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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
dark
funny
reflective
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
I am the type of person who gets physically uncomfortable when I know something horribly awkward is about to happen and there is no stopping it. When this happens in on a TV show or in a movie, I usually tend to that "very important" thing I have to do (e.g., put my dish in the sink; turn off a light; you get the idea) in order to make it through that moment.
The majority of this book was that moment. And I loved every minute of it.
I don't know that I particularly like the main character: Natasha Bailey. I'm not entirely sure if you're supposed to like her. My working thesis is that you are supposed to like Natasha, but that you just happen to be watching a part of her life where she may not be showing you her best, thusly giving you permission to say you don't like her. And in that, I think the author was masterful in their craft of character development. The level of cringe in this book is impressive; I would love to see this acted out.
My one pause in the whole story arc comes early in the novel. When you are given the play-by-play of what her she did that went viral and put her on a downward spiral, it feels a little as though it came out of nowhere in the severity of it. To be clear: you saw it coming a mile a way; and yet it still feels as though the action itself didn't feel like it would occur the way that it did. That said, you do not know this character, so who is to really say that what she did was out of character?
What do I want more of? I want Holly Baxter to write Olinka's story.
The majority of this book was that moment. And I loved every minute of it.
I don't know that I particularly like the main character: Natasha Bailey. I'm not entirely sure if you're supposed to like her. My working thesis is that you are supposed to like Natasha, but that you just happen to be watching a part of her life where she may not be showing you her best, thusly giving you permission to say you don't like her. And in that, I think the author was masterful in their craft of character development. The level of cringe in this book is impressive; I would love to see this acted out.
My one pause in the whole story arc comes early in the novel. When you are given the play-by-play of what her she did that went viral and put her on a downward spiral, it feels a little as though it came out of nowhere in the severity of it. To be clear: you saw it coming a mile a way; and yet it still feels as though the action itself didn't feel like it would occur the way that it did. That said, you do not know this character, so who is to really say that what she did was out of character?
What do I want more of? I want Holly Baxter to write Olinka's story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for providing this book, with my honest review below.
Clickbait had a very unique plot with some interesting peeks into what those incredibly annoying spam stories I see elderly patrons often click on on say, the weather channel, are made of. Past that I would say this wasn’t quite to my tastes but not because it wasn’t well written. Rather I don’t know if I loved Natasha, the main character, but due to my middle of the road feelings for her I found myself more frustrated than anything else as I read this.
Natasha was a well regarded journalist until she got herself caught up in a (semi to very gross) scandal and was relegated to writing clickbait stories as part of a demotion. We see her life post divorce and at what I’d say is rock bottom. She has an interesting family who she treats badly (though they aren’t great on their own) and a delusional take on a romantic partner. Overall she was just someone you wanted to shake a bit because she had a lot of good, but the blindly bad is a bit much.
I’d say that all is testament to a great writer as Natasha felt very real to elicit these feelings. My challenge is that it didn’t make it an enjoyable read for me personally, as I know plenty of folks similar to Natasha and already hear those stories, versus get an escape. I’d recommend this specific to your tastes, but hopefully I’ve given it you an idea if it would be for you.
Clickbait had a very unique plot with some interesting peeks into what those incredibly annoying spam stories I see elderly patrons often click on on say, the weather channel, are made of. Past that I would say this wasn’t quite to my tastes but not because it wasn’t well written. Rather I don’t know if I loved Natasha, the main character, but due to my middle of the road feelings for her I found myself more frustrated than anything else as I read this.
Natasha was a well regarded journalist until she got herself caught up in a (semi to very gross) scandal and was relegated to writing clickbait stories as part of a demotion. We see her life post divorce and at what I’d say is rock bottom. She has an interesting family who she treats badly (though they aren’t great on their own) and a delusional take on a romantic partner. Overall she was just someone you wanted to shake a bit because she had a lot of good, but the blindly bad is a bit much.
I’d say that all is testament to a great writer as Natasha felt very real to elicit these feelings. My challenge is that it didn’t make it an enjoyable read for me personally, as I know plenty of folks similar to Natasha and already hear those stories, versus get an escape. I’d recommend this specific to your tastes, but hopefully I’ve given it you an idea if it would be for you.
3.5 stars rounded up.
At first I was on the fence about reading this one. The main character, Natasha (Tasha) seemed unlikeable (and she mostly was) and the cover kind of turned me off. But I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a go. I don’t regret it as it was a pretty entertaining read, despite being pretty cringe at times. But I mean, Michael Scott on The Office is pretty cringe and we all watched him for years, right?!
Tasha screwed up royally and became THE NEWS. Her marriage is ruined, her career is shambles and she’s demoted - all in her mid-30s. She walks this fine line between beating herself up and kind of feeling like a victim. To me it seems to only semi take responsibility for her actions.
Tasha’s demotion puts her in a content-creation position in basically the troll farm of her publication. But don’t call it clickbait!
