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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This is the most unpopular opinion in the history of the world.
This opinion is so unpopular that even I’m like “wow, this must be wrong,” and it’s MY opinion.
In fact, I strongly advise you to stop reading now, because it’s clear that I am incorrect, and me myself and I will stay over here in the dunce corner and write a review just for ourselves.
Sound good?
...
Okay, now that everyone’s gone.
I often have the same issue with feminist young adult books, where I feel like everything in the book that isn’t the feminist plot falls by the wayside. Characters are undeveloped, relationships jump from place to place inexplicably, etc. And I definitely had that issue with this one.
This follows Kit Sweetly, a “serving wench” (yes, for real) at a Medieval Times-type restaurant. She wants to be a knight, but girls (and all genders besides male) are not allowed. So this is four hundred-ish pages of her and some other employees fighting for their right to, well, fight.
(YOU GOTTA FIGHT. FOR YOUR RIGHT. TO...fight?)
This plotline would be more exciting if I were given a real reason to care about Kit’s role at the restaurant, but even the insight we’re given into the joint seems more bad than good. I mean, the patrons are mean, many of the co-workers are mean, the management is mean, the money is not great, Kit doesn’t even want to work there for much longer than a few years…
But hey, do you.
The best part of this book was the inclusion and representation. We get characters across gender and sexuality spectrums, an interracial relationship at the center, a budding F/F relationship on the sidelines...it’s nice.
The worst part of this book was that every little detail of our protagonist’s day was described. No time is skipped at all: every time she eats, pees, showers, watches TV, ANYTHING, we get full coverage.
It drags.
The romance also felt strange and rushed to me. Kit has a sudden-onset crush on her friend Jett, and throughout the entire story there is not a modicum of interest shown from him, but boom, at the end they kiss and one page later she calls him her boyfriend.
Again, do you, Kit.
There’s also a subplot in which Kit is an extremely bad friend, and it is never resolved!!! Her friends do EVERYTHING for her and she did nothing for them and also lied to them...but they all live happily ever after.
All this is a bummer, because I really liked what this set out to do. I don’t think this is a bad book, and I think great things will come from this author. It’s heartfelt and coming from a good place. This just feels...unfinished.
Bottom line: THIS OPINION IS WRONG AND NO ONE SHOULD BE READING IT. But...this was not for me.
-----------------
trying not to think too much about the fact that my very first read of the year was just a liiiittle bit disappointing.
review to come / 2.5 stars
-----------------
this book has everything:
cheesy medieval restaurant ✓
feminism ✓
lists ✓
banter ✓
friendship ✓
nerding out over history ✓
the cutest cover i've ever seen in my life ✓
i am ready to read.
thanks to the publisher for the ARC
This opinion is so unpopular that even I’m like “wow, this must be wrong,” and it’s MY opinion.
In fact, I strongly advise you to stop reading now, because it’s clear that I am incorrect, and me myself and I will stay over here in the dunce corner and write a review just for ourselves.
Sound good?
...
Okay, now that everyone’s gone.
I often have the same issue with feminist young adult books, where I feel like everything in the book that isn’t the feminist plot falls by the wayside. Characters are undeveloped, relationships jump from place to place inexplicably, etc. And I definitely had that issue with this one.
This follows Kit Sweetly, a “serving wench” (yes, for real) at a Medieval Times-type restaurant. She wants to be a knight, but girls (and all genders besides male) are not allowed. So this is four hundred-ish pages of her and some other employees fighting for their right to, well, fight.
(YOU GOTTA FIGHT. FOR YOUR RIGHT. TO...fight?)
This plotline would be more exciting if I were given a real reason to care about Kit’s role at the restaurant, but even the insight we’re given into the joint seems more bad than good. I mean, the patrons are mean, many of the co-workers are mean, the management is mean, the money is not great, Kit doesn’t even want to work there for much longer than a few years…
But hey, do you.
The best part of this book was the inclusion and representation. We get characters across gender and sexuality spectrums, an interracial relationship at the center, a budding F/F relationship on the sidelines...it’s nice.
The worst part of this book was that every little detail of our protagonist’s day was described. No time is skipped at all: every time she eats, pees, showers, watches TV, ANYTHING, we get full coverage.
It drags.
The romance also felt strange and rushed to me. Kit has a sudden-onset crush on her friend Jett, and throughout the entire story there is not a modicum of interest shown from him, but boom, at the end they kiss and one page later she calls him her boyfriend.
Again, do you, Kit.
There’s also a subplot in which Kit is an extremely bad friend, and it is never resolved!!! Her friends do EVERYTHING for her and she did nothing for them and also lied to them...but they all live happily ever after.
All this is a bummer, because I really liked what this set out to do. I don’t think this is a bad book, and I think great things will come from this author. It’s heartfelt and coming from a good place. This just feels...unfinished.
Bottom line: THIS OPINION IS WRONG AND NO ONE SHOULD BE READING IT. But...this was not for me.
