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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Sometimes I wish I had my life so chaotically organized as Ava has her life. She plans her life into 30 minute units, like come on. This book starts off sad: Ava is still mourning her girlfriend’s death and is consumed by her work. She has one work friend whose friendship doesn’t extend outside of work. That is, until her new boss, Mat, comes in with a “motivate through positivity” attitude and takes a shine to Ava. While an unlikely friendship (and romance), it was a sweet buildup that even blinded me to how weird it was. But just like a honeymoon phase ends, so did this relationship crumble and all its ugly parts came out. Important to note: the ugliness came from Mat and not the relationship he forged with Ava. This book became a thriller within a matter of pages with a satisfying, little plot twist that was so rewarding (and a bit sad) to see come together.
Wish we got to see Ava open up more with her work friend, whose name keeps escaping me. But she also wasn’t a great work friend. Did we like Ava? Yeah, probably.
I will say, I didn’t enjoy the way Ava’s sexuality was referred to. I don’t remember if they labeled it but it gave off the impression of either or. When Ava is with a women, they visit the idea that she still wants to be with men, which valid, and then that lead into a very specific fantasy, also fine. But then when with a man, they visited the idea of will you leave me for a woman and depicted her past as performative and for the male gaze. There was a specific preoccupation that Ava just had to choose women or men, and not just exist in her bisexuality (again not labeled).
Wish we got to see Ava open up more with her work friend, whose name keeps escaping me. But she also wasn’t a great work friend. Did we like Ava? Yeah, probably.
I will say, I didn’t enjoy the way Ava’s sexuality was referred to. I don’t remember if they labeled it but it gave off the impression of either or. When Ava is with a women, they visit the idea that she still wants to be with men, which valid, and then that lead into a very specific fantasy, also fine. But then when with a man, they visited the idea of will you leave me for a woman and depicted her past as performative and for the male gaze. There was a specific preoccupation that Ava just had to choose women or men, and not just exist in her bisexuality (again not labeled).
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It starts as a slow burn, but turns into a very gripping story on grief and forgiveness with some unexpected elements of corporate greed and male fragility.
Great book!
Part way through I congratulated myself on figuring out some spoilers and was a little disappointed to have done so. But as the story went on, there turned out to be many more layers involved. In the end, things were much more than I’d put together. I wasn’t wrong but the picture was more complex. All in all, a good story and different from most I’ve read.
Def. recommend.
Part way through I congratulated myself on figuring out some spoilers and was a little disappointed to have done so. But as the story went on, there turned out to be many more layers involved. In the end, things were much more than I’d put together. I wasn’t wrong but the picture was more complex. All in all, a good story and different from most I’ve read.
Def. recommend.
Parts of this were hilarious. And the end was legit creepy. Watching Avas relationship with Mat unfold was suspenseful in the best possible way. So good to have a multitude of people represented. Wish I had a Jessie in my life!
Been awhile since I couldn’t put down a book! A twist I was not expecting, though sensing something was definitely wrong. Great characters and a happy ending. Not much more you can ask for.
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The first half of the book indicated I was going through a story about loss and grief and learning to open yourself up again after a horrible accident takes away your loved ones. The second half takes a weird turn into psychological thriller territory and not very convincingly, in my opinion. A lot of the twists are incredibly bizarre and unbelievable for me so I ended up with three stars. A solid start but lost its way.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wild ride