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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Anyone who knows me well will also know that there are very few romance novels I can actually stand, let alone like, or dare I say love.
This book however, has joined the short list of romances I love along side works like Rowell’s “Fangirl”. It’s so very real in how it portrays the inner thoughts of a severely anxious and highly insecure young woman. When I was Natalie’s age (A.K.A. 3 years ago) I experienced the same normalised thought of self hatred (except, instead of skin it was about my weight).
This book feels so current and real that if someone told me this was actually a true story, I’d believe them.
This book however, has joined the short list of romances I love along side works like Rowell’s “Fangirl”. It’s so very real in how it portrays the inner thoughts of a severely anxious and highly insecure young woman. When I was Natalie’s age (A.K.A. 3 years ago) I experienced the same normalised thought of self hatred (except, instead of skin it was about my weight).
This book feels so current and real that if someone told me this was actually a true story, I’d believe them.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was actually really cute. I love how Nina kenwood writes Australian rom coms, like Brunswick references go crazy!!
Very sweet coming of age tale.
MC made me cringe a lot tho but it’s not her fault, she’s just 18.
Very sweet coming of age tale.
MC made me cringe a lot tho but it’s not her fault, she’s just 18.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
My god the teenagers are so well-rendered in this book it was (at times) painful to read. But sweet!
Read for Bad Bitch Book Club's Bad Bitches International subgroup.
It Sounded Better in My Head is a strong 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads purposes.
This book has everything: Australian setting, social awkwardness, first relationships, insecurities, Really Bad Skin, and a best friend's older sibling trope! It's a great coming of age novel - Natalie is finishing high school and has two best friends, Zach and Lucy, who are dating. It's weird and awkward and fun and strange, much like a lot of being 18 is. Natalie is an anxious and idealistic daydreamer and I really related to a lot of her thought process. (For example, she goes to her first ever party and plays Spin the Bottle so that if her future hypothetical child won't think she's lame for never having done it.)
This book is a bit young for me but I related to it a lot and would recommend it to anyone going through transitions or not feeling comfortable in their own skin.
It Sounded Better in My Head is a strong 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads purposes.
This book has everything: Australian setting, social awkwardness, first relationships, insecurities, Really Bad Skin, and a best friend's older sibling trope! It's a great coming of age novel - Natalie is finishing high school and has two best friends, Zach and Lucy, who are dating. It's weird and awkward and fun and strange, much like a lot of being 18 is. Natalie is an anxious and idealistic daydreamer and I really related to a lot of her thought process. (For example, she goes to her first ever party and plays Spin the Bottle so that if her future hypothetical child won't think she's lame for never having done it.)
This book is a bit young for me but I related to it a lot and would recommend it to anyone going through transitions or not feeling comfortable in their own skin.
A) This book is set in Australia. Which is really cool.
B) I've never read a book with a protagonist who had such a traumatic experience because of puberty. Every teenager has some kind of acne horror story (including me) but I never had to visit a dermatologist, never got scarring because of it, never had to go on medication. Natalie did. The whole reframing of "no one else has problems because their skin is clear" to "all people have their own struggles and their own 'if only ____ wasn't happening, I'd be happy'" was amazing to see represented.
Overall, it was cool to see the anxiety over self-image so accurately represented - the difficulty of "well I *should* love myself" with "but I really don't love myself". I didn't like the overall listlessness of the ending (I'm picky with my endings) but I thought the book was a great representation of what it is like to be an 18 year old - still a teenager but also an adult.
B) I've never read a book with a protagonist who had such a traumatic experience because of puberty. Every teenager has some kind of acne horror story (including me) but I never had to visit a dermatologist, never got scarring because of it, never had to go on medication. Natalie did. The whole reframing of "no one else has problems because their skin is clear" to "all people have their own struggles and their own 'if only ____ wasn't happening, I'd be happy'" was amazing to see represented.
Overall, it was cool to see the anxiety over self-image so accurately represented - the difficulty of "well I *should* love myself" with "but I really don't love myself". I didn't like the overall listlessness of the ending (I'm picky with my endings) but I thought the book was a great representation of what it is like to be an 18 year old - still a teenager but also an adult.
4.5 stars
“But when people say you’ve got to love yourself first, they never explain how, exactly, you get past people screaming ‘gross bitch’, how you get past feeling like your best days are only your best days because you’re managing to hide the bad bits, how you feel desirable if no one has ever desired you”.
This book has one of the most relatable mc’s I’ve ever read truly. I loved how realistic most of the scenarios were and how it balanced life, relationships and friendships and the messy inbetween .
“But when people say you’ve got to love yourself first, they never explain how, exactly, you get past people screaming ‘gross bitch’, how you get past feeling like your best days are only your best days because you’re managing to hide the bad bits, how you feel desirable if no one has ever desired you”.
This book has one of the most relatable mc’s I’ve ever read truly. I loved how realistic most of the scenarios were and how it balanced life, relationships and friendships and the messy inbetween .
why the fuck do australians call flip flops thongs i didn’t enjoy that.
Not for me. There’s so much backstory that’s really slowing the pace down. Also the description says she’s upset when her friends hook up, but as of page 10 they’ve already been together for 9 months. The MC has PCOS.
lighthearted
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