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missmarisolnyc's review
4.0
Two things can be true at once. For instance, I enjoyed the time I spent with this book, but I am also really disappointed with how it ended.
Leesa Cross-Smith's prose is gorgeous. I fell in love with Paris and I was enchanted by how Vincent got to spend her days. Who wouldn't to live in a beautiful apartment and go for walks and create art and have fabulous dinner parties and hot sex with a young, sexy man? It's ideal in every way. I love the playlists. I love the creative writing prompts. I love that there is a black female protagonist with an incredible, successful and well-off family and they all love and support each other in their respective artistic endeavors.
Her husband's betrayal is unacceptable. Keeping that kind of a secret for that long and then releasing a book about it without talking to her? Unfathomable. However, it seems that their relationship otherwise is extremely healthy. They communicate well. The love is deep and abiding. I understand her reaction to flee the country and create emotional and physical distance. But as Cillian says, he can't be punished forever.
I don't think every story needs to have a neatly tied bow conclusion, but this ending fell flat compared to the first three-quarters of the novel. Instead of providing us something that honored her journey, I was left feeling like Vincent was an indecisive narcissist who would spend the rest of her life navel-gazing. I feel like every character deserved better in the end.
Leesa Cross-Smith's prose is gorgeous. I fell in love with Paris and I was enchanted by how Vincent got to spend her days. Who wouldn't to live in a beautiful apartment and go for walks and create art and have fabulous dinner parties and hot sex with a young, sexy man? It's ideal in every way. I love the playlists. I love the creative writing prompts. I love that there is a black female protagonist with an incredible, successful and well-off family and they all love and support each other in their respective artistic endeavors.
Her husband's betrayal is unacceptable. Keeping that kind of a secret for that long and then releasing a book about it without talking to her? Unfathomable. However, it seems that their relationship otherwise is extremely healthy. They communicate well. The love is deep and abiding. I understand her reaction to flee the country and create emotional and physical distance. But as Cillian says, he can't be punished forever.
I don't think every story needs to have a neatly tied bow conclusion, but this ending fell flat compared to the first three-quarters of the novel. Instead of providing us something that honored her journey, I was left feeling like Vincent was an indecisive narcissist who would spend the rest of her life navel-gazing. I feel like every character deserved better in the end.
aktunmore's review
2.0
Just finished, read a few other reviews and the other negative ones seem to have the same issues I did with the book.
I just could not get on board with the main female character (Vincent) and what seemed an over reaction to her husband's secret. She was apparently upset about a lie in his past and then the book is nothing but her lying to her family and friends about her present. There is also almost never a situation where I'm going to like a character that cheats on a marriage.
Beyond that, the book felt a bit pretentious and like name dropping, but with places in Europe. It felt unnecessary to the story. I just couldn't find anything in common with any of the characters. Almost everyone was artsy, well-off (aka wealthy enough not to have to worry about real jobs), and high brow. I wouldn't be friends with these characters if it was real life, so it's not surprising I didn't like them in the novel. Lastly, I've been to Paris and it's lovely and I love reading about it, but it's still just a place in the world. There are many wonderful places but I can't imagine being so tied to one or so in love with a location like Vincent is in the book.
Writing was good. But this just wasn't the book for me.
I just could not get on board with the main female character (Vincent) and what seemed an over reaction to her husband's secret. She was apparently upset about a lie in his past and then the book is nothing but her lying to her family and friends about her present. There is also almost never a situation where I'm going to like a character that cheats on a marriage.
Beyond that, the book felt a bit pretentious and like name dropping, but with places in Europe. It felt unnecessary to the story. I just couldn't find anything in common with any of the characters. Almost everyone was artsy, well-off (aka wealthy enough not to have to worry about real jobs), and high brow. I wouldn't be friends with these characters if it was real life, so it's not surprising I didn't like them in the novel. Lastly, I've been to Paris and it's lovely and I love reading about it, but it's still just a place in the world. There are many wonderful places but I can't imagine being so tied to one or so in love with a location like Vincent is in the book.
Writing was good. But this just wasn't the book for me.
runningonwords415's review
2.0
Too drawn out and unforgettable. The audio was super annoying because of the reputation in multiple chapters… I thought maybe my version was glitching. After checking my physical copy, it looks like a better book to be read than listened (the accents were also challenging). Overall, meh.
thelily_library's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A very raw, relatable look at relationships and the human experience. Love/hate relationship with all the characters honestly! This book was very interesting, it was simple in a sense, but oh so complex and reflective.
themaritimereader14's review
3.0
I really, really loved This Close to Okay despite some mixed reviews from friends. I should have absolutely done a bit more reading about what this book was about before I started it though because the infidelity storyline (even if it is grey as in this book) does not typically work for me and something about it just rankled me at times EVEN AT THE SAME TIME as I was loving the writing and the prose and the chemistry with the new partner.
Overall, I would say I really appreciated some of this writing, and found the story well-told at times, but the ending of this book absolutely did not work for me and it did not satisfy me as a reader - from reviews I can tell I am not alone in that feeling but it was still a bit of a bummer.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the advanced listening copy of this book. I will still continue to check out this author but this book just didn't work for me as well as I had hoped it might.
Overall, I would say I really appreciated some of this writing, and found the story well-told at times, but the ending of this book absolutely did not work for me and it did not satisfy me as a reader - from reviews I can tell I am not alone in that feeling but it was still a bit of a bummer.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the advanced listening copy of this book. I will still continue to check out this author but this book just didn't work for me as well as I had hoped it might.
kngiordano's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this.
The strong female lead who is focusing on finding herself and not apologizing for putting herself first is a character I SHOULD love, but I could not love Vincent. She was so unlikeable.
The setting in Paris is beautiful and romantic, and I did love the family relationships between Vincent, her parents, and her siblings. The story itself is interesting, and I wanted to know what happened and how it ended.
But the ending was the worst. Absolutely no satisfaction, no closure, no epilogue. I hate feeling like I was left hanging by a book, and that’s exactly how I feel.
The strong female lead who is focusing on finding herself and not apologizing for putting herself first is a character I SHOULD love, but I could not love Vincent. She was so unlikeable.
The setting in Paris is beautiful and romantic, and I did love the family relationships between Vincent, her parents, and her siblings. The story itself is interesting, and I wanted to know what happened and how it ended.
But the ending was the worst. Absolutely no satisfaction, no closure, no epilogue. I hate feeling like I was left hanging by a book, and that’s exactly how I feel.
lulureads365's review
3.0
Beautifully written, but our protagonist, who claims to be upset over a lie (by omission) about something that happened before she even met her husband, spends the entire book lying by omission about the things she’s currently doing. I feel like she just used her husband’s issue as an excuse to go to Paris and create a new life for herself. She wasn’t likable at all and came across as a master manipulator.
mbarbieri's review
3.0
This book was okay, but it took me WAY too long to read. It wasn't even about being interested in the story or that I didn't want to pick it up, it just made me fall asleep every single time! I was much more invested in the Vincent/Cillian/Loup love triangle than I was in any of the Tully drama, but without Tully, we wouldn't be in Paris I guess. I don't think this will be a book that sticks with me.