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emily_mh's review against another edition
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
1.0
Fallon and Chloe are both awful and have such a crappy relationship. Let's get into it.
Why is Fallon awful? She literally expects Chloe to read her mind and gets pissed at her when she can’t. Fallon didn’t tell Chloe how much sex meant to her, so how was Chloe supposed to know that? Fallon said it was okay that Chloe couldn’t come to the diner, so how was Chloe supposed to know that it WASN’T okay?? On more of a craft note, I literally have no idea who Fallon is outside of her anger over Chloe. It occupies every SENTENCE of the book which is exhausting to read about, and also means we get no character construction.
Why is Chloe awful? When Fallon explicitly tells Chloe she doesn’t want to be around her, doesn’t want to talk, etc. Chloe does the exact opposite, constantly. It made my skin crawl. I’m not saying I agree with Fallon’s choices but oh my god leave the poor girl alone. Also, all the nice things she did for Fallon weren’t because she wanted to make Fallon feel good or whatever, but because she was trying to entice Fallon to being her best friend again. And then when Fallon was trying to explain her feelings, Chloe automatically assumes the worst of her and won’t let Fallon get a word in. Then later when they meet with Delilah, Chloe is grossly possessive and jealous, trying to dictate what Fallon does and being so mean to Delilah.
Why is their relationship crappy? Firstly, we aren’t actually shown how close Chloe and Fallon were, we’re just told about it, so I was utterly unconvinced by their connection platonically. There was also no romantic chemistry. There was some physical chemistry on Fallon’s part at least. But at 60% in the reader is still under the impression that Chloe hooked up with Fallon just for fun, which makes it hard to see her as the love interest, especially coupled with everything else. (And just to note, the reader never finds out when Chloe actually started having feelings. To me that makes it seem she developed them on the road trip and so it’s hard to believe she had any deep feelings for Fallon like Fallon had for her). Also, these two are just so mean to each other!! I genuinely cannot recall a time throughout the book when they said something nice about the other person to her face. But I especially hated how Chloe would roll her eyes whenever Fallon expressed her annoyance or anger over something. Gross!! They’re also both so passive aggressive and think the worst of each other. How are you supposed to root for them to be together, let alone as people? All their relationship ended up being was toxic and messy, with the characters and the author apparently believing it was cute as can be.
Yeah so I hated this read and it's honestly made me question whether I want to read anything by Dugan in the future.
Why is Chloe awful? When Fallon explicitly tells Chloe she doesn’t want to be around her, doesn’t want to talk, etc. Chloe does the exact opposite, constantly. It made my skin crawl. I’m not saying I agree with Fallon’s choices but oh my god leave the poor girl alone. Also, all the nice things she did for Fallon weren’t because she wanted to make Fallon feel good or whatever, but because she was trying to entice Fallon to being her best friend again. And then when Fallon was trying to explain her feelings, Chloe automatically assumes the worst of her and won’t let Fallon get a word in. Then later when they meet with Delilah, Chloe is grossly possessive and jealous, trying to dictate what Fallon does and being so mean to Delilah.
Why is their relationship crappy? Firstly, we aren’t actually shown how close Chloe and Fallon were, we’re just told about it, so I was utterly unconvinced by their connection platonically. There was also no romantic chemistry. There was some physical chemistry on Fallon’s part at least. But at 60% in the reader is still under the impression that Chloe hooked up with Fallon just for fun, which makes it hard to see her as the love interest, especially coupled with everything else. (And just to note, the reader never finds out when Chloe actually started having feelings. To me that makes it seem she developed them on the road trip and so it’s hard to believe she had any deep feelings for Fallon like Fallon had for her). Also, these two are just so mean to each other!! I genuinely cannot recall a time throughout the book when they said something nice about the other person to her face. But I especially hated how Chloe would roll her eyes whenever Fallon expressed her annoyance or anger over something. Gross!! They’re also both so passive aggressive and think the worst of each other. How are you supposed to root for them to be together, let alone as people? All their relationship ended up being was toxic and messy, with the characters and the author apparently believing it was cute as can be.
Yeah so I hated this read and it's honestly made me question whether I want to read anything by Dugan in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Gun violence, Vomit, Violence, Drug use, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death, Murder, Alcohol, and Child death
Moderate: financial stress Minor: divorce, neglect, hunting
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