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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Domestic abuse
Educational, yes. Entertaining, no.
To rant a bit, the characters in this book were severely flawed, and not in a "this person is so complex and interesting" way, but a "this character is not well-written" sort of way.
Courtney is an extremely shady person. The first time Sophie calls the helpline she volunteers at, she realises that it's her old school friend slash rival and does not immediately indicate the conflict to someone and get off the case. She also chooses a moment of upset vulnerability where Sophie is looking for support and possibly a place to stay to make her move romantically and it's just so cringy that I nearly stopped reading there.
Sophie, on the other hand, is a reasonably well known model, is nearly thirty, and has no real relationship with her stepmother, and yet lets her stepmother get away with absolute murder, including dragging her to a doctors appointment. She's an incredibly passive character and that always irritates me.
Further things that are completely unresolved in this book (spoilers):
- Courtney choosing to prank Sophie, then finding out that Sophie is hiding from an abusive partner and everytime she does "spooky pranks", Sophie probably thought it was her partner. No apologies, no disclosure, nothing. Absolutely horrendous behavior.
- Zoe or Zara (there is so little difference between the twins that I legitimately forget which one has the health issues and which one was just some spoilt filmmaker wannabe) want to film two nearly thirty year olds pranking each other in increasingly sanitary and safe ways and somehow this is interesting to someone to watch? Absolutely astounding. And more so that Sophie, a former model and aspiring actress, just randomly decides to go with it?
- The main bully storyline is incredibly stupid. All it would take is one very brief conversation where Sophie explains that her dad is forcing her to be nice to Janey, who is a spoiled little shit, for the sake of his business. Conflict resolved.
- What happens with the stepmum and the little brother? The epilogue doesn't really hint at much in terms of a resolution for that.
- Why does Sophie react to the idea of a restraining order as if she's never heard the words before and why doesn't she already have one?
Too many extremely weird and badly resolved things for me to enjoy this one, I'm afraid.
To rant a bit, the characters in this book were severely flawed, and not in a "this person is so complex and interesting" way, but a "this character is not well-written" sort of way.
Courtney is an extremely shady person. The first time Sophie calls the helpline she volunteers at, she realises that it's her old school friend slash rival and does not immediately indicate the conflict to someone and get off the case. She also chooses a moment of upset vulnerability where Sophie is looking for support and possibly a place to stay to make her move romantically and it's just so cringy that I nearly stopped reading there.
Sophie, on the other hand, is a reasonably well known model, is nearly thirty, and has no real relationship with her stepmother, and yet lets her stepmother get away with absolute murder, including dragging her to a doctors appointment. She's an incredibly passive character and that always irritates me.
Further things that are completely unresolved in this book (spoilers):
Spoiler
- The twins' conflict. One has a severe disorder and is therefore not a hypochondriac and nothing comes of it?- Courtney choosing to prank Sophie, then finding out that Sophie is hiding from an abusive partner and everytime she does "spooky pranks", Sophie probably thought it was her partner. No apologies, no disclosure, nothing. Absolutely horrendous behavior.
- Zoe or Zara (there is so little difference between the twins that I legitimately forget which one has the health issues and which one was just some spoilt filmmaker wannabe) want to film two nearly thirty year olds pranking each other in increasingly sanitary and safe ways and somehow this is interesting to someone to watch? Absolutely astounding. And more so that Sophie, a former model and aspiring actress, just randomly decides to go with it?
- The main bully storyline is incredibly stupid. All it would take is one very brief conversation where Sophie explains that her dad is forcing her to be nice to Janey, who is a spoiled little shit, for the sake of his business. Conflict resolved.
- What happens with the stepmum and the little brother? The epilogue doesn't really hint at much in terms of a resolution for that.
- Why does Sophie react to the idea of a restraining order as if she's never heard the words before and why doesn't she already have one?
Too many extremely weird and badly resolved things for me to enjoy this one, I'm afraid.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (also, I usually don't do book-reviews, so bear with me).
This was my first book written by Elin Annalise, but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed it!
It has a classic “enemies-to-lovers” trope, with the backstory nicely explained through flashbacks. Both of the main-characters had a different feel to them, and I liked how they were at different places in their journeys to figure out their asexuality - Courtney having known for years and Sophie just figuring it out, and still questioning some parts about herself and her identity. It gave the author a chance to inform readers about different aspects of the asexual spectrum, without forcing it on people, and I really liked that.
While some of the plotpoints seemed a bit silly and cliché, it did not make me enjoy it any less. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good cliché?
If you find yourself in need of a nice, light queer book, this book is definitely worth a read.
This was my first book written by Elin Annalise, but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed it!
It has a classic “enemies-to-lovers” trope, with the backstory nicely explained through flashbacks. Both of the main-characters had a different feel to them, and I liked how they were at different places in their journeys to figure out their asexuality - Courtney having known for years and Sophie just figuring it out, and still questioning some parts about herself and her identity. It gave the author a chance to inform readers about different aspects of the asexual spectrum, without forcing it on people, and I really liked that.
While some of the plotpoints seemed a bit silly and cliché, it did not make me enjoy it any less. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good cliché?
If you find yourself in need of a nice, light queer book, this book is definitely worth a read.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow this was shit.
Nothing in this book worked. Nothing. I’m honestly a bit in awe by that.
The characters were so unlikable. They were acting like unethical assholes the entire time, were stuck up or were just otherwise written in ways to make it impossible to like them. There was no spark in their relationships. Nothing was worked out. Nothing was properly developed.
The plot was stuffed by a bunch of stuff. It felt like the author was afraid she would run out of things to write about and kept throwing new ideas into the story. In the end, nothing was resolved. The book didn’t deal with any of the things it attempted in an appropriate manner.
Nothing in this book worked. Nothing. I’m honestly a bit in awe by that.
The characters were so unlikable. They were acting like unethical assholes the entire time, were stuck up or were just otherwise written in ways to make it impossible to like them. There was no spark in their relationships. Nothing was worked out. Nothing was properly developed.
The plot was stuffed by a bunch of stuff. It felt like the author was afraid she would run out of things to write about and kept throwing new ideas into the story. In the end, nothing was resolved. The book didn’t deal with any of the things it attempted in an appropriate manner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Violence, Stalking
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a wild ride and I definitely wasn't expecting that. It was honestly fun to read but overall way too messy for my liking, and there were too many topics thrown in without giving them much attention. I wish the ending would have been a little bit longer because I feel like many questions about the character's lives were left unanswered.
I recommend it if you're looking for a silly and quick read with ace representation and characters that have *a lot* going on in their lives.
TW for acephobia, mention of eating disorders and stalking
I recommend it if you're looking for a silly and quick read with ace representation and characters that have *a lot* going on in their lives.
TW for acephobia, mention of eating disorders and stalking
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Eating disorder, Violence, Stalking
Nothing wrong with this book as far as I read it, but it moved too slowly (and explained too much) for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship