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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
funny
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
emotional
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
Nothing is happening that's any fun. I don't feel whatever chemistry it is the book says is there. And I don't like the narrator at all.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
medium-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
Am I the problem?
Like, Everything For You is a cute read, I guess. But when I look at the average rating on here and on Goodreads, I have to ask myself if we've read a different book. Because this book felt so middle-of-the-road to me.
On the surface, I like the idea of both of these characters. I like seeing anxiety and chronic pain represented in books, and I certainly enjoy the concept of Grumpy x Sunshine dynamics, which is what I think the author was going for here. But... well, that's the extent of it because, as far as I'm concerned, the execution was mediocre at best.
I think it all boils down to the story I was reading, and the story the author was telling me I was reading, were two completely different things. The author mostly tells and doesn't show, and there are a lot of things she fails to show or even convincingly tell me. And I'm talking fundamental things.
For example, Oliver and Gavin's issues. Oliver has anxiety, and parts of it are rooted in a bad college romance with a man named Bryce that apparently really messed him up. Except we see none of it. I have no idea what Oliver considers "messed me up." I was not privy to that experience; whenever it is brought up, it's in code words. Why not show me this? Why not go in-depth and make me understand? I didn't even have enough information to fill in the blanks for myself. I also have no idea how Oliver was before to see how it changed him. I'm sure people who have read the previous books in the series have a bit of an easier time on this front, but I firmly believe that should not be a prerequisite. Those weren't Oliver's story. This is his story - and the other books should be something that enriches this experience, but not something that detracts from it.
I had a similar issue with Gavin. Clearly, Gavin's past strongly affects his defense responses and choices, but... fuck if I understand that past any clearer than I do Oliver's "messy breakup." I don't understand how he grew up, I don't know how he lived his life in England, and a few cryptic throwaway lines and one halting and highly filtered conversation on the topic don't really fill in those gaps. Who was Elliot? Who were those so-called friends? Did he not make any lasting connections over 15 years of living there? Even Fred is so haphazard that I don't actually understand who he was to Gavin.
So, from the get-go, I don't understand these characters.
But okay, that's the past. At least their present is well fleshed out, right??? Nope. I genuinely felt like I was missing huge chunks of story that the character dialogue made sound like they should've been there. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. We enter the story two years into Gavin and Oliver's apparently antagonistic relationship. I say apparently because we didn't really get to see much of it, and though Gavin could undoubtedly be a jerk, it appeared to be a universal thing rather than an Oliver-specific affliction. And it really takes no time at all for them to form some affection for each other, which incredibly quickly became thoughts of love and then very poetic love confessions. Except none of it felt earned. I did not believe for a second that they were in love, which in turn made me cringe as I was reading all of these grand proclamations and--what should've been--incredibly emotional vows. And it certainly didn't help that some parts of it made me go "huh?", wrecking my brain trying to figure out when any of that happened.
Like,Oliver and Gavin were never together. They never broke up. Gavin pulled away--very respectfully--before anything really happened, for personal reasons. So why, why, does Oliver's sister-in-law assert that Gavin made Oliver's life miserable, and why did Oliver agree? If that happened, it happened entirely off-page, and I certainly know nothing of it. Then there is Gavin, describing his grand plans to win Oliver "back." Back from... what? You have never been together. You've never broken up. You've never even made a single promise of commitment or anything of that sort. You have never lost him to begin with! Yet, the narrative will try to gaslight you into thinking that these things happened. After all, why else would these characters be saying that?
So we don't really see the Before. Or the During. But you know what... we don't even see the After. Because what awaits us after the confession is... mostly sex. Which is all great and all, but where are the milestones? Where are the scenes sharing the news with the people you care about and their reactions? Where isGavin becoming a coach, so strongly teased throughout the book, yet seemingly completely forgotten???? . Like. I basically felt unsatisfied with everything.
I was also mildly fascinated by the fact that there was a very obvious "girl" in the relationship. Hear me out before you judge! My friends and I research gender in Boys Love manga at university, and one of our claims is that, while it's queer in that the two main characters are men in love, the relationship dynamics affirm traditional heteronormative gender roles in Japan rather than challenge them. I felt something similar here. Oliver is, to a stronger degree than I am used to in Western media, the "girl." His struggles, personality, and presentation align with a lot of qualities we tend to associate with women (whether justified or not). He is the one asked and expected to wait for the man; to be emotionally mature and available. He's the one burdening himself with pleasing everyone and being understanding, putting on a smile for everyone, and answering slights with good nature and cheer. Andfrom early on, it also seems clear he's the one expected to receive in bed. We do get a throwaway comment about him not "always" liking that position, but we also see no indication that they switch. And then we have Gavin. Very clearly, the man. Older. Monosyllabic. Hard to approach. Gruff and unconcerned with how he might be perceived. Closed off. Knowledgeable and experienced. "Knows better" (while he is seen "teaching" Oliver how to do better on the field, Oliver's very sound arguments are not received similarly). Are there M/F books that switch these dynamics? Yes. But are they far more common the other way around? Also yes. It might be that this author is more used to writing M/F, but it felt pretty blatant to me. This is not necessarily something that will put me off a read (again, I come from reading Boys Love manga/manhwa/manhua where this is common), but combined with everything else, it wasn't the best.
