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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
I was really enjoying the first half, but I took a few days off from reading and struggled to invest in the second half. Ali is a really interesting protagonist and I enjoyed her relationship with Cara. I was a little distracted by the 2005 setting because I kept trying to spot anachronisms — were people calling them selfies back then??
What really took me out of it wasAli’s big conversation with Dana. All of this tension builds up, and then the actual confrontation takes maybe two paragraphs and then they’re all resolved. Ali was acting… maybe a little *too* therapized and “every lesson has to be meaningful and correctly handled” by that point. and then the ending just sort of came on quickly.
It was cute though!!
What really took me out of it was
It was cute though!!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Y r sapphic books always so bad skdndkd
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-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
I appreciated having a romance set in the homophobic culture of Hollywood and the pressure on actors to stay closeted. But I didn’t enjoy the writing style, especially the really cringey dialogue throughout. It was hard to really enjoy the sorry with all the clunky prose and ridiculous utterances from the main characters. It’s a shame because this could have been amazing, but instead it’s just disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the topic (bearding and coming out in Hollywood) but the writing was just a little too cheesy for me, unfortunately. I did pump my fist in the air in pure joy at the ending though, which was so cute.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
well that was mediocre bordering on bad 👍🏻
however, i did like ali’s personal growth and the moral of that story. the blacking out of closeted celebrities’ names felt like a kind of cool craft choice.
the writing was not great and not very believable. it felt very empty. i didn’t feel any of the emotions in the writing and it didn’t feel true. i feel like ali and cara caught feelings soo quickly, and despite the book being ~340 pages long, it didn’t feel like there was enough development. there were quite a few cringy moments, and every conflict felt like it wrapped up so smoothly and quickly. and then ali and namisa just created their own PR firm and it worked out?? immediately?
the blind item at the end adds important context/reasoning that i think people should read. personally, i do not give a fuck if people speculate if taylor swift is gay (bc i’ve done it too.) my beef w the book is completely unrelated to speculation.
however, i did like ali’s personal growth and the moral of that story. the blacking out of closeted celebrities’ names felt like a kind of cool craft choice.
the writing was not great and not very believable. it felt very empty. i didn’t feel any of the emotions in the writing and it didn’t feel true. i feel like ali and cara caught feelings soo quickly, and despite the book being ~340 pages long, it didn’t feel like there was enough development. there were quite a few cringy moments, and every conflict felt like it wrapped up so smoothly and quickly. and then ali and namisa just created their own PR firm and it worked out?? immediately?
the blind item at the end adds important context/reasoning that i think people should read. personally, i do not give a fuck if people speculate if taylor swift is gay (bc i’ve done it too.) my beef w the book is completely unrelated to speculation.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this so badly but it was just awful 🫣. The dialogue was unbelievable, bordering on unreadable. It tried to cover so many different issues - neglect, sexual assault, homophobia, PTSD, but did not do so with thoughtfulness or caring. Don’t recommend unfortunately!
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
set in 2005, i really enjoyed the nostalgia, but being able to note some anachronisms made me feel old 😅
overall, it was a fine book with a fun premise, but i don't expect much of it to stick with me.
overall, it was a fine book with a fun premise, but i don't expect much of it to stick with me.