On top of all this, her family life is complicated between her mom’s drinking and her complex relationship with her half sister. Not that any of this is rare, but Baxter does a good job of painting how difficult these relationships can be.
The height of cringe is that Tasha moves an ex-boyfriend into her apartment as he “needs a place to stay in the city,”. He is NOT relationship material but Natasha being Natasha, she obsessed over him and tries to gaslight herself into thinking they would make a good match.
I read this one pretty quick & it wasn’t complicated. It’s a good beach/vacation read for anyone who wants to read about a human that’s probably worse than them. Bonus that it had the dystopian elements of how much of the mainstream media works (unfortunately.)
Thank you to Holly Baxter, Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the opportunity to read an early e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.
At first I was on the fence about reading this one. The main character, Natasha (Tasha) seemed unlikeable (and she mostly was) and the cover kind of turned me off. But I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a go. I don’t regret it as it was a pretty entertaining read, despite being pretty cringe at times. But I mean, Michael Scott on The Office is pretty cringe and we all watched him for years, right?!
Tasha screwed up royally and became THE NEWS. Her marriage is ruined, her career is shambles and she’s demoted - all in her mid-30s. She walks this fine line between beating herself up and kind of feeling like a victim. To me it seems to only semi take responsibility for her actions.
Tasha’s demotion puts her in a content-creation position in basically the troll farm of her publication. But don’t call it clickbait!
On top of all this, her family life is complicated between her mom’s drinking and her complex relationship with her half sister. Not that any of this is rare, but Baxter does a good job of painting how difficult these relationships can be.
The height of cringe is that Tasha moves an ex-boyfriend into her apartment as he “needs a place to stay in the city,”. He is NOT relationship material but Natasha being Natasha, she obsessed over him and tries to gaslight herself into thinking they would make a good match.
I read this one pretty quick & it wasn’t complicated. It’s a good beach/vacation read for anyone who wants to read about a human that’s probably worse than them. Bonus that it had the dystopian elements of how much of the mainstream media works (unfortunately.)
Thank you to Holly Baxter, Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the opportunity to read an early e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.
1.5⭐️
natasha is a disgraced, newly divorced journalist who has been demoted to writing clickbait articles. natasha is also one of the worst, most unlikeable characters i’ve ever encountered. i don’t mind a flawed main character, but she has absolutely zero redeemable qualities. beyond that, this book has so many plot lines that just come and go with no resolution and so many moments that made me physically cringe. i was, unfortunately, extremely disappointed with this!
cw: substance abuse, sexual assault, suicide
thanks to harper perennial and netgalley for my copy of clickbait by holly baxter. all opinions are my own.
natasha is a disgraced, newly divorced journalist who has been demoted to writing clickbait articles. natasha is also one of the worst, most unlikeable characters i’ve ever encountered. i don’t mind a flawed main character, but she has absolutely zero redeemable qualities. beyond that, this book has so many plot lines that just come and go with no resolution and so many moments that made me physically cringe. i was, unfortunately, extremely disappointed with this!
cw: substance abuse, sexual assault, suicide
thanks to harper perennial and netgalley for my copy of clickbait by holly baxter. all opinions are my own.
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I legitimately don't understand the reviews which give this book a poor rating solely because Natasha (the main character and narrator) is an annoying and evil bastard. She most certainly is, which I thought was the point of the book. There isn't much of a plot, frankly, but I think that's fine with just how awful everyone was.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is pretty funny, and I loved cringing at whatever liberal millennials are up to.I loved the "Olinka" subplot, too, especially given that "Olinka" is the real Ukrainian name "Olenka" spelled wrong. Shows how people who are educated can be deceived by blindspots. So much fun.
I recommend this book if you're not someone who thinks that every character must be likable (I'm unsure if there's even one in the whole book, other than perhaps Olinka) and you enjoy (liberal) millennial cringe.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is pretty funny, and I loved cringing at whatever liberal millennials are up to.
I recommend this book if you're not someone who thinks that every character must be likable (I'm unsure if there's even one in the whole book, other than perhaps Olinka) and you enjoy (liberal) millennial cringe.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hated Nat and maybe even this book. It’s reminded me a little bit of my older sister but on CRACK. I felt bad for the sister, she deserved way better than this bitch - do not recommend
It was a TOUGH read (I do not know how I managed to finish it but I felt like I had to since I physically bought this book with MONEY - I regret my choices)
It was a TOUGH read (I do not know how I managed to finish it but I felt like I had to since I physically bought this book with MONEY - I regret my choices)
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like a delusional and unlikable main character as much as the next person, but this is the type of delusion I just can’t stomach.
Natasha is an unlikeable character; she's pretty awful and not in a fun-to-read-about way. She has some serious issues that were glossed over and not taken seriously enough. If a story doesn't have a strong plot, then I need to see some excellent character development, and again, that aspect was lacking for me. I enjoyed the sarcastic humour and found her job as a journalist who writes riveting clickbait articles.