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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
absolutely adored this. it felt like reading a cracked open heart. the yearning was intense. the writing was beautiful. totally enamoured with this, which was such a funny, sharp take on a publicity relationship between an actor and a playboy. i thought it did some really interesting things with win, a british indian woman, who's had to fight with the very narrow lane that hollywood has allowed her. leo's brashness and openheartedness but inability to understand it and the questions that get asked about identity and control and love are so beautiful. i loved win a lot in this, even though it's frustrating sometimes. i really felt cracked open myself. this felt full and lovely and it made me feel sick at the depth of the pining. lovely!!!
adventurous
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
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
liked this very much! it is a clever, refreshing, complex portrayal of fame, love, and public interest. It’s about a woman trying to control the narrative of her life, amidst an environment that asks so much (more) from her for being an Indian woman in show business. It was interesting to see how she navigates all demands, lack of privacy and real life. her relationship with leo was sultry and fun to read. i just wish the ending didn’t feel a bit rushed, it would have been good to read about how she (and those around her, especially leo) changed (or not) their view on the media surrounding her.
I loved the concept, and the prose - beautifully written book, the characters were so vivid I could almost touch them. the ending was a little rushed I felt, but apart from that it was a great read!
This book was interesting but also seemed to lack substance? I liked the whole conversation around Whitman being an Indian woman in Hollywood and being a part of the Indian diaspora. The whole story felt distant and I felt detached from it. The plot seemed to be tedious and I didn't care much for the character development that occured. Also Win seemed bland to me and it was hard for me to care for, same for Leo. Their relationship was cute I guess but it wasnt anything great. I did love Leo and Win's mom relationship though. I wish we got to see more of Win and moms relationship develop. It was fun to see the behind the scenes of a hollywood star though. I honestly can't put my finger on what I didn't love about this book, I just wish more things were fleshed out. However, I did like the epilogue and overall, it was a fine book.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
not a big romance reader but this was fun!!! had everything i needed - celebs, scandals, pining, and good writing! movie adaptation when?
emotional
funny
slow-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
At its heart this book is a love story, but beyond that it’s an exploration of race and gender, told through the world of celebrity. I read this book in one day, couldn’t put it down! It’s not plot-heavy, but I absolutely loved the characters. Win is a British Indian actress in a white man’s world, constantly under the public’s scrutiny. And Leo is the rich socialite who finds himself going through life aimlessly. He’s been Win’s on again off again “boyfriend” for the past several years, set up by her publicist whenever they need to sway the public’s opinion. I was very invested in their relationship, but also in the Win’s dedication to her career. There were public criticisms of Win dating too much and questions of why she didn’t represent the Indian community more; there were moments where Leo didn’t understand why Win just didn’t talk back when directors would make racist comments. I thought these were all very realistic issues to be explored. The book is extremely comparable to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid so if you liked that book I would definitely recommend checking out this one