Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Deal

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

42 reviews

girlgetsbook's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

1.0

This is the worst book I've ever read and I feel like I lost all my brain cells reading it, it's just full to the brim with misogyny and sexism and there's even a sprinkle of homophobia there as well, and to make matters worse most of the misogyny comes from the main female character, she just constantly is putting other women down, being a not like other girls girl and playing into harmful and sexist stereotypes. Aside from that the writing was like the worst wattpad fanfiction you could find, I'm convinced people who recommend this are joking about liking it because there's no way this book is so beloved by so many people, let alone by women. It has some heavy topics sprinkled out that no one warned me about and it really is jarring to see them in the story in juxtaposition with the silly writing that tries to be sexy all the time. Overall I had more fun reading through my notes (because I've spent three months reading this book) than actually reading the book.

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adinadragos's review against another edition

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slow-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

A colossal waste of time full of casual misogyny, slut-shaming and flat characters.

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jelavision's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

Certain parts of the book I enjoyed while other parts I disliked. I think the author did a well enough job with the heavier topics in the book. Other parts, like the constant sexist comments, I hated. Hannah and Garrett had great bantering chemistry, which made me root for them. I felt the book had a stronger start and middle but ended lacklusterly.

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lifeofchrstnlvly's review

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don't know how you ever lived without them.

I started reading an e-book copy of this book around a year ago. Around the 80% mark, I couldn't finish it since I was enjoying it too much I wanted to read a physical copy. So I stopped. Last Christmas, my husband gifted me the entire off-campus series so I was really excited to read (and finish) it again.

I still love Garrett. He's still my book boyfriend even after reading a lot of romance books last year. You can't deny he had some character improvement (or at least he was on his way to becoming a better man) by the end of the book. As for Hannah, she was still a meh character for me mainly because she was a pushover.

It was a refreshing and enjoyable read. You can breeze through this book since the writing was easy to understand (perfect for those whose English is not their first language). EK knows how to make you swoon... and she definitely knows how to write smut.

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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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zc2's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I hate his father end of story.

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mrselaineskinner's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

3.5

I've read this series multiple times. It's sort of like comfort food for me. Is the writing stellar? No, but it's better than most NA college romances that I have tried. Is it super unique? No, but I really like the characters. Hannah is smart and driven. Garrett is a good guy who happens to be hot. They make me laugh and I can totally see them together. Their romance is sweet and fun. My only issue was Garret's opinion that Hannah's music taste was eclectic (implying it's unique and therefore Hannah is unique) and then listing a bunch of well known bands and singers. I felt embarrassed for both of them.

Sometimes NA and YA authors try to hard to make their characters cool and unique. I call that the "I'm different than other girls/guys" trope. Luckily Elle Kennedy doesn't fall victim to this to much and that's why I like her books so much. Her characters are believable men and women with a few quirks. You just have to overlook the whole "she's plain and hot at the same time! Why didn't I notice until now!" trope.

These are somethings that I have minor issues with but A LOT of other readers seem to hate:

Lots of comments like “Again, because I’m a guy". Apparently that means a naked woman in your bed means you have no option but to have sex. Hannah is described as pretty but not “Victoria Secret model” material but everyone starts to notice how hot she is as soon as Garrett does. How does that work exactly? Garret won’t take no for answer when Hannah says she won’t tutor him. He actually think “It’s time to turn up the pressure.” He pesters her endlessly, shows up at her work, and just badgers her. In real life that shit is toxic and not romantic. Fictional Garett would have been horrified if a woman had told him “Your behavior isn’t appropriate and you’re scaring me.” I have no doubt he would never bother her again unless it was to apologize one more time. Knowing that he was indeed a good guy acting stupid made it easy for me to let it go. Seriously though, stop portraying men as romantic and sexy when they won’t take no for an answer! Romanticizing toxic behavior that needs to stop for the sake of both men and women.

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capucapulet's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

The internalized misogyny was really difficult to read but in my opinion, it had at least the decency to not pretend the main character was a feminist (contrary to The Chase). However the obsession with gender still bothered me, i kind of felt like i was in a sjm novel (not in a good way). Really not a fan of the way sexual assault was handled in this book but i guess it could have been worse.. i still think we shouldn't mix SA with romance (at least not in that way). Since i only read this one and The Chase, i can only say that the main guy (Garett or something) was not disrespectful as the guy from The Chase (can't remember his name). The writing wasn't good, a bit cringey and immature but not THAT bad (i mean i was able to finish it). A bit long and boring at times but overall i didn't hate it, i just found it bad.

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haddy's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

Good parts- was quite funny in places, had some deeper themes, liked the partnership between Hannah and garret in the end

Bad parts- heavily misogynistic, from both POVs (Garret not seeing any girl as a human being, just as a sexual object, even Hannah when they’re just ‘friends’ he still comments about her body all the time. Minor

Omg and when garret says Hannah shouldn’t stay on his couch in case one of his friends comes home drunk and gropes her. Wtf?? And she just laughs it off and isn’t affected by that?? SO gross.

Hannah deffo has internalised misogyny, constantly saying how she’s better than other girls etc. she’s a bit of a Mary Jane as well which was annoying ).
-I don’t think the darker themes were particularly well written. I’m glad they were in there but I feel like it was all very surface level. Hannah had this massive trauma, needed therapy for years but now is suddenly ‘fixed’ & no longer needs a therapist?? Not how it works!
-the whole ‘deal’ part was completely unnecessary

he could have just offered her tuition that she needed to see her parents at thanksgiving/Christmas.

The whole fake dating thing was barely there and honestly felt like it was going to go in a completely different direction but the author got side tracked and didn’t really have a plan.
-Hannah was a hypocrite and v unfair to some characters

MJ. She was manipulated but Hannah blamed her over cas?? RUDE

-wasn’t particularly well written.

It was okay.. easy read but v predictable and had a lot of issues.
Also (v random but)

was anyone else shipping dex and Logan? Was a v heteronormative book so didn’t expect it to happen but thought it would have been cute

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culzean's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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