Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka

2 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

 “His presence in my life is just like the mountains or the sky, no less profound for the fact that it never really changes.”

➽ I have a bad feeling like this author duo is more miss than hit for me. I adored their book What’s Not to Love, which made it into one of my favorite books of the year … but ever since I keep ending up disappointed. I didn’t like The Roughest Draft, but thought that maybe only their Adult books don’t work for me. Never Vacation with Your Ex sounded amazing at first and I enjoyed the beginning, but it quickly went downhill for me. I’m super sad about that, as it seems like the authors might have had a one-hit wonder with What’s Not to Love for me 😔 

➽ Positives first: this is a great vacation/summer book! Never Vacation with Your Ex takes place during the family vacation in Malibu where Kaylee and Dean’s families spend the summer every year. I loved the setting and it gives you all the summer vibes, which makes it the perfect vacation read. I also liked Kaylee, she is a great example of a flawed teen who’s still growing into herself. She’s a volleyball player intent on becoming pro and dedicating all her time to becoming the best. Yet she’s also under constant scrutiny as her mother was a famous athlete and her own social media fame comes with downsides as well. I felt sorry for Kaylee as she puts a lot of pressure on herself and doesn’t accept anything other than perfection. She could be selfish and messy at times, but I could always tell where she’s coming from. 

➽ My main issue lies with the romance plot and love interest. I was willing to maybe give this three stars as I liked Kaylee and the setting, but the romance ruined this for me. The idea of having to go on vacation with your recent Ex/Best Friend and teaching him to get over you, was actually great. The execution? Not so much. The setup quickly feels uncomfortable as Dean has no intention of getting over Kaylee and is using the situation to convince her to date him again. And it’s not a cute ‘winning her back’ moment. Instead, Dean comes off as really pushy and possessive. Because Kaylee didn’t give him ‘a good enough reason’ for the breakup, he assumes that she’s not truly over him and therefore free game, even if she never said she wanted to get back together. The way he tries to flirt and goad her into getting jealous felt very manipulative, as he clearly hadn’t accepted the breakup. He also shames her for being a ‘serial dater’ and brings up their history in front of other people, which puts Kaylee in uncomfortable situations.

Even though Kaylee acknowledges that their families take his side and expect her to manage his emotions, the parents and Dean get away with using her as a scapegoat for most of the book. All this is to say that I didn’t root for the romance here and felt like Dean and Kaylee didn’t fit together. Of course, Dean gets what he wants in the end, but it still felt like he manipulated his way back into a relationship. The message this sends is that you need to have a ‘good’ reason for breaking up with someone and I don’t agree with that. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kylieshart's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Cute summer read, I love books written by this author duo. Kaylee plays volleyball competitively and made me want to play again myself! She also has chronic migraines. Dean is bi which is the main piece of diversity in the story. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...