-----------------
trying not to think too much about the fact that my very first read of the year was just a liiiittle bit disappointing.
review to come / 2.5 stars
-----------------
this book has everything:
cheesy medieval restaurant ✓
feminism ✓
lists ✓
banter ✓
friendship ✓
nerding out over history ✓
the cutest cover i've ever seen in my life ✓
i am ready to read.
thanks to the publisher for the ARC
Enjoyable, but just ok. The Medieval Times-esque plot was fun and unique, but the story did start to drag.
3.75
This was super cute and I loved how diverse the friend group was. Bonus points for the mention of A Knight's Tale.
There was SO much build-up to the tournament but when it finally arrived, it happened so fast. I think there were maybe 3-4 pages actually spent on it? It was way too rushed. I had been looking forward to it being epic and super descriptive but my expectations weren't met at all.
There were quite a few plot points that were brought into the story but never fully developed or resolved (financial struggles, family relationships, Kit being a bad friend, etc). While the setting of the book brought something new to the table, the story itself could have benefited from fully fleshed out ideas.
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the setting and the overall message of this story. The chapters were short and made it super easy to fly through. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author writes next!
This was super cute and I loved how diverse the friend group was. Bonus points for the mention of A Knight's Tale.
There was SO much build-up to the tournament but when it finally arrived, it happened so fast. I think there were maybe 3-4 pages actually spent on it? It was way too rushed. I had been looking forward to it being epic and super descriptive but my expectations weren't met at all.
There were quite a few plot points that were brought into the story but never fully developed or resolved (financial struggles, family relationships, Kit being a bad friend, etc). While the setting of the book brought something new to the table, the story itself could have benefited from fully fleshed out ideas.
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the setting and the overall message of this story. The chapters were short and made it super easy to fly through. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author writes next!
4.25 stars ✨
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happy publication day to this heart warming, vivacious and endearing of a YA that promises to smash patriarchy and absolutely does so
⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️
happy publication day to this heart warming, vivacious and endearing of a YA that promises to smash patriarchy and absolutely does so
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.
3.5 ⭐️
I was so excited to read this and while I enjoyed it I have to admit that there were just some parts I didn’t love.
But let’s start with what I liked:
The best part about this book is that it’s not only feminist but also really diverse. We’ve got trans, bi, non-binary, black, rich and poor characters and I just loved seeing that.
I also really appreciated Kit’s relationship with her older brother since many YA contemporaries just completely ignore siblings.
So we’ve got Kit’s fight for equality at her workplace, her friends, her brother and also normal teenager struggles like worrying about going off to college - you’d think that’s enough, right? I definitely would’ve thought so. However, there were several other subplots happening that all just felt very underdeveloped:
1) the romance. Kit has a crush on her best friend and I would’ve loved to see a cute friends to lovers romance but while I liked the love interest he really didn’t get enough time and their relationship just felt rushed and unnecessary.
2) Kit’s situation at home. Kit’s family is really poor and there’s tons of drama with her dad who’s a drug addict and who won’t divorce her mom - and all that just seemed to come out of nowhere? I would’ve appreciated a story about a family that struggles and that maybe can’t afford the college tuition for two kids - it’s definitely important to tell stories with main characters who don’t have everything handed to them but in this case I just thought that it didn’t add anything to the story and instead took away the focus of the story (gender equality). It also kinda felt exaggerated and hard to believe at times. One minute Kit goes on about how they can’t even afford to buy toilet paper or food most days and a couple chapters later her mom is talking about how she wants to safe up for a year so she can go on a trip to Asia. I’m sorry to break it to you but with two kids at college and debts you won’t be able to afford that anytime soon?!
And then what is beginning to become my biggest pet peeve in YA contemporary: the main character lied. All. The. Time. This is supposed to be a modern, feminist story and it really didn’t need such an outdated trope. Why can’t YA characters just tell the truth?!
I really loved the feminist message and the setting was fun (I quite enjoyed all of the geeky talk about the Middle Ages) but I think this book was trying to be too many things at the same time.
3.5 ⭐️
I was so excited to read this and while I enjoyed it I have to admit that there were just some parts I didn’t love.
But let’s start with what I liked:
The best part about this book is that it’s not only feminist but also really diverse. We’ve got trans, bi, non-binary, black, rich and poor characters and I just loved seeing that.
I also really appreciated Kit’s relationship with her older brother since many YA contemporaries just completely ignore siblings.
So we’ve got Kit’s fight for equality at her workplace, her friends, her brother and also normal teenager struggles like worrying about going off to college - you’d think that’s enough, right? I definitely would’ve thought so. However, there were several other subplots happening that all just felt very underdeveloped:
1) the romance. Kit has a crush on her best friend and I would’ve loved to see a cute friends to lovers romance but while I liked the love interest he really didn’t get enough time and their relationship just felt rushed and unnecessary.
2) Kit’s situation at home. Kit’s family is really poor and there’s tons of drama with her dad who’s a drug addict and who won’t divorce her mom - and all that just seemed to come out of nowhere? I would’ve appreciated a story about a family that struggles and that maybe can’t afford the college tuition for two kids - it’s definitely important to tell stories with main characters who don’t have everything handed to them but in this case I just thought that it didn’t add anything to the story and instead took away the focus of the story (gender equality). It also kinda felt exaggerated and hard to believe at times. One minute Kit goes on about how they can’t even afford to buy toilet paper or food most days and a couple chapters later her mom is talking about how she wants to safe up for a year so she can go on a trip to Asia. I’m sorry to break it to you but with two kids at college and debts you won’t be able to afford that anytime soon?!
