you gotta work with what you have.
It felt clear to me from the beginning that Tess wanted, in a way, to become Simone. She wanted her knowledge and poise and envied her relationship with Jake (the crush) I found it funny that what undoes her in the end is the knowledge that Simone and Jake are going on vacation without her. That neither of them considered it important to inform her, much less invite her.
Some accusations of grooming and sexual assault are thrown at Simone in the last stretch, but nothing is ever confirmed and it all felt like a last minute attempt to make her into a villain on the author’s part.
Despite this, I still feel like the book has potential, perhaps as a short story, or free of a few hundred pages it would have felt more solid. I wouldn’t recommend it as it is, it has a common enough concept that there are a few better alternatives out there.
Kudos on the cover though, it’s gorgeous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
littlemoonlibrarian's review against another edition
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship