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3.51k reviews for:
The Dating Plan: The One You Saw on TikTok! the Fake Dating Rom-Com You Need
Sara Desai
3.61 AVERAGE
3.51k reviews for:
The Dating Plan: The One You Saw on TikTok! the Fake Dating Rom-Com You Need
Sara Desai
3.61 AVERAGE
Oof, what a disappointment. I picked this book as my January BOTM book because I wanted a quick, heartwarming, fun, cheesy, predictable romance to bring me into February and Valentine's day, etc. It is now mid-March and I finally willed myself to finish it just so I could be done with it. The entire first half of the book I considered cutting my losses and hiding it somewhere in the back of my shelf unfinished. The second half went by just a little bit faster.
The most frustrating part of the book was how it felt like there was no attempts to edit it at all. The author would regularly use the same phrases over and over - often in the very next sentence. Not bothering to look up how hockey is played even though it was a big scene. In at least one place it said "the" instead of "they". Some of the things I'd overlook if I was reading this on Kindle Unlimited or something - but I would think the writing would be a little bit better here. It could and should have been edited down about 50-100 pages.
Both characters made me cringe. Some of the conflict had potential to be interesting, but it was often just slapped in there and the resolution was either too easy or happened off page. All the character development was just told to reader (not shown). The excessively "quirky" girl was tiring. There was always a lot going on yet, somehow, nothing actually happening? Good things: I appreciated that they used condoms and I thought the aunties were funny - to a point (some of this should have been edited down too).
The most frustrating part of the book was how it felt like there was no attempts to edit it at all. The author would regularly use the same phrases over and over - often in the very next sentence. Not bothering to look up how hockey is played even though it was a big scene. In at least one place it said "the" instead of "they". Some of the things I'd overlook if I was reading this on Kindle Unlimited or something - but I would think the writing would be a little bit better here. It could and should have been edited down about 50-100 pages.
Both characters made me cringe. Some of the conflict had potential to be interesting, but it was often just slapped in there and the resolution was either too easy or happened off page. All the character development was just told to reader (not shown). The excessively "quirky" girl was tiring. There was always a lot going on yet, somehow, nothing actually happening? Good things: I appreciated that they used condoms and I thought the aunties were funny - to a point (some of this should have been edited down too).
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
[edit]
It’s been over a year since I read this book and I still think about how bad it was sometimes so I think I can officially update this to a one star
2 stars bc i finished it
maybe im different but if I were daisy I would simply get over some guy standing me up 10 YEARS AGO
also the characterizations were so inconsistent. they would make the stakes comically high (“this guy stood me up 10 years ago and now i hate him forever and want bad things to happen to him”) to getting over them within like 15 minutes. this kept happening- a character would have 1 (one) personality trait which was just *extremely firm stance for no reason on x* and then within 5 min would be ok with x
It’s been over a year since I read this book and I still think about how bad it was sometimes so I think I can officially update this to a one star
2 stars bc i finished it
maybe im different but if I were daisy I would simply get over some guy standing me up 10 YEARS AGO
also the characterizations were so inconsistent. they would make the stakes comically high (“this guy stood me up 10 years ago and now i hate him forever and want bad things to happen to him”) to getting over them within like 15 minutes. this kept happening- a character would have 1 (one) personality trait which was just *extremely firm stance for no reason on x* and then within 5 min would be ok with x
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
fast-paced
Pros: excellent cultural representation from both sides without feeling like stereotypes, women in STEM, excellent chemistry and steamy scenes.
Cons: I never really rooted for the relationship. Second chance romances don't really do it for me. There was also a few scenes with really intense possessive jealousy and that was a MASSIVE turn off.
I think this was a great middle of the road romance. Definitely quirky and funny and way more lighthearted than most romances. Not much conflict but I found myself okay with that.
Cons: I never really rooted for the relationship. Second chance romances don't really do it for me. There was also a few scenes with really intense possessive jealousy and that was a MASSIVE turn off.
I think this was a great middle of the road romance. Definitely quirky and funny and way more lighthearted than most romances. Not much conflict but I found myself okay with that.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, this was a book that starts off strong, but really falters halfway through and flops the ending entirely. The author puts a lot of time into describing how aroused the characters are by one another, but the only thing the male lead seems to admire about the female lead is how sexy she is and how Quirky(tm) she is. The female lead doesn't actually seem to like much about the male lead at all. Their chemistry is practically non-existent. Their individual conflicts with their families is compelling, but the author doesn't quite stick the landing with either.
Overall, I really WANTED this book to be good. I was very excited when I read the premise, I liked the first chapter quite a lot too. The characters all felt a bit like paper dolls though, and I couldn't stop noticing how strongly it felt like the author was sticking to a romance plot beat sheet.
Overall, I really WANTED this book to be good. I was very excited when I read the premise, I liked the first chapter quite a lot too. The characters all felt a bit like paper dolls though, and I couldn't stop noticing how strongly it felt like the author was sticking to a romance plot beat sheet.
Overall it was a cute romance story. Good plot, interesting breakup at the end that was less predictable than other romance stories. I found the writing to be too heavy handed, the internal monologs were repetitive and just too cringy for me.
This is kind of petty, but the words maelstrom and flow were so over used. I started to think “the flow” was a ubiquitous term developers used, but no, it’s not. It could’ve been focusing, getting into the groove, or anything else. The kicker for me was at the end when Jaxon is missing and found “with a sharp stick in his hand” as the building he’s in is being demo’d. I THOUGHT HE’D BEEN IMPALED! How about saying he was holding a sharp stick?!
This is kind of petty, but the words maelstrom and flow were so over used. I started to think “the flow” was a ubiquitous term developers used, but no, it’s not. It could’ve been focusing, getting into the groove, or anything else. The kicker for me was at the end when Jaxon is missing and found “with a sharp stick in his hand” as the building he’s in is being demo’d. I THOUGHT HE’D BEEN IMPALED! How about saying he was holding a sharp stick?!
This was one that was simply just not for me.
It felt like neither of the MCs were relatable and fell flat. I really wanted to enjoy this, especially as our female MC was an engineer, so I hoped to get vibes similar to Ali Hazelwood’s romances, which I simply love. But it really didn’t. Their connection felt extremely forced.
Can’t love them all, oh well.
It felt like neither of the MCs were relatable and fell flat. I really wanted to enjoy this, especially as our female MC was an engineer, so I hoped to get vibes similar to Ali Hazelwood’s romances, which I simply love. But it really didn’t. Their connection felt extremely forced.
Can’t love them all, oh well.