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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely a different vibe from The Hating Game aha. Good blend of sweet and spicy. I’m glad Ruthie finally found reason to leave because it was starting to get a little sad. Also slightly impressed I clocked the Parlonis’ relationship before her. (Not really a spoiler)
This was one of the worst books I’ve read in a while. It was corny and entirely too long. The characters were supposed to be in their mid 20’s but acted maybe 10 years younger. Truly nothing happens for a good 75% of this book. I almost DNF’d it several times.
2 stars for painfully slow. The last 100 pages are a good story, it just takes way to long to get there. A boring slow burn.
OKAY so I was feeling very aggressive to this book in the first half to the point where I normally would had let it go but I kept going and possibly enjoyed it in the end
Anyway
Pros:
- not as awful as 99% mine (low bar though)
- no third act break up
- funny
Cons:
- nowhere near as good as the hating game
- all of the negative parts of the book focused pretty much stayed the same for the first 60% which was quite heavy and depressing
- all of the resolutions were rushed af making(especially Ruth’s) development not as impactful
- I hate hate hate how many romance novels have the plot of the unappreciated and exploited female worker because:
a. The male love interest always gets her out of this exploitive situation and that is then used as a reason to love him (WHEN ITS A COMMON DECENCY to, you know, treat people as they’re worth)
b. It’s depressing not empowering when (as in this book) more of it is spent watching the female mc get exploited and not even acknowledging how bad that is
Basically I had low hopes after 99% Mine but this still managed to irritate me :)
Anyway
Pros:
- not as awful as 99% mine (low bar though)
- no third act break up
- funny
Cons:
- nowhere near as good as the hating game
- all of the negative parts of the book focused pretty much stayed the same for the first 60% which was quite heavy and depressing
- all of the resolutions were rushed af making(especially Ruth’s) development not as impactful
- I hate hate hate how many romance novels have the plot of the unappreciated and exploited female worker because:
a. The male love interest always gets her out of this exploitive situation and that is then used as a reason to love him (WHEN ITS A COMMON DECENCY to, you know, treat people as they’re worth)
b. It’s depressing not empowering when (as in this book) more of it is spent watching the female mc get exploited and not even acknowledging how bad that is
Basically I had low hopes after 99% Mine but this still managed to irritate me :)
Guilty pleasure read with some actually heartfelt characters
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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
Teddy and Ruthie did not disappoint and the Parloni’s occasionally had me laughing out loud. Wicked, wicked, women
“Have you ever been caught off guard by the sound of your own heartbeat? Maybe you’ve pressed your ear weirdly on your pillow, and now all you can hear is your own proof of life. You are confronted with your mortality in a base, clock-ticking kind of way: you have an engine room, and it has a finite timeline. What a miracle and a privilege.”
This book was a surprise - and mostly a positive one! As an ardent fan of The Hating Game, I feared reading 99 Percent because... well, it seems anyone that has read it has very mixed opinions. So when I found out Second First Impressions existed, I wondered... why not give it a shot??
Romance wise, the book was as cute as it could be. I always love a story where the romantic interest falls first, rather than the protagonist, although at times Ruthie's obliviousness was deeply frustrating and irritating - as it should be, I don't see how it could ever be anything else. Teddy was okay, mostly adorable throughout the novel, although I wasn't too sold on him for some reason. Together, they were quite lovely.
Plot was a bit... weak. It's not that there was no plot, but it's almost as if there were various small ones that, if you're an avid romance reader, you know they will have a somewhat happy resolution. And so they did! And it felt a bit unfair, on my part, to see how things turned out both on the last chapters and the epilogue. Sure, it was a happy ending, but it didn't totally felt like that. The twist caught me off guard, it had zero precedents, and did have my mind spinning for a while - however, it was done too late in the book to have any sort of impact.
The million details and cast of characters other than the main helped tremendously in giving plot to the book: our two other lovebirds, Melanie (I hope I'm writing it right, since I mostly heard the audiobook), the turtles, the tattoos and little mannerisms or habits shared between everyone, I feel like I say this a lot but that's what truly makes a book valuable and different.
Nonetheless, as lovely as it was, I'm giving it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It's great if you want something entertaining and midly fast to get through.
I think I loved this solely because it was so comforting and cozy but also pushed me to think about pursuing my own dreams! Kinda shocked lol.