Side note... this book also has one of my silly pet peeves LOL. Like, newsflash, when a character describes what they're not thinking about in first-person POV, they're actually *gasp* thinking about it.
Like, Everything For You is a cute read, I guess. But when I look at the average rating on here and on Goodreads, I have to ask myself if we've read a different book. Because this book felt so middle-of-the-road to me.
On the surface, I like the idea of both of these characters. I like seeing anxiety and chronic pain represented in books, and I certainly enjoy the concept of Grumpy x Sunshine dynamics, which is what I think the author was going for here. But... well, that's the extent of it because, as far as I'm concerned, the execution was mediocre at best.
I think it all boils down to the story I was reading, and the story the author was telling me I was reading, were two completely different things. The author mostly tells and doesn't show, and there are a lot of things she fails to show or even convincingly tell me. And I'm talking fundamental things.
For example, Oliver and Gavin's issues. Oliver has anxiety, and parts of it are rooted in a bad college romance with a man named Bryce that apparently really messed him up. Except we see none of it. I have no idea what Oliver considers "messed me up." I was not privy to that experience; whenever it is brought up, it's in code words. Why not show me this? Why not go in-depth and make me understand? I didn't even have enough information to fill in the blanks for myself. I also have no idea how Oliver was before to see how it changed him. I'm sure people who have read the previous books in the series have a bit of an easier time on this front, but I firmly believe that should not be a prerequisite. Those weren't Oliver's story. This is his story - and the other books should be something that enriches this experience, but not something that detracts from it.
I had a similar issue with Gavin. Clearly, Gavin's past strongly affects his defense responses and choices, but... fuck if I understand that past any clearer than I do Oliver's "messy breakup." I don't understand how he grew up, I don't know how he lived his life in England, and a few cryptic throwaway lines and one halting and highly filtered conversation on the topic don't really fill in those gaps. Who was Elliot? Who were those so-called friends? Did he not make any lasting connections over 15 years of living there? Even Fred is so haphazard that I don't actually understand who he was to Gavin.
So, from the get-go, I don't understand these characters.
But okay, that's the past. At least their present is well fleshed out, right??? Nope. I genuinely felt like I was missing huge chunks of story that the character dialogue made sound like they should've been there. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. We enter the story two years into Gavin and Oliver's apparently antagonistic relationship. I say apparently because we didn't really get to see much of it, and though Gavin could undoubtedly be a jerk, it appeared to be a universal thing rather than an Oliver-specific affliction. And it really takes no time at all for them to form some affection for each other, which incredibly quickly became thoughts of love and then very poetic love confessions. Except none of it felt earned. I did not believe for a second that they were in love, which in turn made me cringe as I was reading all of these grand proclamations and--what should've been--incredibly emotional vows. And it certainly didn't help that some parts of it made me go "huh?", wrecking my brain trying to figure out when any of that happened.
Like,
So we don't really see the Before. Or the During. But you know what... we don't even see the After. Because what awaits us after the confession is... mostly sex. Which is all great and all, but where are the milestones? Where are the scenes sharing the news with the people you care about and their reactions? Where is
I was also mildly fascinated by the fact that there was a very obvious "girl" in the relationship. Hear me out before you judge! My friends and I research gender in Boys Love manga at university, and one of our claims is that, while it's queer in that the two main characters are men in love, the relationship dynamics affirm traditional heteronormative gender roles in Japan rather than challenge them. I felt something similar here. Oliver is, to a stronger degree than I am used to in Western media, the "girl." His struggles, personality, and presentation align with a lot of qualities we tend to associate with women (whether justified or not). He is the one asked and expected to wait for the man; to be emotionally mature and available. He's the one burdening himself with pleasing everyone and being understanding, putting on a smile for everyone, and answering slights with good nature and cheer. And
Side note... this book also has one of my silly pet peeves LOL. Like, newsflash, when a character describes what they're not thinking about in first-person POV, they're actually *gasp* thinking about it.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
slow-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
medium-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another winner by Liese - great characters, wonderful dynamic between the leads, excellent slow burn, and believable conflict and growth. I almost started it over from the beginning when I finished