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lurker_stalker's review against another edition
4.0
After such a good experience with [b:Serendipity|61439347|Serendipity|Kris Bryant|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657789771l/61439347._SY75_.jpg|96972009], I decided to find another Bryant book to read. And then I remembered that I had Forever in my TBR from NetGalley. I'm a mood reader so sometimes it takes me a long time to be in the right mental space to read certain books. I stop and start books a lot...
Full disclosure: I've never watched any of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows because I don't care for the idea of a bunch of people vying for the attention/affection of a single person in such a way. It makes me feel bad for the group of folks who are competing for that one person. And all of my bad feelings about those shows came out while reading Forever. But the relationship between Lauren and Savannah was a nice journey and made all the other stuff worth it. They had good chemistry and their interactions felt genuine and drew me in.
I almost forgot to mention that I nearly quit reading the book immediately because it's done in first person POV and I wasn't really feeling it. (mood reader, remember? Anything could set me off...) and while I do wish I had gotten more of Lauren's side of things, Savannah did a fine job. I'm glad I took a breath and kept on going.
I'm discovering with each of Bryant's books that she has a knack for capturing the essence of her characters. They feel real, the interact in realistic ways, and they make me want to get to know them and cheer for them. And miss them when I'm done with the story.
I'd go 3.5 if Goodreads allowed it but rounding up because I enjoyed Lauren and Savannah so much.
Big thanks to BSB and NetGalley for helping to feed my addiction.
Full disclosure: I've never watched any of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows because I don't care for the idea of a bunch of people vying for the attention/affection of a single person in such a way. It makes me feel bad for the group of folks who are competing for that one person. And all of my bad feelings about those shows came out while reading Forever. But the relationship between Lauren and Savannah was a nice journey and made all the other stuff worth it. They had good chemistry and their interactions felt genuine and drew me in.
I almost forgot to mention that I nearly quit reading the book immediately because it's done in first person POV and I wasn't really feeling it. (mood reader, remember? Anything could set me off...) and while I do wish I had gotten more of Lauren's side of things, Savannah did a fine job. I'm glad I took a breath and kept on going.
I'm discovering with each of Bryant's books that she has a knack for capturing the essence of her characters. They feel real, the interact in realistic ways, and they make me want to get to know them and cheer for them. And miss them when I'm done with the story.
I'd go 3.5 if Goodreads allowed it but rounding up because I enjoyed Lauren and Savannah so much.
Big thanks to BSB and NetGalley for helping to feed my addiction.
fawpsmom's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
jennabeebs79's review against another edition
4.0
This book had such an interesting concept…reality show star falls for reality show host during filming. This was definitely a no-no on so many levels. I just couldn’t help but root for Savannah and Lauren from their first meeting. I truly enjoyed this book so much, from the witty dialogue to the cringe worthy reality show stereotypes to the chemistry between our two mains. Kris Bryant has written another winner!
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
khylabevibin's review against another edition
4.0
Ten years ago, Savannah Edwards was a contestant on a lesbian dating show. She fell in love and got dumped on national television. When she’s invited to be the next bachelorette for the ten-year anniversary show the last thing she expected was to be the heartbreaker. Enter Lauren Lucas, the host and producer of the show who saved it from cancellation and revamped it into the hit show it is. Also struggling with a non-existent love life, it's no shock that these two are drawn together.
Forever by Kris Bryant is certainly an entertaining read, at times giving off the vibes of a telenovela and at others the lightness of an LMN rom-com. This also means it's not for everyone.
I'm quickly realizing that fluffy light, comedic and drama centred books aren't really my thing. By default, any books about reality tv fall into that section so I think I'm gonna stray away from this genre.
Nevertheless, this was a fine read! Though not very fulfilling and I'm slightly shocked at the lack of sexiness we normally get with Kris Bryant.
Savannah and Lauren were a cute pair but I found myself preferring Savannah with Alix, the non-binary-tattooed- sexy- smooth talking contestant on the show. This obviously wasn't the intent, maybe it's because Lauren and Savannah didn't really have any chemistry through their first meeting so it kind of left me on a blank slate with them whereas Alix immediately puts on their best charm in an attempt to swoon Savannah.
But this doesn't mean that I didn't like Lauren and Savannah together, in the end, I didn't mind it.
So I do recommend this if you're looking for a light read!
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
(Let me know if there are any errors in this review I'm kind of multitasking lol)
Forever by Kris Bryant is certainly an entertaining read, at times giving off the vibes of a telenovela and at others the lightness of an LMN rom-com. This also means it's not for everyone.
I'm quickly realizing that fluffy light, comedic and drama centred books aren't really my thing. By default, any books about reality tv fall into that section so I think I'm gonna stray away from this genre.
Nevertheless, this was a fine read! Though not very fulfilling and I'm slightly shocked at the lack of sexiness we normally get with Kris Bryant.
Savannah and Lauren were a cute pair but I found myself preferring Savannah with Alix, the non-binary-tattooed- sexy- smooth talking contestant on the show. This obviously wasn't the intent, maybe it's because Lauren and Savannah didn't really have any chemistry through their first meeting so it kind of left me on a blank slate with them whereas Alix immediately puts on their best charm in an attempt to swoon Savannah.
But this doesn't mean that I didn't like Lauren and Savannah together, in the end, I didn't mind it.
So I do recommend this if you're looking for a light read!
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
(Let me know if there are any errors in this review I'm kind of multitasking lol)
kburns2004's review against another edition
3.0
While I did like the fact there wasn't a ton of angst and the main characters communicated like healthy adults, this one was just so repetitive and I didn't feel a ton of chemistry.
