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whamydid's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
earlydecember's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual assault
mulhollen's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was excited to read this but unfortunately I really couldnโt get into this book. Such a slow progressing story with, in my opinion, unlikeable characters.
Tatum is reliving her 10 year relationship with Mateo over the course of the book. Many of these memories dragged on. Their relationship stays static for the majority of their time knowing one other, which made the story quite tedious.
I felt for Tatum as she realizes she was groomed by Mateo. However, I really disliked how she viewed her relationships with others. She expected those she loved to be โher nucleusโ and put high expectations onto these people without open communication as to what she needed.
The book feels unfinished. I think the revelation that Mateo used Tatum as his muse should come earlier, rather than at the end. I feel as divulging this information at the beginning would have made the her memories have more purpose to the reader.
Tatum is reliving her 10 year relationship with Mateo over the course of the book. Many of these memories dragged on. Their relationship stays static for the majority of their time knowing one other, which made the story quite tedious.
I felt for Tatum as she realizes she was groomed by Mateo. However, I really disliked how she viewed her relationships with others. She expected those she loved to be โher nucleusโ and put high expectations onto these people without open communication as to what she needed.
The book feels unfinished. I think the revelation that Mateo used Tatum as his muse should come earlier, rather than at the end. I feel as divulging this information at the beginning would have made the her memories have more purpose to the reader.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
carmenloveslibros's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
brewdy_reader's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐บ โข ๐๐ช๐ต๐ง๐ช๐ค โข ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐น
๐๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด โข ๐๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด
๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ 26 ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ 2024
This was an enrapturing debut. On the surface it was a quick listen, where you'll want to know what is going to happen in a case of alleged sexual assault. But there are lots of layers of this onion to unpeel.
Covering topics including:
โข impact of tokenism
โข books about books
โข representation in publishing
โข gender stereotypes
โข immigrant culture & expectations
โข morally grey
Told up front there is some sort of betrayal between a famous Latino author M. Domรญnguez and his adoring fan, Tatum. The rest of the book is to show us how and what actually transpired. At first it seems innocent and then it becomes a tale of an older man leveraging power imbalances and celebrity status to use a naive younger woman who looks up to him. Will there be consequences or will this end like so many other stories of its ilk.
In this case the older man is himself of an underrepresented marginalized group and I wanted this brilliant author to be better than that ๐ฎโ๐จ Is it morally grey if he never promised her anything, if he told her he didn't want commitment, or a relationship. Is it cheating & leading on, or just playing with emotions if there was consent.
The writing was for me top notch. Hard to believe it is a debut with scenes coming to life in pretty prose. The narration by Marisa Blake was well done, easy listening.
One small letdown for me was the ending, where I wanted to know more about what happened after. It seemed to stop abruptly. Having said that I highly recommend reading Like Happiness; it will make you think and is beautifully written.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฐ @netgalley and @macmillanaudio ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ALC!
๐๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด โข ๐๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด
๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ 26 ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ 2024
This was an enrapturing debut. On the surface it was a quick listen, where you'll want to know what is going to happen in a case of alleged sexual assault. But there are lots of layers of this onion to unpeel.
Covering topics including:
โข impact of tokenism
โข books about books
โข representation in publishing
โข gender stereotypes
โข immigrant culture & expectations
โข morally grey
Told up front there is some sort of betrayal between a famous Latino author M. Domรญnguez and his adoring fan, Tatum. The rest of the book is to show us how and what actually transpired. At first it seems innocent and then it becomes a tale of an older man leveraging power imbalances and celebrity status to use a naive younger woman who looks up to him. Will there be consequences or will this end like so many other stories of its ilk.
In this case the older man is himself of an underrepresented marginalized group and I wanted this brilliant author to be better than that ๐ฎโ๐จ Is it morally grey if he never promised her anything, if he told her he didn't want commitment, or a relationship. Is it cheating & leading on, or just playing with emotions if there was consent.
The writing was for me top notch. Hard to believe it is a debut with scenes coming to life in pretty prose. The narration by Marisa Blake was well done, easy listening.
One small letdown for me was the ending, where I wanted to know more about what happened after. It seemed to stop abruptly. Having said that I highly recommend reading Like Happiness; it will make you think and is beautifully written.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฐ @netgalley and @macmillanaudio ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ALC!
svmreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book took the wind out of me. As someone who had a similar experience to Tatum, I could not believe how accurately Villarreal-Moura portrayed the experience of grooming and being in a relationship with an imbalanced power dynamic. The conversations between Tatum and Mateo were pitch perfect in terms of the language Mateo utilized to reel Tatum under his influence. I also loved that Mateo wasnโt portrayed in a cartoonishly villainous way, but rather he is morally gray. It was gratifying to see Tatum look upon her relationship with Mateo with a new lens, but also realize that he was a fundamental part of her life for ten years.
Additionally, I LOVED Villarreal-Mouraโs use of the second person in Tatumโs letter to Mateo - I thought this was expertly done and made for an even more powerful story.
As a booklover, I resonated with Tatum so much. The way she talked about being a pulsating mind and utilizing literature to help her make sense of the world was incredibly relatable, and made Mateoโs betrayal devastating.
If you loved and resonated with this book as much as I did, I highly recommend reading The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer. While that book covers a shorter span of time, its portrayal of a relationship with an unequal power dynamic is also spot on.
Thank you Ursula Villarreal-Moura for writing such a masterpiece.
Additionally, I LOVED Villarreal-Mouraโs use of the second person in Tatumโs letter to Mateo - I thought this was expertly done and made for an even more powerful story.
As a booklover, I resonated with Tatum so much. The way she talked about being a pulsating mind and utilizing literature to help her make sense of the world was incredibly relatable, and made Mateoโs betrayal devastating.
If you loved and resonated with this book as much as I did, I highly recommend reading The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer. While that book covers a shorter span of time, its portrayal of a relationship with an unequal power dynamic is also spot on.
Thank you Ursula Villarreal-Moura for writing such a masterpiece.
schnurln's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
recycledwords's review against another edition
4.0
Tatum reflects on a past relationship with an older author. A journalist is researching a story about the author having non-consensual sex with a young woman and wants to know whether Tatum experienced anything similar with him. Tatum's self-worth appears to grow through the reflections on the past with a new tinted lens and it feels incredibly satisfying to see M pulled down from his pedestal.
Like Happiness covers themes such as imbalances of power, biases and loneliness.
The main tale is one that has been told before in recent novels but with its own perspective which helps to keep it distinct. If you enjoyed Paul by Daisy Lafarge, Luster by Raven Leilani or Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman I'd recommend this.
Like Happiness covers themes such as imbalances of power, biases and loneliness.
The main tale is one that has been told before in recent novels but with its own perspective which helps to keep it distinct. If you enjoyed Paul by Daisy Lafarge, Luster by Raven Leilani or Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman I'd recommend this.
mga5033's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shelvesofsamantha's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0