And then what is beginning to become my biggest pet peeve in YA contemporary: the main character lied. All. The. Time. This is supposed to be a modern, feminist story and it really didn’t need such an outdated trope. Why can’t YA characters just tell the truth?!
I really loved the feminist message and the setting was fun (I quite enjoyed all of the geeky talk about the Middle Ages) but I think this book was trying to be too many things at the same time.
I loved the quirky cast of characters and my high school self would have been telling all her friends to read it.
This book was cute and fun, but not quite what I was hoping it would be. It had a lot of good discussion about archaic gender roles and great representation of what it is like to grow up in a house where you're living paycheck to paycheck, but the rest of the book honestly felt a little.. boring? The writing was pretty average and the plot didn't do anything especially fun or risky so everything just kind of fell a little flat. I feel like this book had an amazing premise but the book as whole didn't really live up to it and I am SAD.
took me ages to finish, but the end was cute.
only problem is how the entire book kits like “can’t kiss bff” and then they kiss and i don’t remember them talking abt their unbreakable rules that they JUST BROKE
also i had absolutely no reason to care about kit and her role at the job, and i understand that she needs the money and needs the job, but at some point she could’ve realized she could just get a different note well paying job. i mean, she’s 18 and a good student, so she could get hired plenty of places.
also the fact she lied to her friends who are helping her and the whole feminism line dragged on even more was so boring
only problem is how the entire book kits like “can’t kiss bff” and then they kiss and i don’t remember them talking abt their unbreakable rules that they JUST BROKE
also i had absolutely no reason to care about kit and her role at the job, and i understand that she needs the money and needs the job, but at some point she could’ve realized she could just get a different note well paying job. i mean, she’s 18 and a good student, so she could get hired plenty of places.
also the fact she lied to her friends who are helping her and the whole feminism line dragged on even more was so boring
Read my full review on teatimelit.com
I stumbled upon The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by happy accident one night when I was searching Scribd for a new audiobook (I am in no way affiliated with Scribd, but they get a shoutout because they’ve gotten me through quarantine) and I’m so glad that I found it! This book has a lot of things I really like – a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant (how many books have that), an intelligent and hardworking MC who also is all about dismissing gender roles, a sweet friends to lovers story, and lots of fun pop culture references.
I really enjoyed this book! I started the audiobook in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, and maybe ended up staying awake and got through just under half of it before finally telling myself to go to sleep and continue listening in the morning. Which, I did, and yes, I finished the book that evening. I thought that the writing flowed really nicely and was easy to follow.
With a book that’s main focus is clearly centered on feminism and equality, I think it would’ve been easy to get very white feminist with Kit’s characterization. I personally felt that the author did a great job of avoiding that. While yes, Kit definitely has her struggles (single mom working multiple jobs, a dad who took off and cleaned out the college funds for Kit and her brother, sometimes skipping meals and stealing toilet paper from restaurants because they didn’t have food or toilet paper at home), Kit does recognize her privilege because she is an able-bodied, white, cisgender woman. I think that it was important that she still acknowledged that with the struggles that she faces, her race is not a factor in any of those things.
Overall, I thought that The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly was a really fun read with a great message of standing up for yourself and others and pursuing your goals. I’ll for sure be checking out more of Jamie Pacton’s work in the future. A solid 3.5 star read.
I stumbled upon The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by happy accident one night when I was searching Scribd for a new audiobook (I am in no way affiliated with Scribd, but they get a shoutout because they’ve gotten me through quarantine) and I’m so glad that I found it! This book has a lot of things I really like – a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant (how many books have that), an intelligent and hardworking MC who also is all about dismissing gender roles, a sweet friends to lovers story, and lots of fun pop culture references.
I really enjoyed this book! I started the audiobook in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, and maybe ended up staying awake and got through just under half of it before finally telling myself to go to sleep and continue listening in the morning. Which, I did, and yes, I finished the book that evening. I thought that the writing flowed really nicely and was easy to follow.
With a book that’s main focus is clearly centered on feminism and equality, I think it would’ve been easy to get very white feminist with Kit’s characterization. I personally felt that the author did a great job of avoiding that. While yes, Kit definitely has her struggles (single mom working multiple jobs, a dad who took off and cleaned out the college funds for Kit and her brother, sometimes skipping meals and stealing toilet paper from restaurants because they didn’t have food or toilet paper at home), Kit does recognize her privilege because she is an able-bodied, white, cisgender woman. I think that it was important that she still acknowledged that with the struggles that she faces, her race is not a factor in any of those things.
Overall, I thought that The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly was a really fun read with a great message of standing up for yourself and others and pursuing your goals. I’ll for sure be checking out more of Jamie Pacton’s work in the future. A solid 3.5 star read.