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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This did not end at all as I was expecting. I didn’t know what it was about at all going in and was kind of bored by the first 50-60% but then it took a turn and I read the last third straight through.
My husband picked this book for me as a recent escapee from corporate America but the workplace in this story is not that but instead is exaggeratedly filled with, for example, a salty kitchen, a sweet kitchen and a wellness kitchen and with employees dressing by their personality color. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read but didn’t scratch the itch of wanting to enjoy some humor at the expense of my former work life.
I absolutely loved this, it has a wonderful light humour that eases the way into much darker depths. It really was unexpected in places and I will be recommending it to everyone.
Ava is lured out from behind her defences by the charming and charismatic Matt, and this starts as a lovely romantic fiction but develops into something quite different.
The product names throughout were a fabulous little extra detail.
Ava is lured out from behind her defences by the charming and charismatic Matt, and this starts as a lovely romantic fiction but develops into something quite different.
The product names throughout were a fabulous little extra detail.
At first I was having a hard time with this book because I found Mat Putnam to be insufferable and he pissed me off so much! But then I realized I was supposed to not like him because something suspicious was going on But I did like the office, corporate setting of STÄDA and I thought it was funny how it was like IKEA and all of the funny names for all of the products helped bring me into this world, where STÄDA is Ava’s world after, oh you know, everyone she loved died in a car crash! I feel so bad for Ava! I wish Ava wasn’t such a flaky friend to Jaime and I think he deserved better And then there’s the totally unexpected twist! Like what to you mean this small insufferable man killed avas family and fiancé in a hit and run car crash and then manipulated her into becoming his girlfriend so he’d feel less guilty about it?? That’s crazy! I don’t think there were any signs that could’ve pointed to him being the one responsible for the crash!! I mean they were pointing to him being shady and I always thought the mental health app was weird and read unprofessional and repetitive but I also didn’t think it was HIM being her therapist! Creepy! and although I liked the twist, how it was wrapped up was a little unclear and messy. Like did he die?? Am I stupid or is it up in the air what happened? Not expected from Ava’s character. She should’ve just turned him into the police, not trapped him in the box??
The moral of this book is: trust a gay man’s intuition.
Honestly the writing is fine but it’s not savage enough to be a good satire for me. The plot really falls apart towards the end where there are surprise plot twists that were really unsatisfying to me and didn’t make sense
Honestly the writing is fine but it’s not savage enough to be a good satire for me. The plot really falls apart towards the end where there are surprise plot twists that were really unsatisfying to me and didn’t make sense
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a pretty great read for me. I don't know how, but I totally didn't see the twist coming, so I appreciated that. I'd like another novel about the best friend's romance.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
I cannot believe how much I enjoyed this book, much more than I thought! The way the main twist was wrapped—neatly and in a Very Nice Box, indeed—took me out a bit, tho.
this is my petition to make all office romcom-thrillers (or whatever the hell this was) illegal.
the very nice box was such a weird book. the thing is: i get what the authors were trying to do. it just didn't work. like.. at all. this whole thing about how far self-optimisation can go? very fascinating. in theory. however, this was more like 300 pages filled with boring office romance, followed by the weirdest thriller-esque ending ever.
very nice? more like very disappointing
the very nice box was such a weird book. the thing is: i get what the authors were trying to do. it just didn't work. like.. at all. this whole thing about how far self-optimisation can go? very fascinating. in theory. however, this was more like 300 pages filled with boring office romance, followed by the weirdest thriller-esque ending ever.
very nice? more like very disappointing