Reviews

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

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beeofthebooks's review against another edition

2.0

The concept of this book was something that really interested me and had a lot of potential to be great, but the execution was so incredibly disappointing.

Neither of the main characters were particularly pleasant to read about.

April was insipid, at best. She was overly defensive of her weight, often when she had no reason to be, to the point where it was the majority of her character. She made unnecessary leaps to insults that weren't spoken or intended. She made every interaction about her and her weight. She was inappropriate, childish and obstinate, none of which make for a good character. She made Marcus climb over himself to apologise for things that he had no business apologising for. She was the same deeply unpleasant character at the end of the book as she was at the start. There was zero development. If anything, there was a negative progression, and she got worse.

Marcus was barely any better. His characterization made next to no sense. A man in his position would not have so little self worth at his age that he would let an insecure fan bully him like April did. He wasn't quite so insufferable as she, and by the end he at least had a small amount of personal development. But that wasn't enough to save his character. He did provide my favourite quite of the book "Insistence alone couldn't transform reality."

And, indeed, that quote holds true, as the insistence this book shoves down our throats about these two characters working together just couldn't transform the reality that they just dont. Their interactions were disjointed, badly paced and do not read like the interactions of two people in their thirties.

The plot was unsatisfying and the villain of the book's plot didnt have any interaction with either main characters. To me, April was honestly th villain of the book. The plot seemed to happen in a different space than the main characters. They were so involved in each other that nothing outside of each other existed, which was a shame. The book would have been infinitely better if Alex was featured more, or his relationship with Lauren explored in any capacity.

The only reason this book didn't get one star was because occasionally it acknowledged the poor choices it and its characters made in an almost mature way. That wasn't enough to save the book, but it was enough to drag it out of the depths of book hatred, and keep it from getting a DNF.

I would not read this book again, and I have no intentions of recommending it to anyone.

Favourite Quote:
"Insistence alone couldn't transform reality." Marcus

mafiaprincess19's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

imma_koi's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

It was nice.
I like how Olivias' characters are always relatable.✨

cr88's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-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

5.0

fransbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

alongobongo's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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

3.5

ahsokasbookshelf's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall I really liked this book. It was a fluffy romcom that was cute and entertaining and had the right amount of steam. I found the characters likable, the romantic tension was top notch, and I loved seeing a plus size lead! Was the premise of a Hollywood celebrity dating a super fan from the fandom a bit far fetched? You bet. But that personally does not bother me as it added to the fun of the story. I got major Notting Hill vibes from this book, which was super fun!

The cons: I think ultimately this book couldn’t decide how to incorporate some of its heavier emotional themes like the parental relationship issues and the fatphobia. I LOVE seeing a confident plus size lead, but I feel that some of April’s confidence was undercut by how severely and frequently she seemed to react to triggers (some of which were just basic miscommunications that could have been cleared up with a conversation). While April made it clear that she wanted to be loved not despite her body, or because of it, but rather for who she is, the narration often focused on her body size as a complication to their love story. As a plus size person myself, I can absolutely see how for some it could feel incomplete to tell this story without addressing the character’s body type differences and the fatphobia that would come with dating someone in the public eye. But for me it was a little too much. I already know that many people are unkind to those in larger bodies, and so I just don’t want to read about it in my escapism-feel-good-romcoms.

Content Warnings