00leah00's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
chainynkr's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fun! I loved the idea of a dating show, and I won’t spoil it but I loved the result! The main characters were well crafted, people I’d like to know. An enjoyable read
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
2.0
Forever by Kris Bryant: 2/5 stars
I was really excited about this one. I don't watch The Bachelor/ette, but I've been enjoying romances centered around reality shows. However, I could not get into this book at all, primarily because of the blatant fatphobia.
"but I had a wardrobe to fit into"
"little soft in the middle, but my morning jogs helped keep me toned"
"pounds stick around longer than they did when I was in my twenties"
"I want to be able to fit into my dress, too"
"hard body like everyone else, but I had curves"
"I can't wait to work off all the carbs I ate"
First of all, it's 2022. You do not need to be a size 2 to be on a dating show. Second of all, if you're going to write about a character having curves or mention anyone being curvy, you need to be okay with the word "fat." D'Vaughn and Kris Plan A Wedding is a better sapphic example of how to write a progressive sapphic dating show story; Love & Other Disasters is a queer woman and an enby; and If the Shoe Fits is a non-queer m/f Bachelor-style dating show with a fat main character. All better options.
There was also some mild racism in here. Savannah plans an activity in the water, not thinking about the Black woman's (I think there was only one) hair. "I high-fived her because she had the adventurous spirit I was looking for." No, she's a Black woman who likely has had to deal with this kind of crap her whole life.
Also, the journalist-getting-hit-by-a-bomb-in-a-war-we-started narrative is old. If you're going to have someone get hurt overseas, make it from one of our military devices and acknowledge how much we've messed with other countries.
Finally, Savannah was boring. I didn't understand why any of the contestants wanted to date her. She also kept Ophelia on for no other reasons than her looks, from what I could tell.
Will not be recommending this one.
Arc provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited about this one. I don't watch The Bachelor/ette, but I've been enjoying romances centered around reality shows. However, I could not get into this book at all, primarily because of the blatant fatphobia.
"but I had a wardrobe to fit into"
"little soft in the middle, but my morning jogs helped keep me toned"
"pounds stick around longer than they did when I was in my twenties"
"I want to be able to fit into my dress, too"
"hard body like everyone else, but I had curves"
"I can't wait to work off all the carbs I ate"
First of all, it's 2022. You do not need to be a size 2 to be on a dating show. Second of all, if you're going to write about a character having curves or mention anyone being curvy, you need to be okay with the word "fat." D'Vaughn and Kris Plan A Wedding is a better sapphic example of how to write a progressive sapphic dating show story; Love & Other Disasters is a queer woman and an enby; and If the Shoe Fits is a non-queer m/f Bachelor-style dating show with a fat main character. All better options.
There was also some mild racism in here. Savannah plans an activity in the water, not thinking about the Black woman's (I think there was only one) hair. "I high-fived her because she had the adventurous spirit I was looking for." No, she's a Black woman who likely has had to deal with this kind of crap her whole life.
Also, the journalist-getting-hit-by-a-bomb-in-a-war-we-started narrative is old. If you're going to have someone get hurt overseas, make it from one of our military devices and acknowledge how much we've messed with other countries.
Finally, Savannah was boring. I didn't understand why any of the contestants wanted to date her. She also kept Ophelia on for no other reasons than her looks, from what I could tell.
Will not be recommending this one.
Arc provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
obsidian_orbital_rebellion's review
2.0
Disclaimer: I've never been one to watch reality TV shows about dating, but I've consumed quite a number of harem anime and manga years ago. Given that, I felt like there were simply too many women on too few pages for me to feel a connection with any of them - even the potential winners (and the actual one).
Savannah felt like a villain, which I have zero qualms with. However, I wanted her journey to feel more agonizing, and I was fully expecting her to, at one point, look in the mirror and see a deeper parallel to her previous experience as someone on the other side of the show.
Unfortunately, the internal turmoil in Savannah was overshadowed by how convenient the systematical takedown of every competitor to the eventual winner was made for her. She was given fortunate outs to eliminate practically everyone - even the frontrunner. I was hoping for that specific decision to be more excruciating, not just for Savannah to make, but also for me to read about. It was difficult for me to empathize with her.
I also want to bring attention the difficulty I had following the dialogue at some points. Some lines were delivered in the middle or end of paragraphs of significant length, and the lack of markers like "I said" or "X said" had me backtracking to the previous paragraphs to confirm who had just spoken. Some of these paragraphs were also about Savannah narrating an interaction with the other character, which added to the confusion. Definitely detracted from the reading experience.
Savannah felt like a villain, which I have zero qualms with. However, I wanted her journey to feel more agonizing, and I was fully expecting her to, at one point, look in the mirror and see a deeper parallel to her previous experience as someone on the other side of the show.
Unfortunately, the internal turmoil in Savannah was overshadowed by how convenient the systematical takedown of every competitor to the eventual winner was made for her. She was given fortunate outs to eliminate practically everyone - even the frontrunner. I was hoping for that specific decision to be more excruciating, not just for Savannah to make, but also for me to read about. It was difficult for me to empathize with her.
I also want to bring attention the difficulty I had following the dialogue at some points. Some lines were delivered in the middle or end of paragraphs of significant length, and the lack of markers like "I said" or "X said" had me backtracking to the previous paragraphs to confirm who had just spoken. Some of these paragraphs were also about Savannah narrating an interaction with the other character, which added to the confusion. Definitely detracted from the reading experience.
tseyi's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5