Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Perfect on Paper

This book was fine. It read like drinking a glass of room temperature water. I didn’t absolutely hate it, but there were also parts that were not satisfying.

The story itself was super interesting, but I found that some of the parts fell flat.

For example, I didn’t like that Darcy took so long to tell Brooke about what she had done. From a character perspective, I understand why she took so long, but from a storytelling perspective, it felt like it was too late in the story and I felt as though the conflict was resolved too quickly.

The bi representation in this book was very good and I appreciated how Gonzales touched on biphobia in a way that happens a lot in the real world.

However, the one scene where they were all telling her that she was queer was a bit weird to me, and felt sort of like an “I’m Radio Rebel” moment. It could have been a really special moment, but personally fell kind of flat because it was cheesy. Also, at that point in the story, most people in the room hated Darcy.

I also don’t think she faced enough of a consequence for the locker. Only four people asked for a refund? That just seems unbelievable to me.

Also… Broughham. I didn’t like him until maybe the last four or five chapters. The miscommunication between him and Darcy was driving me crazy. I also, somehow, felt like I still didn’t know the real him at the end of the story.

I wish Brooke had a bit more to her character, but I enjoyed her for when she was.

Oh, and this is nitpicking, but I hated all of the Disney references. Chad and Ryan ARE gay, but we don’t need Finn to bring it up at a Q&Q meeting. And the chapters with Disneyland were far too specific to be written by someone who wasn’t a Disney adult.

Ainsley was the best character in this story, and there were so many times where I was happy she was there to make me still want to read it.

Overall, I didn’t love it but I also didn’t loathe it. There were times I wanted to stop reading, but I’m not mad that I finished it. It was Okay.

Content Warnings