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kylieshadereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Mental illness
hannalizzy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(Pro tip: imagine the sexy older guy as Jack Harlow. Or any celebrity crush of choice. You will fall in LOVE)
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC copy 💕
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Grief, Death, and Body shaming
danaslitlist's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
TLDR; I hated this book. Minor thematic spoilers throughout but not major plot points.
When it comes to romance novels it's not uncommon to have to suspend your belief for the sake of the story. Tropes and clichés come with the genre and for the most part it's not hard for me to find those familiar ideas enjoyable. However when the book becomes so saturated with trope upon trope upon trope, it can begin to feel like you're reading a script for a bad Life Time movie. This is one of the problems with Rules of Arrangement. It suffers from “too much” syndrome and as I read further and further I just kept rolling my eyes.
There is also the huge issue of using mental health as a plot device and in doing so creating the “bad guy” who is only “bad” because he is mentally ill. And the reaction of the characters who find out is to either pass judgment on his “weirdness” or to make the whole situation about themselves. There is no grace, compassion, or care in the depiction of mental illness nor is there any actual reason the author needed to include it in the story other than for shock value. It would have been simple to rewrite the character's motives without having it based on a mental illness. Instead we are left with the character not receiving love, support, or an ounce of real understanding.
Not only was there just too much drama and soap opera dynamics, there was just the glaring issue of the plot trying to be more serious than it really is. Yes, getting suspended from a college would be devastating. However making it out that she'd go to jail for writing papers for other students made me laugh out loud. The plot just reads as contrived and forced when it really didn't need to be. I agree with the comments of other reviewers who also felt mislead by the cover and synopsis. I was under the impression going in that the plot was going to be more of an art heist situation, but instead it's a watered down soap opera.
I saved our main female character for last because I have the most to say about her. At first I felt for Adelaide and the situation she was in. Cut off from her family and desperately trying to make her way through college by writing essays for other students for a price. I honestly don't see the problem with what she's doing and if anything the fault lies with the students who are fine with lying their way through college. At first I viewed Addie as hard working and self reliant and I could at least respect her struggle. However, just like with everything else in the story, the further I read the more I ended up hating her. It took until page fifteen for me to loathe her.
Addie is supposed to be smart, both when it comes to other people and also academically, but she isn't smart at all. She comes off quite dumb. Not just with how she interacts with other people but also in the fact that it just suddenly occurs to her after three years of this side hustle that she could face serious consequences for what she's doing. We're supposed to find Adelaide smart and cunning, mature for her age, but she really isn't. She's incredibly immature and foolish, quick to throw tantrums and quicker to judge. Almost every time she gets mad at Jack I feel the same sense of “boohoo”, because she forgets that she's the one lying, deceiving, and ultimately attempting to rob him. But she wants to act as if she has moral high ground. Nothing can be her fault, she's not the one who was in the wrong. She's not a character I want to root for her even read about.
My second reason is in the hopes that maybe if for some reason the author sees this, that she does better. She is a talented writer and there were a handful of moments that I found myself smiling at, but at the core there were so many red flags. Sex work is real work. Escorts and sex workers deserve respect regardless of the reason behind why they're doing what they do. As long as it is consensual there isn't any reason why we should be shaming them.
I implore the author and readers of romance to do better.
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
_shannoncarroll's review
3.5
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide
storieswithbee's review
5.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Alcohol