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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
I always have a hard time reviewing easy-to-digest books outside of my literary fiction world!
Things I liked about this:
-one of the more accurate depictions of an abusive relationship I’ve seen (bonus points for lesbian abusive relationship)
-charming supporting cast
-narrator was funny
-fast-paced and easy/fun to read
Things I disliked:
-because the abuse was accurate, it was also frustrating that Julia took so long to figure out what was happening
-tone was also sometimes weird because of this
-as a polyamorous person, this is….not a great book for polyam rep
-self-pitying narrator
-alice’s arc
Things I liked about this:
-one of the more accurate depictions of an abusive relationship I’ve seen (bonus points for lesbian abusive relationship)
-charming supporting cast
-narrator was funny
-fast-paced and easy/fun to read
Things I disliked:
-because the abuse was accurate, it was also frustrating that Julia took so long to figure out what was happening
-tone was also sometimes weird because of this
-as a polyamorous person, this is….not a great book for polyam rep
-self-pitying narrator
-alice’s arc
emotional
funny
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
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Spoilers. This was surprisingly difficult to hear. It was incredibly written, it was funny and I was hooked in. The explicit scenes were more like descriptions of how Julia felt rather than trying to be super sexy which I appreciated, but as Sam’s abusive tendencies came more and more evident it felt harder and harder to keep going. Davies wrote this beautifully because I think if the writing wasn’t as well done, with so much realness then it would’ve been too hard to listen to, like when people use others’ pain as shock factor, but this wasn’t that. Without trauma dumping too much in a review, Julia’s experience hit scarily close to home, so I felt a lot of anxiety listening to this and yet Davies managed to write in a way that wanted me to keep listening, to see how Julia’s story ends. Julia’s acceptance at the end that her relationship with Sam is still going to effect her, but that ultimately she is okay was a great ending and a deserved one. I highly recommend this book, it is truly funny and Julia’s character is so likeable even with the potentially upsetting subject matter at hand, which is all down to Davies’ writing abilities
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
fast-paced
easy beach read to a degree. not super fun to watch someone get drug into an abusive relationship. also just felt super voyeuristic? maybe just not my style.
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
Trigger warnings in this book for controlling behaviour, dubious consent. Full review to follow.
TW for anyone who has been in an abusive (of any sort) relationship. I didn’t think it was possible to hate a fictional character as much as I hate Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter but I guess I needed to read this book in order to hate Sam. While it was inspiring to watch Julia’s coming out journey, it was incredibly painful to read (for a majority of the book) about her dysfunctional relationship with Sam. I love Davis’ writing style and it’s wonderful to get a personal look into queer relationships. Just sucked that we see Julia suffer more than she is happy.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book, man. I don’t know. I did read it VERY quickly and it held my attention for sure. However, I didn’t like the characters very much, a touch of transphobia, and very graphic sexual content. Would I read it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it to a friend? I don’t think so. But i was entertained.