Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse

5 reviews

frogggirl2's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This serial killer premise is unoriginal, there's too much explanation for why she is the way she is, and the narrative voice is deeply unpleasant.  The excessively short chapters, journal entry style, daily minutae, boyfriend drama, and catty tone make this feel like an evil Bridget Jones.

This book just keeps doing the same things over and over, and her narrative voice doesn't change, so it's just really tiring to read this un-pc, fat phobic, agist, condescending, judgemental POV for 450 pages.

She tells so many unnecessary lies, and it's frustratingly ludicrous that she wouldn't get called on them.  Especially when she's lying to a journalist - why make up a lie that you could easily disprove with a google search?  The book letting the character get away with this undermines the believability of the book overall.

I wanted to like this - it's occasionally funny, and she's mostly hunting rapists and pedophiles so there's a justified revenge element. Ultimately, although it was a quick, easy read, there was nothing memorable here, and it wasn't as funny as it was grating and unrealistic.
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katndrsn's review

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dark 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

3.25

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hallaxx's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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librariangeorgia's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I actually got recommended this book by a staff member at Waterstones as I’d enjoyed HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY by Bella Mackie. 
 
This is book 1 in the Sweet Pea series. 
 
I really enjoyed this book. I can see the similarities to HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY. 
 
This follows the perspective of a serial killer, as opposed to the victim or detective. Even though it’s fiction, I actually found it so interesting seeing their view of events - which actually turned out not to be overly exciting. 
 
The first chapter was so graphic and disturbing that it actually made me more intrigued. This does actually continue throughout the book… 
 
My favourite bit was the kill list at the start of each day - most of them being minor reasons like the fact that she hates people. The fact that I would agree with a lot of the points she made actually disturbed me - am I a psychopath?? 
 
Though the ending was left on a cliffhanger and did make me curious as to what happens next, I’m not sure that I’ll be in a rush to pick up the next book. 
 
If you liked HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY, I recommend giving this one a go! 
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jbistheinitial's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’ve just done the CN notes and honestly it would be quicker to list what Sweetpea doesn’t include. But for all that it’s a brutally funny and page-turning take on Bridget Jones-meets-American Psycho. 
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