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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t say enough how much as love a messy female lead and that is best how I can describe Tash. MESSY. After blowing up her own life she does nothing but blame everyone else. Her husband didn’t show his love and support enough. Her sister didn’t have to struggle enough. Her best friend (and only) friend is spending too much time in her new baby. She is completed narcissistic and self indulged. And fully delusional when it comes to the interactions with people in her life. I live for it.
lighthearted
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ClickBait by Holly Baxter
Is it possible to like a book if you dislike the main character? That is the struggle with this review. I feel like I must have liked the book because I finished it. It’s almost like that guilty pleasure that you don’t want to admit to. Like watching a train wreck or any of the Housewives of somewhere.
Natasha has blown up her life. She was a journalist, married and had just moved to London. Now she is back living in NYC, separated and demoted to creating headlines for clickbait stories for her newspaper. It is impossible to feel sorry for her as her downfall was of her own creation and completely inappropriate, although I don’t agree with the predatory commentary.
A narcissistic personality disorder is defined as a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, sense of superiority in fantasy or behaviour, need for admiration and lack of empathy. That is Natasha in a nutshell. The book evolves around her very active fantasy world in which she is the saviour, dying, or the object of love; regardless the theme is the same - she is admired and beloved by all, everyone admits how she has been wronged etc. etc. The other characters in the novel are simply created to show off her complete self absorption and lack of empathy or even interest in anyone else. There is no resolution and Natasha doesn’t gain insight.
If you have an interest in the inner thoughts of a narcissist or you love train wrecks then you may enjoy this book.
dark
funny
tense
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
This was one of those reads where not a lot happens and sometimes that works ok for me but it fell flat here. Natasha is really unlikable, she’s actually pretty awful and not in a fun to read about way. She has some serious issues and I feel like those were glossed over and not taken seriously enough. If a story doesn’t have a strong plot then I really need to see some great character development and again, that aspect was lacking for me. I did like the sarcastic humor and thought seeing how her job as a journalist who writes those clickbait articles was interesting but in the end that wasn’t enough for me.
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
I really don't know how to rate this because I had a great time reading it and loved Natasha's voice, but I'm not altogether sure what the point of the story was. That may have been intentional since the FMC is kind of having a quarter-life crisis, but I digress. Natasha is 35 and just moved back to New York after being demoted from her reporting job in London and separating from her husband. She was at the center of a highly public scandal, and is now stuck writing clickbait tabloid articles and living alone in a drafty apartment in the Rockaways. Her only friend after the scandal just had a baby, and Natasha feels like her life is a joke she can't figure out the punchline to. When her ex needs a place to stay, Natasha jumps to volunteer her spare room. To him, it's a platonic roommate situation, but she grows more and more obsessed with the idea of him and a future together.
Natasha is totally delusional and unhinged, and kind of the worst, but she really cracked me up---it's been a while since I've read an inner monologue like hers that wasn't in a horror book, and while I can see it being divisive, I had a great time. I can appreciate a character who defined themselves by their career struggling in the aftermath of losing it. This was a very character-driven book, though, not much happened plot-wise, so if you don't like unlikeable narrators then this probably won't be for you. I'll definitely check out the author's future work, though, because I really enjoyed the writing. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Natasha is totally delusional and unhinged, and kind of the worst, but she really cracked me up---it's been a while since I've read an inner monologue like hers that wasn't in a horror book, and while I can see it being divisive, I had a great time. I can appreciate a character who defined themselves by their career struggling in the aftermath of losing it. This was a very character-driven book, though, not much happened plot-wise, so if you don't like unlikeable narrators then this probably won't be for you. I'll definitely check out the author's future work, though, because I really enjoyed the writing. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes